- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/NT
- Date added: November 28, 2009
- Total Downloads: 607,271
- Downloads last week: 1,490
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 226 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
Your mother uses AOL Instant Messenger. Your spouse prefers MSN. Your office insists on Yahoo. What are you going to do? You could run all those chat clients at once, or you could use Gaim, now renamed Pidgin. Like Trillian, Fire, and other third-party IM clients, this open-source messaging application lets you access multiple IM networks from one window, including Google Talk and MySpaceIM as well as lesser-known protocols such as Jabber and Gadu-Gadu.
Pidgin's biggest change is the redesigned interface. The Buddy List can be viewed in Basic or Advanced mode, and the most important features, including the Plug-in List, have been graduated from the Preferences window into their own panes. Twenty-two plug-ins come prepackaged as Pidgin repositions itself as a highly extensible chat client.
The IM features are unimpeachable: smileys (you can find tons of emoticons on the developer's site), file transfers, and multiperson chats. The Buddy Pounce feature lets you automatically perform certain actions (play a sound, execute a command, open an IM window) when a contact signs on or off. Pidgin also gets lots of intangibles right: logging and time-stamping, for instance, are well-executed and easy to access. However, it lacks IP telephony and video conferencing, and there are still some bugs--most notably in the Help menu. Still, Pidgin remains a highly recommended text-only messaging app.
Publisher's description
From Pidgin :Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim) is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for BSD and Windows. It is compatible with AIM (Oscar and TOC protocols), ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, and Zephyr networks. Pidgin users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same time. It also goes beyond that and provides many unique features. A few popular features are Buddy Pounces, which give the ability to notify you, send a message, play a sound, or run a program when a specific buddy goes away, signs online, or returns from idle; and plugins, consisting of text replacement, a buddy ticker, extended message notification, and iconify on away.
What's new in this version:
Version 2.6.4 fixes the MSN friendly name and AIM Blast issues.
More popular Chat downloads
- 162,162 downloads 1. mIRC
- 48,052 downloads 2. Windows Live Messenger
- 33,197 downloads 3. Trillian Astra
- 32,409 downloads 4. Yahoo Messenger
- 10,240 downloads 5. WebcamMax
- See all Chat downloads
User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 226 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 6 user reviewsSee all 6 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Pidgin 2.6.4
"Not Flashy but very functional"
Pros: can manage multiple IM accounts for me in one screen
easily allows IM to multiple services - not unique though
can order groups by a drag and drop methodCons: no pretty graphics
default is to have tabbed IM windows, causes me to miss chat sessions occasionallySummary: Not perfect - ease of use for things like modifying the bland UI is not intuitive; but very functional and does not discriminate with IM accounts or providers. I will continue to use it.
-
Version: Pidgin 2.6.4
Pros: It communicates well with the listed IM programs plus several more using plugins. I found an addon to chat with Facebook users as well as Skype so all of my contacts can be seen in one program. It supports lots of features from each IM program.
Cons: I haven't seen any so far.
Summary: It does it's job and does it well. It supports emoticons and lots of other features I haven't looked at yet. I am not impressed with the Skype plugin though. It requires Skype to be running and it insists on listing my Skype phone contacts which ... read more >>
-
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Pidgin 2.6.4
Pros: I've been using this little jem for several years now. It's great in that it allows you to load all your favorite IM's in one place! Since I have friends on may different IM's I can stay connected without each program having to run on my PC.
Cons: Doesn't have enough smilies.
You will see an issue if your friend tries to use any special features in the original version of the IM.Summary: Can't live without this one! Able to easily keep in touch with all friends on all major I'm's with one one program. Great!!
-
Version: Pidgin 2.6.4
"Best consolidated IM program out there!"
Pros: Love the extensive pounce options
Was able to add my work's Sametime IM!Cons: Could be a bit more colorful in the graphics department
-
Version: Pidgin 2.6.4
Pros: great messanger
Cons: skype extension should be imporved.. it needs skype to be installed on system.
- See all 6 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
- See more CNET content tagged:
- AOL Instant Messenger,
- IM Network,
- Jabber,
- Pidgin,
- messaging
Previous Versions:
