- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
- Date added: August 20, 2008
- Total Downloads: 547,051
- Downloads last week: 1,577
- See full specifications
A newer version of Pidgin is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 220 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.
Version 2.5.0 features improved MSN support, including offline messaging and personal messages, and may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
What's new in this version:
Version 2.5.0 features improved MSN support, including offline messaging and personal messages, and may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
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User reviews of Pidgin 2.5.0
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 220 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 5 user reviewsSee all 5 user reviews
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Pidgin 2.5.0
"will never use any IM other than Pidgin"
Pros: supports all mainstream instant messengers plus many others, no ads, uses minimal memory and CPU, open source
Cons: the logo could be cuter other than that this software rocks
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.0
Pros: It does all the basic stuffs without any problems.
Cons: The interface ain't new & doesn't support the option of popping up temporarily on top of other windows when a message is received.
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.0
Pros: Sounds useful, the dictionaries would rock.
Cons: wouldnt work with my windows live account nor would it even work with dictionaries because you must have a certain program if i remember correctly.
Summary: No
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.0
"Just a bit hard to get used to in the menu department."
Pros: Versitility
Cons: Menu is a bit lame
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.0
Pros: 1. Support of the chinese messenger QQ
2. Lots of plug ins, also for the facebook chat
3. Buddy pounce, put your own sound on buddies when they sing in/out, message u, etc,
4. Sign in on multiple accounts on the same clientCons: 1. Since 2.4 the GTK has a conflict with QQ, and all buddies and message are seen as "NULL"
2. When u use chinese and english, the fonts easily great conflicts. Your choice of fonts is basiclly cut down to 3.Summary: I am using pidgin for ages and it always has been my favourite all in one. There is nothing better out there. When i wouldnt be in the need of QQ and using chinese, pidgin gets 5 stars without a question. Nether the less since 2.4 the QQ protocol co... read more >>
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