- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98
- Date added: October 27, 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 216 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 2.5.2 is a bug-fixing release.
What's new in this version:
Version 2.5.2 is a bug-fixing release.
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User reviews of Pidgin 2.5.2
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 216 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 13 user reviewsSee all 13 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Pidgin 2.5.2
Pros: none it is worthless
Cons: dosent work
Summary: trillian is better
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.2
Pros: Does what it says no fuss.
Cons: None at present.
Summary: Does what it says no fuss.
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.2
"Google Talk and MSN,now I don't missed anyonen"
Pros: Speed,Light Weight,Am almost not missing anyone on the messenger.
Cons: I have not well get acquainted so that I see the Cons.I have just downloaded and using only for some weeks now.
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Version: Pidgin 2.5.2
"Spot on does what it needs to do"
Pros: Saves the use of running multiple im programs and its fairly light on processes.
Cons: When someone messages it opens in a new tab gotta be careful somewhat.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Pidgin 2.5.2
"AVOID PIDGIN...AT ALL COSTS!!"
Pros: NONE! Not a single one!
Cons: Arrogant developer team, treat users poorly
Summary: Avoid this program like the plague!!
Almost ONE YEAR ago, I submitted a ticket to the developers at Pidgin, and NOW, just NOW, nearly 12 months later, they are getting back to me about the bugs I reported! I dumped Pidgin 3 months after ... read more >> - See all 13 user reviews Write review
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