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- Average user rating: stars out of 219 votes Back to product review
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User reviews
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2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
3 stars
Version: Pidgin 2.4.3
"Not happy with the new Pidgin."
Pros: The only great thing about it is it's better than AIM 6.x and has many functions. I could go on Google Talk and AIM, Yahoo, etc. It's not a memory hog either.
Cons: There's nothing good I could say about this program anymore. It gets bigger everyday with the most NOT obvious updates and then out of nowhere it updated and changed almost the whole interface. Unless you use Linux, the spell check doesn't work even if you have it available (happened to me), when doing directIM, you can never see the file sizes you are sending or receiving. They changed the IM windows, and as you type, it causes the text field to bounce up and down because it's supposed to "adjust to your text" and gets bigger as you type more in it.
The "*USERNAME HERE* is typing..." text in the IM window is extremely buggy for me and it comes and goes as it wants whether the person is typing or not. What ever happened to that cool keyboard icon on the top right that shows when users are typing?!
They make the most unnecessary changes, yet every new thing they add, they cause more bugs and then they more bugs must be fixed; which is the reason why this program updates way too often. How unfortunate :(
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4 stars
Version: Pidgin 2.4.3
"Good but it keeps getting bigger.."
Pros: I like this IM client. It's very easy to use once you start getting used to it, it has a lot of plugins, there are many changes you can make to customize the look of your buddy list, you have a history and chat logger, all capabilities that Trillian's paid version would probably have. I praise that it doesn't consume system resources.
Cons: Doesn't view correct fonts, I put "tahoma" but my friends told me it shows up as "time new roman" for them. This program also keeps getting bigger everyday. I don't understand what changes they could make...it started out below 20MB and now it's growing like crazy. The DirectIM also isn't helpful since it doesn't tell you what file or file size you or your friend is sending you. The buddy icons don't refresh exactly when you change it. Needs GTK to ruin but Cnet decided not to put that as a requirement. That's about another 20MB which will make the whole package 50MB. IMO, not worth it for something that's suppose to be small and easy to use. I hope they stop cluttering the product because it's very good, and I'd hate to stop using it.
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4 stars
Version: Pidgin 2.4.3
"Good but needs a little more improvement."
Pros: I've used this program since GAIM and I loved it since the interface is very fast, clean, you can customize and hide or show user details. You can also choose how you want to be idled, how you want to log your history, and use tabbed IM windows. This program also lets you create temporary away messages that can be deleted easily after use. There is no mess, there are many options, and the sounds are very smooth. This program hardly uses 1/3 of the RAM AIM 6 would use.
I haven't gotten any crashes randomly either. It has an option that lets you mute the IM sounds quickly instead of having to mute everything one at the time in AIM classic and AIM 6. And this is a free product, it's worth the try!
Cons: This program does have a few problems. The first thing is, Pidgin updates constantly with new fixes, yet there always seems to be a problem with the program and there was never a time where it could be stable in one version. Also, buddy icons that are shown on your buddy list of all your buddies are downloaded into a folder in the Documents and Settings folder. It tends to clutter with multiples of the same icons. The history viewer doesn't have the option that quickly lets you remove a conversation you don't want.
There is no video or sound chat, and the direct IM connection isn't obvious. It takes a while to connect, and it doesn't show you the status (how many kb's or mb's you've already sent) of your picture file that you are sending. You also can't copy pictures and paste it onto the IM window which would be great since it's very convenient. You also can't use Direct IM to send other files (such as music, word files, etc.)
Has some strange crashes sometimes, such as when I was using Direct IM, it froze my buddy list and I had to start the program over again. My buddy icon also doesn't seem to stay on. I'd have to keep putting my buddy icon up when it mysteriously disappears.
And please correct me if I'm wrong or if there is something wrong with my computer, but the online time of my buddies on Pidgin are all 3 hours more than the actual online time. I haven't been able to figure out the problem yet.
Overall, I still say it's a great product especially for free.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: Pidgin 2.4.3
Pros: I love Pidgin! I found out about it when my laptop had Ubuntu on it, and Pidgin first started out as GAIM. This chat client has pretty much everything you need. It has history logging in plain text or HTML. Smooth sounds, very nice interface, low resource usage, customize names for your buddies, it goes on multiple users at a time, it allows you to set your status the way you want it, it never really crashes (not on me), very useful plugins, you can easily mute sounds instead of going back and forth (like AIM), and like I said, it has tabs, you can do multiple "file transfers", it's VERY customizable on viewing your buddy list the way you want, and best it's free, and I think it works better than Trillian!
Cons: Well, when you are direct connected with someone and you or your friend sends a file, it doesn't show you the statuses. I haven't seen any popup notifications or skins (although this I don't mind.) Most fonts viewed in 8pt and such doesn't really come out as 8pt. History logger and buddy icon files tend to clog if you don't clear it often. Also, it updates often to a new version and sometimes it's hard to keep up with.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: Pidgin 2.4.3
Pros: Here are a few reasons why I like it:
- It doesn't use a lot of RAM or resources so it's very light.
- It has everything every other client has such as a bunch of free smiley sets to download.
- Very smooth and professional.
- Very easy to setup and has NO ADS at all!
- You can use almost any network you can think of!
- It's FREE. Saves log files, pictures, and a lot of free plugins and very useful tools!
Cons: I didn't like how it was complicated. When you sign on two users at a time, the buddy list joins in into one which was a bit of a downfall. Also, you will need to download GTK for it to work since it's a Linux based program from the beginning included in Ubuntu Linux. I also don't like how it's required to save buddy icons from users, I usually have to clear it myself because it gets VERY cloggy in the "icons" folder somewhere in the application data folder. Also, it gets very annoying how any away message you make is automatically saved. Sometimes it gets a "windows socket error" which I never found out why.
The fonts aren't the same as normal fonts that were used in AIM 5.9 which made more sense. (8pt looks more like 7pt on this client) Also the direct connection to send picture files have no status bar telling you where you are up to on your download/upload, and sometimes never really specify whether you are connected with the buddy or not. I know this might sound like a lot of downfalls, but even with all these flaws, it's still VERY useful and very good. I rather use this than AIM 6.x any time!
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