Hatrack River Forum: I think I might be ready to download an AIM alternative . . .

This is topic I think I might be ready to download an AIM alternative . . . in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

Is anyone else getting ads (motion and sound) for Slither every seven minutes or so?

How freaking annoying!!! [Mad]

So, what imitator should I download instead? (And how do I make sure I don't lose stuff like my buddy list?)

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

Gaim is the one I use. It's free and open-source.

Trillian is one that many others use. The full version is not free, but I understand that there is a version which is. It's probabably nag/ad/cripple-ware, but I don't really know.

Your AIM buddy list is stored on the AIM servers, so it will be there automatically.

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

Holy crap! I just timed it and it's actually more like every three minutes!!! [Mad]

Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :

I use Trillian on my Windows PC, and I use Adium on my Mac. Personally I prefer Adium, but I don't think it's available for Windows.

Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :

Trillian is good, but imo, its gotten a lot bulkier since I last used it. I use middleman which allows you to turn off ads and tickers and buttons... and even yourself if you want [Wink]

(ghosting). It also has transparency which is fun and a bunch of other nifty stuff.

Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :

I'm part of the gaim group. It's awesome.

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

Gaim does not have ads?

What about buddy icons and file transfers?

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

A couple of users on download.com complain that you can't change fonts and font sizes. Is that true?

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

Gaim supports buddy icons and file transfers.

I do not know about the font problems.

Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :

quote:
Is anyone else getting ads (motion and sound) for Slither every seven minutes or so?

Yes. Although it seems to have subsided now.

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

Yeah, it has . . . but you know what . . . I think I'm just annoyed enough to download gaim anyway.

Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :

I love Gaim, and hope you enjoy it.

I have a question though....I can't receive file transfers from my MSN account while using Gaim....is there a way to change that? My MSN logs n fine, and then the guy starts a IM to me and I get it....but the file transfer never shows up. I have to log in to MSN separately to get it, and when I do it works fine.......

Weird.

Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :

Neither gaim nor Trillian have ads. Trillian sometimes gives me trouble on file transfers, but they seem to work fine on gaim. I like Trillian's interface and functions better, although there are some nice features that you get in the paying version that are left out of the free one. gaim's connectivity also seems better.

Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :

http://wiki.ehow.com/Stop-Ads-in-AIM

That will also walk you through Downloading a tool that will cut ads out of AIM for you if you wish to continue using the actual AIM program.

Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :

I actually saw something like that at a different website I used to frequent. But it's long bothered me to use AIM anyway, given how much I hate AOL. I downloaded AIM because Ralphie nagged and nagged me to, way back when she was around. (And then shortly after I downloaded it she massively curtailed her AIM time. Funny, huh?) Not knowing any better, I got the "real" version, and then I didn't want to switch because I had something that worked.

Once on a different computer I needed a temporary solution (AIMExpress was blocked on that network) and I downloaded Trillian. I couldn't make the darn thing work, and I deleted it. (It made me feel dumb. [Frown]

)

But this was the final excuse I needed, I think. I downloaded and installed GAIM. I figured I can always change my mind later. Anyway, I kinda like their default sounds--pretty cool, compared to AIM's, and being able to simultaneously be in both AIM and ICQ seems cool.

Clearly the ad thing last night was just a weird bug, but that's okay. [Smile]

Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :

I haven't had any ads on aim for quite a while.

Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :

Ben, I installed that adblock program you linked to and it's great! [Smile]