Pidgin 2.0:

Pidgin 2.0, the latest version of the popular open-source instant messaging client formerly known as Gaim, is now available for download. After months of development and numerous beta releases, Pidgin 2.0 is finally ready. A significant improvement over the current 1.5.x series, Pidgin 2.0 includes several compelling features and usability enhancements. Last year, we looked at the second beta release and concluded that much work still needed to be done. Many of the problems we discovered in the early Gaim 2.0 betas have since been resolved. The official Pidgin 2.0 release, available for download from the Pidgin web site, provides an impressive level of quality and reliability.

Pidgin 2.0 is a highly extensible and cohesive platform for multiprotocol Internet communication that includes broad support for essential instant messaging features and common protocols. Rigged with a versatile plug-in system and an assortment of advanced features, Pidgin 2.0 is capable of competing with commercial instant messaging applications like Trillian Pro. Although Pidgin 2.0 has evolved into a robust and powerful program, the absence of voice and video chat features and a few minor weaknesses in the user interface detract from its usefulness and illuminate the need for additional work as development on the 2.x series progresses.

I’ve been using Trillian Pro for several years and am reasonably happy with it, but as always there are little niggling things that could be better. I’ve downloaded Pidgin 2.0 and will be trying it out this afternoon (so if you see me connecting/disconnecting rapidly on IM, that’s why). Pidgin’s Web site appears to be Slashdotted, but the download is also available from their page on Sourceforge.