Review: imici Messenger for Linux

"Like anything remotely useful in technology, IM has been chopped up into different messaging protocols, each one a proprietary format that allows users to communicate only within a closed system. Not that this is a big setback. ICQ, at last count, had 77 million users, so it's not like you would be hurting to find at least one person to talk to. Still, there are limitations to how many people you can talk to. If you have an AOL Instant Messenger client, you are limited to chatting with AOL users. Ditto with MSN and Yahoo. And all of these protocols save ICQ are simply out of reach for the Linux community."

"This is where products like imici Messenger come in. Dubbed a universal IM client, imici Messenger allows users to connect to and electronically chat with fellow users in up to five proprietary formats: AOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and imici's own format...."

"Perhaps the biggest drawback to this application for Linux users is the need to already be a member of an IM service in order to use. Because I am not a member of AOL (nor do I plan to be before I draw my last breath), I cannot use Messenger to chat with anyone. Linux users will find this especially daunting, since the lack of Linux clients for these services (save ICQ and AIM) makes it unlikely they would be members of these varied IM services to begin with. Messenger does give users a reason to start using other services, however."

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