Alternatives to AIM?

scrawnypaleguy · Jan 3, 2006

I have an aim sn, but I don't want to use their software. Trillian and Gaim both suck. Is there anything else?

hans030390 · Jan 3, 2006

how does trillian suck? is something wrong with you???

igowerf · Jan 3, 2006

Miranda. I think Gaim and Trillian are both pretty good. No ads, built in tabs, tons of customizability. What's wrong with them?

IlllI · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: hans030390
how does trillian suck? is something wrong with you???

maybe he misses all those annoying ads that aim has

BW86 · Jan 3, 2006

Aim 5.9.3861 + Adhack 4.14

SleepWalkerX · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: skunkbuster

Originally posted by: hans030390
how does trillian suck? is something wrong with you???

Click to expand...

maybe he misses all those annoying ads that aim has

Or perhaps the extremely bloated interface of trillian..

Gaim is pretty good, only thing I don't like is the lack of skin support and no rendezvous plugin.

I might try Miranda, but I don't even know how to skin it. I'll have to look at some documentation beforehand, but it looks pretty interesting.

gorcorps · Jan 3, 2006

It's still in beta, but you should check out MINIAIM if you like the bloat at a minimum

.

IlllI · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
[

Or perhaps the extremely bloated interface of trillian..

wow, talk about exaggeration

scrawnypaleguy · Jan 3, 2006

I've tried Trillian and Gaim, and their skins suck, and they're all so fancy and complex. I just need something simple. What does that adhack software do BW86?

EDIT: it seems I have tried too many versions of aim from oldversion.com and now I can't install any of the aol aim clients. I uninstalled everything, and deleted the directory left over in my program files folder, but now every time I try to install it, it gets hung up at a file called sysfiles\imagehlp.dll. Now what do I do?

BW86 · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
What does that adhack software do BW86?

All Features in Current Version
*Installs AIM Ad Hack based upon AIM registry entry
*Uninstall function
*Optionally install AIM before running AIM Ad Hack
*Adds link to free encryption/security certificate
*Adds cloning
*Adds ability to resize AIM buddy list to any size
*Adds new About box
*Adds new logo
*Adds security button to IM window
*Adds security info box
*Adds AIM Ad Hack FAQ
*Adds choice of four AIM logos
*Adds choice of which button rows to remove
*Removes ad box
*Removes pop up ads
*Removes audio ads
*Removes AIM's downloaded ads cache
*Removes AIM Phone from menu
*Removes "Free Icons & More" text
*Removes AIM/AOL logo from background of buddy list
*Removes AOL On Desktop (AOL installer) favorites/desktop/start menu links
*Removes WeatherBug desktop/start menu links
*Removes Netscape Internet Service desktop link
*Removes Wild Tangent registry enteries
*Removes WeatherBug registry enteries
*Removes MySearch Bar registry enteries
*Removes AOL On Desktop (AOL installer) registry enteries
*Removes Viewpoint Media Player registry enteries
*Removes AIM Toolbar registry enteries
*Removes WeatherBug files and directories
*Removes MySearch Bar files and directories
*Removes Wild Tangent files and directories
*Removes AIM Toolbar files and directories
*Removes AOL On Desktop (AOL installer) files and directories
*Removes Viewpoint Media Player files and directories
*Removes games buttons and games bars
*Removes AOL.com/Today window
*Removes AOL.com links from buddy list and menus
*Removes AIM Tools Panel
*Blocks AOL Browser
*Blocks AOL Toolbar
*Blocks Viewpoint Media Player installation
*Blocks netscape.com homepage change

Click to expand...

Fenixgoon · Jan 3, 2006

edit: blasphemy! gaim rocks

BW86 · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
EDIT: it seems I have tried too many versions of aim from oldversion.com and now I can't install any of the aol aim clients. I uninstalled everything, and deleted the directory left over in my program files folder, but now every time I try to install it, it gets hung up at a file called sysfiles\imagehlp.dll. Now what do I do?

you can try replacing imagehlp.dll from here

EDIT: Do a search and find where imagehlp.dll is located. Copy the dll file to your Windows/System32 subdirectory. This may fix your problem.

scrawnypaleguy · Jan 3, 2006

Thanks for the tip. I found imagehlp.dll, and it was in my system32 directory, and I even saw that it was installed correctly when I installed aim, but it still won't work, and now I have no idea what to do. I've been trying to use v5.9.3861, should I try a different one?

BW86 · Jan 3, 2006

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
Thanks for the tip. I found imagehlp.dll, and it was in my system32 directory, and I even saw that it was installed correctly when I installed aim, but it still won't work, and now I have no idea what to do. I've been trying to use v5.9.3861, should I try a different one?

Hmmm, delete all traces of aim, download Ccleaner and reboot into safemode. run Ccleaner and see if it fixes the problem.

mosco · Jan 3, 2006

Has anyone tried gaim 2 beta 1?

scrawnypaleguy · Jan 3, 2006

Nope, no dice. I tried v5.5.3595 this time. I just don't know dude. I just installed all this stuff on my new hard drive, maybe I'll just reformat it for the fourth time...

secretanchitman · Jan 3, 2006

AIM 5.5 w/ DeadAIM or AIMutation!

i prefer AIMutation because i like to turn off those annoying as hell blinking IMs and its completely free!

Xyclone · Jan 4, 2006

Trillian FTW.

talyn00 · Jan 4, 2006

Originally posted by: scrawnypaleguy
I have an aim sn, but I don't want to use their software. Trillian and Gaim both suck. Is there anything else?

What exactly is it about gaim and trillian that you don't like? Those are among the best alternative programs to aim and provide access to the other IM services which IMO are much better than aim.

Pr0d1gy · Jan 4, 2006

Xfire is cool.

MangoTBG · Jan 4, 2006

I've switched to Gaim 2.0 but if you don't like gaim then test out #AIM It's opensource, nice and very lite!

PseudoKnight · Jan 4, 2006

I like Miranda. It's not as fully featured as something like Trillian, but it's got a TON of plugins and is highly customizeable.
http://www.miranda-im.org/

Miranda, GAIM and Trillian all have their advantages and disadvantages.

I just ran into another intriguing all-in-one IM program. (and much more) I've been eager to try it but haven't done it yet. Anybody else have?
http://www.qnext.com/

PseudoKnight · Jan 4, 2006

About Miranda for the click-handicapped:

... Miranda IM is designed to be resource efficient and easy to use. It uses very little memory and requires no installation. Just unzip and run! This also makes it ideal for users that want to run their messenger client from a removable storage such as an USB memory stick. It can even be stored on a floppy disc if not too many plugins are used.

The powerful plugin system makes Miranda IM extremely flexible. Only the most basic features are built in, but there are currently around 500 free plugins available for download that allows users to extend the functionality of Miranda IM. Plugins can be installed to add support for ICQ, AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, Gadu-Gadu, Tlen, Netsend and other protocols.

talyn00 · Jan 4, 2006

Originally posted by: MangoTBG
I've switched to Gaim 2.0 but if you don't like gaim then test out https://shaim.bountysource.com/Project.Downloads">#AIM</a> It's opensource, nice and very lite!

bad link...

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://shaim.bountysource.com/Project.Downloads">https://shaim.bountysource.com/Project.Downloads</a>

MBrown · Jan 4, 2006

I think AIM is fine. Its that triton mess you want to stay away from.

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