Instant Messenger

  • Thread starter Thread starter Porch Dog
  • Start date Start date
Newby said:
I would like to put an instant messenger on my son's computer so he and I
can communicate from half way around the world. I would appreciate
recommendations from this group as to good ones to consider and those to
stay away from.

Thanks,
Newby
Click to expand...
I've used MSN and it was fine. I changed to Yahoo b/c that is what my
friend in America has - that too is good.

For first time use and a newbie, avoid Trillian as I've tried that too
and it took a bit of setting up and you still have to have another
account to use it.

I can't see any reason why you can't just use MSN to start with if you
both ahve Windows based pc's.

Oh and ICQ - will never have it on my pc again! Before I had a chance to
configure it I got a message from someone offering me child porn.

Hope that helps
miskairal
 
Newby said:
I would like to put an instant messenger on my son's computer so
he and I can communicate from half way around the world. I
would appreciate recommendations from this group as to good ones
to consider and those to stay away from.
Click to expand...

Like others, I can recommend Miranda [1]. It's far less resource-
hungry than MSN Messenger, has no ads whatsoever, and you can
customize it with loads of plugins to suit your specific needs
[2]. It can handle most protocols you'll think of, based on this
plugin system.

Only disadvantage: voice chat is still a problem. There is a
plugin available [3], but (judging from user's comments) it seems
to be a bit buggy and development is currently dead. So you'll
still need an external app like NetMeeting, Speak Freely [4] or
Skype [5] to enable voice chat.

Regards,
Wald

[1] http://miranda-im.org/
[2] http://miranda-im.org/download/index.php?action=display&id=1
[3] http://miranda-im.org/download/details.php?action=viewfile&id=
673
[4] http://speakfreely.org/
[5] http://skype.com/
 
wald said:
Newby said:
I would like to put an instant messenger on my son's computer so
he and I can communicate from half way around the world. I
would appreciate recommendations from this group as to good ones
to consider and those to stay away from.
Click to expand...

Like others, I can recommend Miranda [1]. It's far less resource-
hungry than MSN Messenger,>
Click to expand...
Only disadvantage: voice chat is still a problem.
Click to expand...


Maybe it's just me, but what is 'resource hungry'? Aren't computer
'resources' used to run programs that work properly?
 
Tritoneur said:
wald said:
Newby said:
I would like to put an instant messenger on my son's computer so
he and I can communicate from half way around the world. I
would appreciate recommendations from this group as to good ones
to consider and those to stay away from.
Click to expand...

Like others, I can recommend Miranda [1]. It's far less resource-
hungry than MSN Messenger,>
Click to expand...
Only disadvantage: voice chat is still a problem.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me, but what is 'resource hungry'? Aren't computer
'resources' used to run programs that work properly?
Click to expand...

Yes, but some programs use a lot more resources than others. My sytem is
much slower with Winamp, Norton AntiVirus and MSN Messenger open than it is
with the similar programs Billy, AVG and Miranda open. hence, the 'hungry'
expression.
 
You're using Windows so why not just use Windows Messenger or MSN
Messenger?
Click to expand...
[snipped]

Why not, I don't know. I was hoping someone would tell my I should, or
should not, use a particular product. I do not have experience using any
instant messenger and posted here looking for some guidance.
Click to expand...
Just use Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger. Its on nearly all computers
and if not, there's a browser based version you can use at internet
cafes logging on through www.msn.com

You'll get all kinds of suggestions such as Miranda, Trillian, GAIM etc
but IMO its complicating the issue by installing yet another program
you don't need. Also you're not going to be able to install these at
internet cafes and if Microsoft decide to change the login routines
again whilst you're away then you'll not be able to log on.
 
Why? Messenger does all he wants. Messenger is already installed.
Messenger voice/video chat etc works without any aggro.
Click to expand...

That depends on his OS, MSN Messenger didn't come with mine.
If it is the OP can use it.
If it isn't he could use a browser based version like you suggested.
If the OP wants a program for it on his/her harddisk, I would recommend
Miranda.
Why ? Because compared to MSN Messenger it's smaller, faster, displays no
ads, and it's been the only IM client I found to be stable. And it doesn't
hurt my eyes so much. Also the standard version without any plugins is IMHO
perfect for the simple keyboard-to-keyboard communication the OP requested.
 
Yes, but some programs use a lot more resources than others. My sytem
is much slower with Winamp, Norton AntiVirus and MSN Messenger open
than it is with the similar programs Billy, AVG and Miranda open.
hence, the 'hungry' expression.
Click to expand...

OK. I suppose it's a question of priorities wrt what you want to run at any
particular time and the resources available on your system. I too found
Norton a pain and use AVG, and Winamp a bit sluggish, but Messenger seems
fine, and I find that having features that work well, without the need for
tweaking, and downloading and installing plugins suits me.

It is a matter of choice, but there does seem to be a diference to me
between programs that use a certain amount CPU resources and memory to run,
and those that are badly written causing memory leaks.

My point, I guess, is that just because a program require a certain level of
resources to run, doesn't necessarily make it a bad choice. MSN Messenger
is fine on my system. It depends on what facilities you want, your machine,
and how much additional tweaking you want to do.

FWIW, I found Easymessage light on resources before I upgraded! Ultra lite
for MSN, AOL, ICQ, and Yahoo.

http://www.easymessage.net/

Tritoneur
 
OK. I suppose it's a question of priorities wrt what you want to run
at any particular time and the resources available on your system. I
too found Norton a pain and use AVG, and Winamp a bit sluggish, but
Messenger seems fine, and I find that having features that work well,
without the need for tweaking, and downloading and installing plugins
suits me.
Click to expand...

If it suits you, stay with it. A lot of people around me swear by it. Other
people around me swear by Miranda. I have an old 400 Mhz 128Mb system with
a 10 Gb HD, and for my resources and needs for an IM program, Miranda suits
me best.
It is a matter of choice, but there does seem to be a diference to me
between programs that use a certain amount CPU resources and memory to
run, and those that are badly written causing memory leaks.
Click to expand...

Yep, there is a difference.
My point, I guess, is that just because a program require a certain
level of resources to run, doesn't necessarily make it a bad choice.
MSN Messenger is fine on my system. It depends on what facilities you
want, your machine, and how much additional tweaking you want to do.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but for me it turns in to a bad choice when a similar program that
suits my needs uses far less resources. I just use instant messaging for
plain text keyboard communication, no whistles and bells needed.
FWIW, I found Easymessage light on resources before I upgraded! Ultra
lite for MSN, AOL, ICQ, and Yahoo.

http://www.easymessage.net/
Click to expand...

I used this one before Miranda, liked it for it's size and simplicity, but
it crashed frequently. On resource use I didn't notice any diffrence
between EasyMessage and Miranda.
 
You'll get all kinds of suggestions such as Miranda, Trillian, GAIM etc
but IMO its complicating the issue by installing yet another program
you don't need. Also you're not going to be able to install these at
internet cafes and if Microsoft decide to change the login routines
again whilst you're away then you'll not be able to log on.
Click to expand...

I just hate the ads you get using big corporations' IM clients. Miranda is
light and while being very customisable, the defaults work nicely.

If you go to internet cafes you can always just log into the cafe's
preinstalled software using the same logins as Miranda.

Miranda also bundles together several IM clients, like Jabber, AIM, ICQ and
MSN, so you can chat to your friends, no matter which network they use.
 
Conor said:
You'll get all kinds of suggestions such as Miranda, Trillian, GAIM etc
but IMO its complicating the issue by installing yet another program
you don't need. Also you're not going to be able to install these at
internet cafes
Click to expand...

By your logic, should you not be posting with OE?
 
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