I recently (yesterday) discovered the Trillian 5 beta for Windows. Immediately I noticed, from the tiny thumbnail of a screenshot, that it didn’t look like a pile of vomit splashed on my computer screen, amiss to previous Trillian outings. Okay maybe that is a little harsh, all I know is I hated Trillian.
For those not born on the internet, Trillian, much like Pidgin, Digsby, and Miranda, is a universal IM/social media client that allows you to connect with MSN, AIM, email, Facebook, and Twitter among many other services all from one application on your computer.
Why Trillian 5 is Good
- The GUI looks exceptional.
- The tonal audio is pleasing.
- It has Skype control.
- Multi-login – I can be logged into Trillian on my BlackBerry, iPod, laptop, and desktop at the same time. Every message can appear on every device.
- Customizable interface.
- No ads.
- Can dock contact list to edge of screen with drag and drop.
Why Trillian 5 isn’t Perfect
- If I am logged into several places, I receive “unread” messages on every single device, even if I read them on something else.
- The pop-out menus when hovering over contacts and mail feels a little clumsy and loads a little slow. Optimization could probably cure this.
- As far as I can tell, there isn’t an option to disable notifications from certain services.
- It would be nice to be able to bookmark specific locations in conversations.
- Lacking a video chat option for Live Messenger.
- The Skype client needs to run in the background for Trillian to support it. Also, video calls open up a Skype client window. Any Skype support at all is still pretty good.
Update: I’m not sure why really, but I switched back to using Digsby. Trillian didn’t feel right for me.