GAIM is an open source multi-protocol instant messenger, which means it can connect to different chat networks at once. Besides reducing the clutter of having several different messaging clients running at once, it also reduces memory usage a little bit. A single session of AIM on its official client runs at about 9MB, while GAIM only uses 10MB running AIM, MSN Messenger, IRC, and Jabber (Gtalk). This will review will cover the latest beta of GAIM 2.0, beta 4.

GAIM is very plain, both visually and options wise, presenting you the basic options you need. Although its simplicity is criticized, it makes GAIM painlessly easy to use. The preferences menu mainly changes chat features like logging, smileys, or idle time.

GAIM manages the various screen names you have through accounts. Adding accounts to GAIM is very easy. All you have to do is choose a network, add name and password, and add it. IRC and Jabber are slightly more difficult, requiring you to add the server and port you want to connect to. You can enable or disable accounts to log them off. When you have multiple accounts running, you need to specify which network you want to use when you’re trying to message someone or join a chat.

GAIM features tabbed chatting, as well as spell checking (optional at installation). The tabs work just like tabs on a browser. You can drag them, open them in their own window, and close them individually. If it is supported in the protocol you are using, GAIM also features text formatting such as underline, bold, italic, and colors.

To start a new instant message from within another chat, simply click Conversation and go to New Instant Message. Then choose the network and type in the name. To start a conversation from the buddy list, go to Buddies and then New Instant Message. I've found you can't join IRC channels this way, you need to go to the buddy list and go to Buddies and Join Chat, or type /join #channel from inside the IRC tab.

Plug-ins for GAIM can be compared to Firefox extensions, they add many features to GAIM not included with the default install. Since this is a beta of 2.0, not too many plug-ins are available yet. However, several plug-ins come packaged with GAIM itself that you might find useful. Third party plug-ins may add things like more protocols. You can download a plug-in to get X-Fire to work with GAIM, but it is not yet compatible with beta 4 yet.

GAIM supports dozens of protocols and many others with plug-ins.

Currently supported are