IM this, buddy.

The only reason I’ve ever really used IM clients has been for work; Trilogy was ICQ happy, Optimal used Lotus Sametime, and now Inphonic is AIM crazy. But ultimately I haven’t been a huge fan of any given IM client, mostly because they don’t let me talk to everyone I know. Email does.

I mean, look at how many different contacts I have to provide just to let you IM me:

• AIM: brettpeters
• ICQ: 28879101
• MSN: princebiff@hotmail.com
• Yahoo!: brett_peters

Madness, I tell you.

My requirements are pretty straightforward. I don’t give a flying fig about all the special whizbangs or interfaces. I want a contact list. I want to see their status. I want to click on their name and send them a message. (Okay, I do want a whizbang - encrypt the message.) I want to view a log of past chats. And I don’t want to have to know what the other person is using. I want it seamless, and I want it all in one client.

Unreasonable, you say? Nonsense. I recently made the acquaintance of a new player in the IM game, Trillian, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Here, at last, was what I was searching for. Interconnectivity between the five major protocols, and encryption to boot.

Take a look and give it a try.