Instant Messaging is a double-edged sword. In one sense, it's completely helpful for gossiping across the office without anyone noticing. It's also helpful to ask a quick question/ short conversation instead of sending an email. In fact, it's required that we use it in my workplace.
However, I (and many others) have multiple IM accounts: two personal, one work, etc. I just downloaded Zango to manage all of them at once. So far it looks like it's working. I've already noticed one minor pain: to add contacts you actually have to go into your individual accounts (msn, aim, etc.) and add them there. I haven't found a way to add them through Zango.
UPDATE: Ugh... pop-ups! I've uninstalled and will try the following suggestions.
I haven’t seen this one before, but if you want a good IM consolidation program without all the games and stuff (more bidness-like?) you might check out Trillian from Cerulean Studios (Douglas Adams fans, no doubt). I’ve been using it since college, and the price is right…
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/learn/
Might be at the meeting tonight, but in a drunken stupor I made a $1000 bet and now I’m on the wagon for a month…
in the middle of the summer…
and now I’m single…
WORST.
BET.
EVER.
I use Gaim. It consolidates most of the flavors of IM in one UI, and doesn’t have all the crap of AIM, and is open source. I like all of this.
Hmm… the link didn’t work, so here it is: http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Trillian is more robust and mature, not to mention it does the importing for you. Downside: notsomuch with the Mac’s.