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For the Windows-using instant messaging addicts out there, the new free version of Trillian has been released at long last. I’ve been trying it out, and it’s quite an improvement over version 0.74.
Among other things, the new version finally supports Unicode, which is one of the biggest annoyances I had with the old version. I got so annoyed with the messages about users sending characters that I couldn’t display– with the new version, those seem to be gone for good. Plus, it means I can type fancy special characters like ♫ and ♥, not to mention the occasional word in 日本語 or Русский… (Interestingly enough, MSN Messenger and GAIM properly handle Unicode as well, but the official AIM client still can’t. Go figure!)
Now I’m just curious how the file transfers work, but to really evaluate that I’d have to try it with someone on another subnet… if file transferring is compatible with either GAIM or the official AIM client, though, I’m definitely recommending it.
There is one new feature I can’t stand– but it can easily be turned off. That would be the feature that creates hotlinks for any word with a corresponding Wikipedia entry. And the option to turn it off is Preferences → Message Windows → Underline words with encyclopedia entries in green. Some people might find this particular feature useful… me, I just find it annoying and clutter-inducing, and I’m glad it can be turned off.