Peter
One of the frustrating things about IM networks is that you can't really choose what networks your friends use and you can end up stuck with whatever they are using. Aside from not talking to your friends on IM, there's not a lot you can do other than grudgingly get an account on said service and bite the bullet.
It's certainly possible to use an excellent multi-protocol IM client such as Pidgin or Kopete, but if you're not a big IM user you might want something different that just does what it needs to do.
If your IM travels take you to the world of MSN/Windows Live Messenger, aMSN is one such client which is worth a look.
aMSN is a free open source MSN Messenger clone, with features such as:
- Display pictures
- Custom emoticons
- Multi-language support (around 40 languages currently supported)
- Webcam support
- Sign in to more than one account at once
- Full-speed File transfers
- Group support
- Normal, and animated emoticons with sounds
- Chat logs
- Timestamping
- Event alarms
- Conferencing support
- Tabbed chat windows
It runs on many different platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and FreeBSD and the source code is, of course, also available for download. It can be downloaded from here, or Linux users should check their package manager first.
