First of all you need to install the Off-the-Record Messaging plugin for Pidgin. To get started either use this direct link or download the installer from the official page via usual or signed link.

The next step requires that you have installed Pidgin. This guide asumes that you already have. When the download of OTR is completed, execute the downloaded file to install the plugin.

Like any windows installer installtion.

After installtion is complete, open Pidgin. Press Ctrl + U to open the plugin management window. Scroll down and click the Off-the-Record Messaging plugin to select it.

Then press the configure button at the bottom of the window. Off-the-Record dialogue will open.

One by one select your accounts in the drop down list and Generate a fingerprint for each of them. Check the Enable private messaging box. I recommend checking the automatically initiate box. Feel free to check other boxes as suits your needs. Close.

Done.

Why multi-protocol? The trivial argument for me to use an multi-protocol client is because it allows me to use all my IM accounts at once with one program. But why do I use multiple accounts then? First of all I havn’t been able to convince the whole world (or even all my friends) to unite using only one IM protocol. There are pros and cons with every protocol. Having many at hand one can use the one best fit for the situation. E.g. In a situation where one network is down one can simply use another.

But it’s not the official client! No it is not. Where’s the harm in that? What’s wrong with being able to configure the client how you like it? In my opinion you are in general allowed to configure more things in multi-protocol clients – more settings and plugins available. There are multi-protocol clients that require less resources compared to many of the official clients. So in short I’ve got a client without ads, consuming less memory and it’s tweakable. Also, it allows for me to be online with more than one account on the same protocol.

Why Pidgin and not any of the other multi-protocol clients? Because I don’t have a Mac. I can’t use Adium. My first multi-protocol client was Trillian. I used it for years. After that it was Miranda for a long time and now I’m using Pidgin. There are a few others I’ve tried but turned down too quickly to say I’ve really used them. As with everything else there are pros and cons with every client. The pros with Pidgin appeal much to me and there are no cons that bother me. Pidgin supports grouping buddies by owner, creating contacts. Privacy is supported. It runs smooth, looks good and I find it easy to use and configure.

Trying to describe why one should try Pidgin is like explaining what a picture looks like. I recommend that you have a look for yourself! And while you are at it, consider some plugins. Note that not all of the plugins are available for all platforms. There’s a drawback with Pidgin. Some of the plugins I want are only available for Windows, some are only available for Linux. Seems one can’t have it all at once.

Speaking of which – If anyone have been able to get Gfire (Gaim plugin that connects to the Xfire network) working with Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim) please let me know how. Either I’m having a dumb moment not being able to figure out how to get it working with 2.3.1 or the plugin only runs with older versions. It’s the only IM client I’ve got running besides Pidgin at the moment.

Want to use the official Google Talk program to connect to others? Here’s how:

Get Psi from here.

Connect to Google Talk using Psi by going here.

Add the following transports to Psi:
For MSN: njs.netlab.cz (use the MSN transport)
For AIM: njs.netlab.cz (use the AIM transport)
For Yahoo!: njs.netlab.cz (use the Yahoo! transport)
For ICQ: im.flosoft.biz (use the ICQ transport)

You can delete Psi, just don’t delete the transports and contacts.

Download the OFFICIAL Google Talk program from http://talk.google.com/.

You friends will be shown something like this:
usernamehere%hotmail.netlab.cz
usernamehere@aim.netlab.cz
usernamehere@yahoo.netlab.cz
usernamehere@icq.im.flosoft.biz

Happy chatting!

Gaim just went from Beta 1 to Beta 2 with this new release of the long waited for Gaim 2.0. Gaim supports a ton of protocols:

• ICQ
• IRC
• Jabber
• MSN
• Napster
• Novell GroupWise
• Oscar (“AIM/ICQ”)
• Lotus Sametime
• TOC
• Yahoo!
• Zephyr

We’ve been using 1.5.0 for a while, so we decided to see how 2.0 is. Here’s what we found:Voice: None. OK, this is bad. Right now, vv (Voice and Video) isn’t implemented into Gaim. There is good news for Linux users however, because two guys put together Gaim VV (No Longer Supported). You can also get Phone Gaim (but it never worked for me).
Video: None. OK, this is bad. Right now, vv (Voice and Video) isn’t implemented into Gaim. There is good news for Linux users however, because two guys put together Gaim VV (No Longer Supported).
File Transfer: Not tested.
Smileys: Great! It uses the smileys for each protocol (so you use Yahoo! smileys when talking to Y! users).
Games: None.
Interface: Good. We can live with the interface.
Bottom Line: How could you not like the new one? Because of no Skype support. Also because of the lack of VV. But that will change in 2.5. Meanwhile, why not get Skype?

Gaim 1.5.0 For Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Macintosh OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux
Gaim 2.0 Beta 2 For Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Macintosh OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux

Screenshot: