InstantBird: Just Add Water

Thumbs Down

It seems awfully harsh to give this fine piece of software a thumbs down, and perhaps it's undeserved.

InstantBird is a brand new instant messenger program.  It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, and pretty much anything, because it's open source.  It's making waves because it's "based on" Firefox, which you may have heard of.  It's also "based on" Pidgin, which is another program that does the same thing, and does it better.  And therein lies the problem.

If you run Windows, you already have Windows Live Messenger on your computer, and I'm pretty sure WLM also lets you connect to AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Instant Messenger now.  Another case of Microsoft handing you the software you want, pre-installed, so you don't have to use their competitors.  Mac users have iChat, which does the same thing, and is also compatible with AIM.  Google and Facebook both compete by having their instant messengers built into their web pages, so whenever you're using Gmail you can be chatting with your friends in real time, too.  With this plethora of easy, convenient, built-in IM options, why would anyone use anything else?

Because of convenience, that's why.  I've got a single program that handles AIM, YIM, WLM, Google Talk, and Facebook chat.  It also handles older protocols like IRC, ICQ, and MySpace chat (yes, that was a thing).  All in one place, and I don't have to keep web pages open.  It's quiet, unobtrusive, stays in the corner of my screen, and does exactly what I tell it, which is more than I can say for AIM, YIM, or WLM.  So, what is this wonderful program?  Well, there are several, and they're all good.

Meebo

Meebo is great because it's web-based.  That's super useful if you work at a place that doesn't want you installing things on your work computer.  It's also nice because you enter your info once, and you can log in wherever you are.  It has a pretty interface and handles all the chat protocols you use.  Oh yeah - it runs on your smartphone, too.  Pretty awesome.

Trillian

Another excellent contender, I haven't used Trillian in years because they don't have a Linux version, but I still have it in my Windows installation, for the rare times that I actually still use Windows.  (Not bloody often, and usually not long enough for me to log into instant messenger, but it happens.)  But Trillian does work on Mac, Windows, and your smartphone, and it looks like they have a web-based version too.

Pidgin

This is the king of IM.  It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.  It does plugins, some of which are very, very cool.  It has a slick, polished interface that is easy to use and feature-rich - the holy grail of programming.  Even better, it integrates with Ubuntu's new "messaging menu."  Even so, I have a big fat icon for it on the bottom of my screen, right next to my web browser.  I use this program every day.

Kopete

Back when I used KDE, Kopete was my IM program of choice.  Like Pidgin, it uses plugins, and in some ways it's well beyond Pidgin, including support for voice and video messaging, and text-to-speech.  I found a fantastic TTS library that made my computer sound like Natalie Portman.  (Yes, it got distracting.)  But it was only designed for Linux, and now that I use Gnome, KDE apps look a little clunky.  Also Kopete's interface had some problems of its own, so I jumped ship.

Empathy

Like Windows, Ubuntu has a built-in instant messenger.  It handles all your protocols, integrates with the "messaging menu," and is generally very nice.  The convenience of "you already have it" is hard to beat.  But I still install Pidgin.  Why?  Because it's more polished, and because it uses plugins, so there are some very cool features.  Kinda makes me wonder why Ubuntu doesn't just ship Pidgin as default.  Probably has something to do with their open source license.  <shrug>

So, What About InstantBird?

InstantBird seems to fit nicely into this list.  It's new, it uses the same software libraries as Pidgin, which means it's a great instant messenger, and it also uses the same software libraries as Firefox, which means it has a nice interface.  More than that, though, it also means it has very powerful support for extensions, plugins, and themes--just like Firefox.  To be sure, Kopete and Pidgin support plugins too, but not the way InstantBird does.  So what's the problem?

The problem is that it's too new.  The interface still needs some polish, and it doesn't integrate with my Ubuntu "messenger menu."  More importantly, those awesome plugins haven't been written yet.  They probably will - this program has received a lot of attention, and a lot of people already know how to write plugins for Firefox, so that's a huge advantage.  I'll probably come back to it in a year, and I expect to find a beautiful, robust app that does everything I want, and more.  But it's not there yet.

Bottom Line

Pidgin.  That's the one you want.  It works on every computer, no matter where you are, it's slick, polished, cool, and has great features.  InstantBird may one day be a contender in an already-crowded field, but it's not there yet.  Stay tuned.