google talk, yahoo messenger, jabber, and lotus notes sametime -- all on one client (pidgin)

About 4 years ago I discovered the magic of Instant messaging using a specific server (the jabber server) and any jabber compatible client.

Now I have discovered (courtesy a somewhat overdue OS upgrade on my work desktop, running Mandriva 2008 now) the magic of pidgin, a multi-protocol IM client that does everything that I could wish for. (Well it doesn't do voice and video chats, but that's a plus point in my book!)

I had written (back in 2003 or so) an article extolling the virtues of IM for a corporate environment. With a multi-protocol client available, I can now login to google talk, yahoo messenger, our departmental jabber client, as well as the company wide Lotus Notes Sametime network, all in one client! I'm logged into four networks using one client :-)

Of course, pidgin is available for windows also; in fact it's been called the firefox of IM clients :-) So you don't have to switch to Linux to use it.

What are you waiting for?