wow ZS what a blast from the past (trillian) I used to really like that program, until I found yahoo best suited my needs.

Haven't tried google, aim - been ages since I used that. Msn is ok and good for sharing files or remote assistance, but I prefer yahoo because it will send messages when the person is offline. helps when you talk to friends in different time zones.

ps - remember the days when you had to backup your contact list or it was lost? argh!! Now the chat server hangs onto it (at least yahoo does)....reload software and voila, back in business.