12 of the Best Free Linux Instant Messaging Clients
Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication
between two or more individuals based on typed text. The text is
conveyed via
devices connected over a network such as the Internet.
There are a number of different instant messaging protocols
which are used by the major networks. The primary ones are XMPP (used
by Google Talk, Jabber etc), AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), ICQ, Yahoo!
Messenger, Windows Live Messenger (formerly called MSN Messenger),
and the venerable Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
The IM clients featured in this article either
cater for as many different networks as possible, or focus on a small
subset.
Skype has revolutionised the communications world with its
supreme internet telephony / instant messaging / videoconferencing
functionality. Unfortunately, Skype could not be featured in the
list below as it is released under a proprietary license. Another
proprietary instant messaging application that is worthy of a plug is
Digsby. There is a native Linux version coming soon which will
definitely be
worth checking out!
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is
available, we have compiled a list of 12 high quality
free Linux IM clients. Hopefully, there will be
something of interest here for anyone who wants to converse with
others.
Now, let's explore the 12 IM clients at hand. For
each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description
with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshot, together with
links to relevant resources and reviews.
Instant Messaging Software |
Pidgin |
Graphical multi-protocol instant messaging client |
Kopete |
Advanced
multi-protocol instant messaging and chat application |
Psi |
Multi-platform
and standards-based instant messaging client |
Jabbim |
Client
for the Jabber/XMPP protocol using the PyQt
toolkit |
Gajim |
Client for the Jabber/XMPP protocol using the GTK+
toolkit |
Empathy |
High-level
library and user-interface for Telepathy |
BitlBee |
An
IRC to other chat networks gateway |
Gyache
Improved |
Client
for the Yahoo! Messenger protocol |
Emesene |
MSN
Messenger client |
aMSN |
MSN
messenger written in Tcl |
Mercury
Messenger |
Java MSN Messenger client |
KMess |
KDE
MSN Messenger |
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Last Updated Sunday, July 26 2015 @ 04:25 AM EDT |