My OperaSoftware Review - Miranda IM
Thursday, December 20, 2007 5:23:13 PM
As Opera users, we have found an alternative to a mainstream browser. This could be for a number of reasons. The most likely one, I think, being that another browser didn't do things we wanted it to, or, even worse, did things we didn't want them to. I definitely ditched Internet Explorer for the latter reason, but more on this another time. This situation is the same in all kinds of software. Users choose what software they want based on what they want to achieve with it, and change their choices due to concerns, issues or problems which arise from using it. I'm going to put forward my views on the software I chose and why I use it.
Every week, I'm going to try and review a piece of software that I use regularly. Firstly I'll explain why I need this kind of software and what features I would like it to have. I'll also give a quick background on other programs that perform the same job and why I chose the program over the others. Then I'll give a basic tutorial on using it and setting it up, and finally say what I think it could do better.
Miranda IM is a multi-protocol instant messaging client. It can connect to a large number of protocols, most of which I've never even heard of, and can perform most features in each protocol as well as basic messaging and buddy lists. The protocols I use are MSN, AIM and ICQ, but MSN is the protocol that most of my friends use. My main goal is to have a program which contains all of the features of Windows Live Messenger, but none of the tremendous bloat, especially on the latest build which took up something stupid like 80mb of memory with no chat windows open. I have plenty of RAM, but that's ridiculous. I also don't understand why Microsoft haven't introduced tabs into Live Messenger yet. With more than two or three windows open, it becomes almost impossible to keep track of your conversations. There are other alternatives out there, I tried Trillian which seems too heavy on resources and lacking in certain features that I would like. I also tried Pidgin which has a well thought out user interface but again it lacks features like personal messages.
If you're a KDE user, Kopete is an instant messenger which includes pretty much every MSN feature including webcam and microphone support, and it integrates automatically with AmaroK and Kaffeine to alter your personal message to include your now playing. Very handy.
For MSN, the base package of Miranda includes support for sending and recieving messages in plain text, display pictures (sort of), and your contact list, display name and personal message which you can create or they can be downloaded from the MSN server. This doesn't sound like a lot, and it isn't. To start with, this is a very sparse instant messenger. However, the beauty of Miranda is that you can expand it by adding plugins which can be downloaded from the site. It's pretty difficult for the average user to do this, so I'll list the plugins I started off with:
These should all come straight up if you type them in the search box at http://addons.miranda-im.org/. I will post a link to a zip file with my build of Miranda ready to go soon, I just want to get it right first! If you downloaded the Unicode version of Miranda (2000/XP/Vista), make sure you download the Unicode versions of the plugins. The opposite applies if you downloaded the ANSI build (9x/ME). This should get it going with pretty good functionality, although you will have to activate the plugins and restart the program first. You can then skin the contact list and the tabSRMM message window, which makes the program a lot more pleasant on the eye.
This is how I have my Miranda set up at the moment, and I must say I'm impressed. The best thing about Miranda is its low use of resources. Right now it's using 2mb of my physical memory, an unnoticeable amount on my system which has 2gb of RAM. This could well be a godsend for people who are running older PCs. One thing I hate is bloated programs, and it seems that some software vendors want to slow down our PCs as quickly as hardware manufacturers are making them faster, which is unacceptable.
I would like webcam and microphone support, better support for custom emoticons and smileys, and an easier way to configure the user interface, maybe a plugin which manages the contact list and the message window in one, but I'm happy to live without it as this is one seriously lightweight program, allowing me to not worry about it while I have other programs running.
This is in no way a program which someone without a fair bit of competence in computing could set up and use how they wanted it. If you just want to install and go, I would not recommend this software. However, if you're sick of using MSN but need to keep using the protocol because all your friends use it like in my case, and have a bit of time to spend setting it up and customizing it, the results will be rewarding.
**** out of 5
Every week, I'm going to try and review a piece of software that I use regularly. Firstly I'll explain why I need this kind of software and what features I would like it to have. I'll also give a quick background on other programs that perform the same job and why I chose the program over the others. Then I'll give a basic tutorial on using it and setting it up, and finally say what I think it could do better.
Miranda IM is a multi-protocol instant messaging client. It can connect to a large number of protocols, most of which I've never even heard of, and can perform most features in each protocol as well as basic messaging and buddy lists. The protocols I use are MSN, AIM and ICQ, but MSN is the protocol that most of my friends use. My main goal is to have a program which contains all of the features of Windows Live Messenger, but none of the tremendous bloat, especially on the latest build which took up something stupid like 80mb of memory with no chat windows open. I have plenty of RAM, but that's ridiculous. I also don't understand why Microsoft haven't introduced tabs into Live Messenger yet. With more than two or three windows open, it becomes almost impossible to keep track of your conversations. There are other alternatives out there, I tried Trillian which seems too heavy on resources and lacking in certain features that I would like. I also tried Pidgin which has a well thought out user interface but again it lacks features like personal messages.
If you're a KDE user, Kopete is an instant messenger which includes pretty much every MSN feature including webcam and microphone support, and it integrates automatically with AmaroK and Kaffeine to alter your personal message to include your now playing. Very handy.
For MSN, the base package of Miranda includes support for sending and recieving messages in plain text, display pictures (sort of), and your contact list, display name and personal message which you can create or they can be downloaded from the MSN server. This doesn't sound like a lot, and it isn't. To start with, this is a very sparse instant messenger. However, the beauty of Miranda is that you can expand it by adding plugins which can be downloaded from the site. It's pretty difficult for the average user to do this, so I'll list the plugins I started off with:
- tabSRMM Unicode 2.0
- CList Nicer+
- Avatar Service
- Tooltip Info
- Popup Plus 2.1.0.5
- SmileyAdd Unicode
- History++ (2in1)
These should all come straight up if you type them in the search box at http://addons.miranda-im.org/. I will post a link to a zip file with my build of Miranda ready to go soon, I just want to get it right first! If you downloaded the Unicode version of Miranda (2000/XP/Vista), make sure you download the Unicode versions of the plugins. The opposite applies if you downloaded the ANSI build (9x/ME). This should get it going with pretty good functionality, although you will have to activate the plugins and restart the program first. You can then skin the contact list and the tabSRMM message window, which makes the program a lot more pleasant on the eye.
This is how I have my Miranda set up at the moment, and I must say I'm impressed. The best thing about Miranda is its low use of resources. Right now it's using 2mb of my physical memory, an unnoticeable amount on my system which has 2gb of RAM. This could well be a godsend for people who are running older PCs. One thing I hate is bloated programs, and it seems that some software vendors want to slow down our PCs as quickly as hardware manufacturers are making them faster, which is unacceptable.
I would like webcam and microphone support, better support for custom emoticons and smileys, and an easier way to configure the user interface, maybe a plugin which manages the contact list and the message window in one, but I'm happy to live without it as this is one seriously lightweight program, allowing me to not worry about it while I have other programs running.
This is in no way a program which someone without a fair bit of competence in computing could set up and use how they wanted it. If you just want to install and go, I would not recommend this software. However, if you're sick of using MSN but need to keep using the protocol because all your friends use it like in my case, and have a bit of time to spend setting it up and customizing it, the results will be rewarding.
**** out of 5
