Slashdot Mirror
Trillian 3.0 Released
Octagon Most writes "Cerulean Studios has released Trillian Pro 3.0 which is still interacting with AIM, Yahoo, MSN instant messagers with impunity. It has a cool new Instant Lookup feature which links to Wikipedia, and a serverless messaging mode using Rendezvous. The free version is now Trillian Basic 3.0. Trillian is still Windows only, and if you don't like the FAQ response regarding Linux and Mac support let 'em know."
I switched to Win32 gAIM simply because I found everything about Trillian annoying as Hell. The interface felt too clunky and bloated with visuals (this was really a problem with multiple protocols). My situation is such that the network admin on campus has denied access to AIM and has provided no alternative. Initially, I would just install Trillian/Miranda/gAIM each time I logged in, but I found the installation process for each a bit tedious after logging in 2-3 times a day at different workstations.
When I bough a USB thumbdrive, I started putting all my essential apps such as FireFox on it so I could avoid reinstallation with each login. Trillian gave me some trouble with installation on a USB key (it wouldn't keep my profile data on the USB key nor would it make it apart of my Windows roaming profile), so I just finally completely migrated over to gAIM. It installed on my USB key without a hitch, has a cleaner interface, keeps logs of everything in my roaming profile and is easy to update. Even file transfer works for me now.
"You and your third dimension."
I really do love running Trillian on my windows platform, but I can't help but wonder if this story goes along with the rest of Slashdot type stuff. I mean, Trillian is:
* Windows only
* Not open source and probably never will be.
* Its pro version isn't free.
I was honestly surprised to see this on slashdot this morning. After all, there aren't many slashdot posts proclaiming excitement over new versions of SQL Server, right?
But it does have that "rebellious teen" flavor that slash geeks so enjoy. It's also saturday, and news is slow.
On the other hand, in line with your SQL remark, the OSS community does have it's sometimes problematic but often workable variant in Jabber.
Which brings us to my best guess why...
A) The submitter suggested (and linked) that we pressure them toward a multiplatform product.
B) Trillian does it's thing a fair bit better than anything the OSS community has been able to produce as of yet.
Because it looks better (subjective, yes) and I (and most of the rest of the world) don't run linux.
>I was honestly surprised to see this on slashdot this morning.
What part of "News for Nerds" translates into "News for OSS zealots?"
"Windows only"
And how is that an indication on how good the program is?
Seriously, what do you guys have against something that only works on Windows? Not every Windows developer is an MS clone.
And do you want me to start listing the number of Linux only projects that keep being featured on Slashdot?
"Not open source and probably never will be."
There is nothing wrong with closed source.
"Its pro version isn't free."
Oh, my! Paying for a product?! How blasphemous!
I love open source and free stuff. I use Linux both in the office and at home, and everything I run on it is free. But you'll never convince me that there is anything wrong with selling software for money, and keeping tight controls on the software (i.e. the license).
Most of the open source stuff on Linux is a copy of closed source stuff. Usually all that happens is that the open source free version just adds a few extra features to make it better. There are only a few freeware products out there that actually took the initiative and were innovative enough to take the lead.
Beetle B.
Sigh. Look, take a hint boys and girls. The FAQ entry for Mac and Linux support makes it abundantly clear that Trillian developers have NO interest in supporting anything but Windows, and by badgering them, you'll just make it even less likely.
I don't understand why it's so difficult for the OSS community to just get the point -- some people don't want to play in your sandbox. Yet, invariably, I see the constant calls to hassle developers because of the choice they've made. Sure, some of them may not be aware that non-Windows users have an interest in their product, but I will bet dollars to doughnuts that the vast majority just choose not to. Is it so hard to accept that not everyone wishes to adopt or assist in your cause?
If I were a Trillian developer, and my inbox was suddenly filled with the typical bizarre sense of entitlement found here at Slashdot, even after I had posted an absolutely clear disinterest in supporting Mac or Linux in my FAQ, I guarantee that your grandchildren would be in their cold graves before I'd ever produce a non-Windows version.
This Just In -- you can't make people comply by pissing them off.
-
Inventor of the term 'pardon my French'.
The "nerds" part
and if you don't like the FAQ response regarding Linux and Mac support let 'em know.
:D
Trillian Pro 2.0, for me, seemed to work quite well with WINE. It even emulated the system tray icon and put it in its own little window.
The only problem I ran into was because of Trillian's support for transparency. The skin I was using had rounded corners and for some reason, the transparent parts showed up black with WINE. It seems that one could easily change skins to one that doesn't have a ton of transparency and use it. However, even with the black transparent spots, Trillian was still completely usable.
Oh yes, because heaven forbids developers from ever wanting to make any money off their work.
Sheesh, you know, I love F/OSS, it is a great development model when it is done correctly. But sometimes, this whole sense of entitlement thing really turns people off to the whole movement. When zealots say things like "Oh, they're trying to SELL software, yuck!", the reactions of most people who live in the real world is: "So? Can't they make an honest living too?"
For the people who are not of the "warez" generation, there isn't much of a problem. The old free version of Trillian (it was v.0.74F last I checked, BTW) was more than enough for most users. Pro added some goodies, both with 1.0 and 2.0, but there are people who have paid for TPro, and never use the "extras". It's called honesty, people liked using the free version, and so reward the developers with a subscription. But this concept seems to be lost on those that find no problem with pirating thousands of dollars of software (read: developer time), let alone a measly $25/year subscription.
Trillian is nothing spectacular. Quite frankly I don't see why anyone would pay money for that program, with all the very good free-as-in-both-meanings IM clients that are already available on Windows.
Note to all Mac and Linux users: you're not missing much, so don't bother whining about not having ports.