Well, in short terms, Gaim is an application which enables you to
connect to friends and colleagues using the chat/instant messaging
protocols, such as MSN, ICQ, IRC and Yahoo, all in one program. The
protocols covered by Gaim at the present are:
MSN
ICQ
IRC
Yahoo
Jabber
Gadu-Gadu
Zephyr
Throughout these articles I wil talk about, MSN, ICQ, IRC and
Yahoo, based on a Windows platform.
And to quote the homepage of Gaim:
"Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Linux,
BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM (Oscar and TOC
protocols), ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, and
Zephyr networks.
Gaim users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM
networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with
friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo
Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same
time."
So as you see, Gaim can be a very useful program for you who use
any of these on a regular basis, I know I liked the
flexibility a lot. :)
How to acquire
Well, I'm using a Windows based version of Gaim, so this is how you
get Gaim for Windows. :) First you need to go to this page; http://gaim.sourceforge.net/win32/index.php
and download the latest version of Gaim for Windows.
Just read the latest build news, and I'm sure you can press the
right download link, however, you will need to press the link which
says "Windows build (v0.74)" if you're on the windows platform.
:) The download will start automatically, and your computer
will download it to your desired location.
How to install
Locate your Gaim install file (icon shown above) and
double-click it. You will now start the setup wizard as shown
below:
If you feel ready to proceed with the Gaim installation press the
button "Next".
Read the license and press the button "I agree" if you do so.
;)
For this step of the installation choose what components you wish
to have installed, note that you can add/edit those later.
Choose where your Gaim should be installed, for most of you this
will be C:\Program Files\Gaim.
If everything now is done correctly, you should get the window
shown above, press "Finish" to exit the setup program.
Unless something has gone completely wrong, you should now have a
new desktop icon looking like something like the icon above, press
it to start your Gaim program.
This is the first in a series of articles about Gaim, if you have
Gaim related topics you'd like to see covered here, let us
know. Comments on this article, thumbs up or flames, can be sent to
articles@nidelven-it.no.
