Ultimately, Microsoft gave up, citing “security issues.” Microsoft fought back, patched MSN Messenger - and then AOL made another change. Then AOL changed AIM in a way that cut off MSN Messenger from the AIM network. The first version of upstart MSN Messenger interacted with AIM. Microsoft started MSN Messenger in 1999, back when AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) ruled the roost. It’s dirty-business-as-usual for the instant messaging market. The same thing happened for Messenger users when Microsoft made changes to it in October, 2003. Yahoo!, in particular, makes sudden changes in its system that cut Trillian off from Yahoo! Messenger users - a half-dozen times in 2003, and again in June, 2004. If the big instant messaging companies - Microsoft, AOL, or Yahoo! - don’t play fair, they can knock out Trillian for a while. The makers of Trillian don’t have other products to sell you. It doesn’t slam non-stop obnoxious advertising in your face. The Trillian folks aren’t trying to accumulate the world’s largest user database.

Trillian doesn’t constantly bug you about signing on, or signing up, for anything. You set things up once, you use one set of contacts, you learn one way of doing things, and Trillian does all the heavy lifting. It also works with ICQ and IRC (bonus points if you have ever heard of those pioneering instant messaging programs). It communicates with anyone who uses Windows Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. Weighing Trillian Against the Competition Trillian boasts four major advantages over Windows or MSN Messenger: The Pro version includes major upgrades and full technical support by e-mail for a year. And it won’t pester you to death with ads for Microsoft products. Trillian Basic is free for the downloading - and it sports no ads, no spy-ware, no scum. But if you have just a little bit of say-so in your instant messaging pursuits, you owe it to yourself to try Trillian. If you gotta have Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger, you gotta have ‘em. * Connecting to everyone, no matter which IM program they use * Using one instant messenger for all your needs

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