Trillian. It is a multiprotocol instant messaging application for Windows, created by Cerulean Studios that can connect from a single client to multiple services such as AOL Instant Messenger , ICQ , Windows Live Messenger , Facebook , Yahoo! Messenger , IRC , Novell GroupWise Messenger, Bonjour (known as RendezVous), Jabber / XMPP , and Skype networks (the last four with the PRO version that allows additional plugins).
Summary
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- 1 Features
- 2 Appearance (Skins)
- 3 Plug-ins
- 4 Instant search
- 5 Version History
- 6 External links
features
Initially released in July of 2000 , being client IRC freeware , the first (Trillian Pro 1.0) commercial version was published in September 2002 . The creators have promised to continue with the support to keep the free version (Basic), but keeping the code closed.
The show is named after Trillian , a character in Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy .
Since version 3.0, Trillian uses multiple pages to reference user-written terms, using a function called “Instant Lookup”.
Trillian is extremely compatible, has its own environment (very comfortable and easy to use), is configurable through “skins”, supports the registration of input and output logs, use of emoticons and has its own icon system to differentiate each one of contacts that are connected.
Appearance (Skins)
Both the Trillian Basic and Pro versions make use of XML documents that define their appearance and behaviors through the SkinXML definition. Thus, the interface , the emoticons and the sound set can be varied . The various skins and games can be downloaded for free from their website, but they can also be developed by third parties. Thus, there is a community that develops appearances on deviantART .
Plug-ins
Trillian is a closed source application, but whose functionality can be extended thanks to plug-ins . The plug-ins created by Cerulean Studios include spell checker, weather forecast, email account control, Winamp integration , stock market monitoring, and RSS reader . In addition, the Pro version allows, through plug-ins, the connection with XMPP and Bonjour networks. Others have also developed various plug-ins, such as games (allowing to play chess or checkers , for sending NetBIOS messages , for using Lotus Sametime , for using Microsoft Exchange, for email control by both POP3 and IMAP protocols , or an automatic translator. There is also a Skype plug-in (only for instant messaging, not for VoIP ) that requires the prior installation of Skype on the system.
The plug-ins are freely available on the Trillian official website and the Trillian members plug-in forum, but work only with the Pro version of Trillian.
Instant search
Starting with version 3.0 in the basic and professional version, Trillian has made use of the English version of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia in real time (as of May 7, 2005), over 55200 articles. The feature is used directly within a window of a user’s conversation. When one or more words are entered (by any user), Trillian checks all the words against a database file and if found, the word appears with a green dotted line. When the user points their mouse over the word, the corresponding article is downloaded from Wikipedia and displayed on the screen. When the user clicks on the underlined word, they are given the option to visit the article online.
Version History
July 1, 2000
- Initial release, 0.50 of Trillian as IRC client.
August 11, 2000
- Version 0.52 with more capabilities for IRC.
November 29, 2000
Version 0.60 with support for AIM, ICQ and MSN. In addition to other improvements.
December 23, 2000
- Version 0.61. Includes support for Yahoo! Messenger.
December 5, 2001
- Version 0.70 released. First file transfer support.
December 18, 2001
- Version 0.71 released. As a top-of-the-line Instant Messaging client, it begins to enable message encryption.
September 10, 2002
- Version 0.74.
September 10, 2002
- Trillian Pro 1.0
December 9, 2003
- Trillian Pro 2.0
December 17, 2004
- Trillian Basic & Pro 3.0
February 24, 2005
- Trillian Basic & Pro 3.1
May 11, 2010
- Trillian 5.0.0.33: Connect to Messenger, Skype, Facebook, GMail and other services from a single program
