AIM offers one of the IM industry’s most extensive libraries of plugins and added features, but some are better than others. Here are my picks for the five best plugins for your IM experience in the new AIM 6.8:
- AOL Radio does exactly what you might think: offers access to Internet radio stations. In fact, over 200 of them are available for your listening pleasure. Grab your headphones, start up AIM and get ready to listen to a great playlist of music while your IM with your friends.
- Vivaty is AIM’s answer to IMVU and other virtual chat IMs available on the Internet. For users delighted by asthetics, use this plugin to chat with other Buddies in a 3-D environment that would even make “The Sims” jealous. However, be forewarned, this one will require at least Windows XP and 1 GB Ram space on your hard drive.
- Phonevite is a great tool to reach out to friends on their cell phones while you are online. While it is marketed as a way to send voice message greetings via IM to other’s cell phones as a means to invite them places, I can see many uses for this tool. Download it and try it out immediately for free.
- Feedreader for AIM is a great way to organize all your favorite blogs and news feeds in one central place. This is especially helpful for anybody who likes to keep up to date with a number of different news sources at once.
- QQ Games is one of the oldest but best plugins for AIM, as it allows users to challenge their friends to a number of online games head-to-head. Get ready for some fast and furious gaming action—all on AIM!
