AIM 6.0 beta is out

The new beta is now available for public consumption and testing (AIM screenname sign-in required). AIM 6.0 should replace AIM Triton 1.5 as AOL's consumer IM product sooner or later. It clocks in at around 7K memory usage siting in the system tray, and has easy access to AOL Video, Radio, and other services at the bottom of the app. I like the new UI of recent releases, and the new way collapsible grouping is done feels nice too. The new AIM client is good, but I will stick to Trillian and GAIM, only because all the services I use are available all in one place, nothing against AIM, Yahoo, or MSN Windows Live.

What I have to ask myself when I use a new client version is where is IM going in general? Every time someone puts out a new IM client version (like this version from AOL) there are "new" features, but a lot of the updates are just adding features the other services already have. Everyone does it, so who will revolutionize IM for everyone? Enterprise IM seems to be the new hotness, but I don't care about enterprise so much as consumer IM. I personally think IM could be a much bigger part of communicating today. I think IM still has lots of potential for the future. The integration of VoIP and video-calling has brought us a lot closer, but I don't that we are quite "there" yet.

(Disclosure: AOL is the parent company of Weblogs, inc.)

Tags: 6.0, AIM, AOL, beta, freeware, instant messenger, InstantMessenger, news, Triton