Digsby Review

In my previous review of Digsby, I gave the independent instant messaging client some heat for surreptitiously exploiting the processing power of users' PCs for revenue-generating grid-computing activities. Digsby's makers have made participation contingent on opting in, removing my last objection what was otherwise already a great IM client. The new Digsby is a first-rate instant messaging client; it works with every major IM system (including Facebook), and it offers a top-notch social networking integration. It's my personal choice for IM (and that of several other enlightened PCMaggers, as well), and I think you ought to try it, too.

Buddy List
Digsby's buddy list is similar to that of other instant messaging clients: There's a narrow window with an availability setting at the top, grouped contact lists below that, and your service connections at the bottom. You can collapse, add, and delete any group, and you can reorder them with a mouse drag. As with AIM 7.3 (free, ), the Digsby buddy window snaps to the side of your screen when you drag it. It even goes beyond this by auto-hiding to give you more screen space for other windows. When you push the mouse to the side of the screen, the buddy list slides back out—slick!

There are several options available for customizing the buddy list's layout, such as formatting user names and choosing the location and size of the buddy image. Skins are available as downloads, but a feature for installing them isn't built into the app. You have to download and unzip them to a specific directory depending on your operating system.

When you hover the mouse over a contact, a card slides out showing status, a profile link, and options for IMing, SMSing, e-mailing, or sending files. You can order contacts by frequency of interactions to keep the people you keep in touch with most at the top. I'm surprised big clients like AIM 7.3 or Google Talk (free, ) don't offer this, as it makes a lot of sense.

Status options include the usual suspects (available, away, custom message, invisible,) but you can't sign in as invisible as you can in AIM 7.3, Windows Live Messenger (free, ), or Yahoo! Messenger 10 (free, ), or Google Talk; you can do so only after signing in. You can type a status update in the top text box that will be broadcast to your IM buddies and social networking friends. Like most clients these days (aside from Facebook IM), Digsby shows the name of the music track playing on your PC.

Get Social
You can add social network (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter) and e-mail boxes, each of which get a separate tray icon. Clicking on one of these opens a window containing the activity in those individual networks, and you can comment, update your status, or in the Facebook's case, "like" a Facebook post. It doesn't offer as much space for images as Windows Live Messenger's large social networking window, but I actually prefer the separate windows for Facebook and Twitter.

The social network and e-mail connections also notify you with a popup that shows the text of the update or subject if it's an e-mail (as well as a user photo). You can click on the small notification windows to open the email or social site. The interface actually adds one feature to Facebook that many have been clamoring for—a Dislike choice! This actually just adds a comment that says "Dislike!" to the Facebook post.

IM Conversation Windows
Digsby's IM windows are simpler than those of the big three. Instead of large user images, the images appear before each text entry. The top of the window offers options for buddy info, video, file sending, emailing, and SMS. A dropdown lets you view past chats, and the interface for this is among the best: you can select a date on a calendar to see what you discussed at a particular time. You'll also see the last five lines of history whenever you resume chatting with a buddy (you can turn this off in settings if you find it intrusive).

Conversation windows can be tabbed or separate. If you choose the tabbed interface, a message in one that doesn't have the focus will flash its tab. And you get all the usual text formatting—fonts, sizes, and colors. One little touch I prefer over Windows Live Messenger's tabs are that, in Digsby, you can shut any tab at any time by clicking its X—you don't even have to switch to it first.

If you're engaged in other activities and don't have Digsby open on your desktop, you'll see a notification at the bottom of the screen showing the text of the incoming IM, and you can respond right from the popup without ever opening a conversation window.

Video and Audio
For video and audio conversations, Digsby uses TokBox (free, ), a Flash-based web videoconferencing service. This has a couple of advantages: First, your target video conferencer doesn't have to be using the official client for the IM service, such is a requirement for AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. In fact, since TokBox is Web-based, they don't have to install any video chat software. This means your pal can be chatting using any service and still get video. Second, the TokBox interface lets you share YouTube videos, Flickr (free,) and Picasa (free, ) photos, and SlideShare PowerPoint presentations. I should note that the excellent Meebo (free, ), a Web-based IM client, also makes good use of TokBox.

Video and voice quality was quite acceptable with the TokBox-powered Digsby video chat, though it doesn't support HD (720x1280) quality visuals as Windows Live Messenger and Skype (free, ) do. The biggest factor is your internet connection speed. I do prefer video-chat interfaces that combine the IM and the video windows, like Windows Live Messenger does; in fact, if your contact is using the Web version of Digsby/TokBox, IM will be right below the video. Digsby lets you paste a TokBox video message, but Windows Live Messenger offers a more straightforward way to make and send a video message. AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger don't offer video message features.

Digsby unfortunately doesn't offer a mobile client or even a mobile Web version. For this I recommend Meebo, unless you want to drop five dollars for Trillian Astra's iPhone 4 app.

Will You Dig Digsby?
I do. Digsby is my main IM client, mostly because it can handle every IM system protocol out there—AIM, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, you name it. Only Meebo offers more services, but, as a web-based app, it's somewhat limited compared with Digsby. The big players offer two services at the most—Yahoo and Live talk to each other, while Gmail's chat can handle AIM as well as its own. Digsby also does a great job of keeping you abreast of your social network feed, with tray icons and dedicated windows for each service, in which you can update your status. Its voice and video capability using TokBox is functional, but I tend to use Windows Live Messenger or Skype for that.

True, with Digsby you lose a couple of frills found in the big software companies' apps like the animated wallpapers and social gaming features in Yahoo! Messenger 10 and Windows Live Messenger. But unlike those clients, Digsby works with every major IM system, and offers a cleaner, smarter interface, with the best social network integration. Digsby is the clear winner of our Editors' Choice for instant messaging clients.

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