Trillian Astra, an Alpha Product With a Lot to Look Forward To

By Andrew Min

My student friends all use Google Talk or AIM. One of my editors uses Windows Live Messenger. My church friends all use Skype. My gaming friends all use Xfire. Obviously, I can’t download all five clients and run them all at the same time. What’s the answer? Trillian Astra, the free multi-protocol instant messenger.

Note: Trillian Astra is still in heavy alpha, so many features are missing.

What the heck is Trillian Astra?

Trillian is a multi-protocol instant messenger. Unlike AIM or Yahoo! Messenger, which only let you chat with their own users, Trillian’s Basic version lets you chat with and call AIM, ICQ, Windows Live, Yahoo!, and IRC users all from the same messenger. Pro ($25) users can also connect to Jabber/Google Talk, Skype, Bonjour, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Sametime, GroupWise, and Xfire via plugins and get the ability to call them with your webcam. But Trillian has been long plagued with one major stopper: lack of support for any operating systems except Windows. Macintosh users have been forced over to Adium, while Linux users refuse to run Trillian through Wine and stick to open-source alternatives like Pidgin. But now, Trillian is working a new (invite-only) product called Trillian 4 (codenamed: Astra), which boasts mobile and iPhone versions, a new contact list, new skins, new messaging protocols (MySpaceIM, Google Talk, and Trillian’s own Astra protocol), better performance, a web version, and (most importantly) a Macintosh version, with a Linux version being considered.

Setting up Trillian Astra

Trillian is right now in closed alpha. In other words, you need an invitation from Cerulean Studios. You can sign up at http://trillian.im/signup.html, but be warned: it takes forever to get an invite. Once you do, you’ll receive a password and a link to the latest download. If you’re a Mac user, you also need to contact Cerulean Studios to get the OS X download link. Linux users don’t have a version right now, though they can use the web version. However, Linux users also shouldn’t be waiting on the edge of their seats for the Linux build to come out. First of all, Trillian has actually worked with the Pidgin developers, so they obviously aren’t huge competitors. Also, remember that most Linux users will only install open source software, while Trillian (and Trillian Astra) is closed-source and not likely to change any time soon. You’re probably better off installing Pidgin or its KDE counterpart, Kopete.

Once you install Trillian, you will be presented with a wizard to set up your accounts on other instant messaging protocols (called Connections). I have no idea how to set it up on OS X (not owning a Mac or having access to the Mac version of Astra), but I do know that Trillian Astra has a record of crashing on WINE. The web version is really easy to set up: just log in using your username and password.

Trillian Astra Windows: Definitely alpha, but very promising

There are two types of alpha. One is the version where it is called alpha but in reality very stable and includes basically all features. Trillian is the second kind. The kind that is unstable and buggy, just like the term “alpha” suggests. Anyway, you shouldn’t expect to make Trillian Astra your main instant messenger for now. Many features are missing, like the ability to use your microphone with any protocol except Astra, MSN, or Yahoo! and the ability to use your webcam with any protocol except Astra. Still, cool new features abound. My favorite is the widgets feature, which lets you run mini widgets in both the client and on your desktop. Right now, the widgets aren’t exactly useful (one widget simply displays a picture of a Wii, PS3, or XBox). However, if they open it up to third party developers, I guarantee that it will become a really useful feature.

Of course, the extra features mean nothing if the main program feature, connecting to multiple protocols, doesn’t work. I’m pleased to report that, just like in Trillian 3.1, Astra connected successfully to Astra (the Cerulean Studios’s protocol), AIM, Google Talk, MSN, and Yahoo (I didn’t try any others). The chatting worked fine as well, though as noted above the voice and video has not yet been implemented for anything besides Astra, MSN, and Yahoo!. So for you people people who like using all five senses, you probably will want to stick with Trillian 3.1. One odd thing I did notice was that at the top of every chat window, a news item (usually from the BBC or the Trillian blog) was displayed. And I can’t figure out how to get rid of it. They also have a privacy policy relating to it… but the scary thing is that it currently shows a 404. That isn’t very reassuring.

Trillian Astra Web: I sure hope this ain’t the final product

The web-based version of Astra was a real disappointment. It was really nice that Cerulean Studios made the decision to make the two clients very similar in look and feel. And there’s also a little OS X-like dock to make window management a piece of cake. But beyond changing the skin and adding a protocol (this option is additionally hidden away deep in a submenu), there is zero customization. You can’t even add a contact. And for now, there’s no widgets available in the online version. For now, the web version is not a stand-alone client but a web program tied to the desktop.

The verdict

If you use Trillian 3.1, you should certainly not switch over to Astra unless you like living on the bleeding edge (even then, you may want to reconsider). However, you can certainly be very excited about it. When Astra comes out, competitors will shake in their shoes and Trillian will begin to make up for lost time.

Platforms: Windows, OS X

Rating: None (alpha product)

• Homepage
• Astra homepage
• Invite sign up
• Cerulean Studios blog