Wired posts this article about the instant-message wars. Let me just say that this is exactly why I use Cerulean Studios Trillian and the open-source IM client Gaim (both Windows and Linux versions) to access all my IM accounts.

Advertising is annoying. AOL Today is annoying. In fact, anything that pops up without your consent in an IM client is annoying. Fine, so Trillian and Gaim don’t have all the bells and whistles, but I don’t care about flashy crap, I care about functionality, ease of use, and accessibility. Ironically, these two clients actually have much better functionality in some cases than their rival IM clients distributed by America Online, ICQ, Microsoft Network, and others. It depends on what you look for. All I want to do is talk to people. Screw the rest of it.