Trillian Astra beta invites easy to snag (multi-protocol IM client)
by Brad Linder Apr 9th 2009 at 1:00PM
Over the years, other applications joined the party, including Pidgin, Miranda, and Digsby. And Trillian sort of fell out of the limelight. Two and a half years ago the company began alpha testing its next generation instant messenger called Trillian Astra. But it's been locked away behind an invite-only wall ever since.
And this week Lifehacker noted that pretty much anyone who signs up for a beta invite is being sent one almost immediately. That means two things. First, if you want to check out Trillian Astra, you can likely do it now. Second, a public release is probably coming soon. I could be wrong on the latter point, but I don't think so.
The latest version of Trillian Astra adds support for social networking services including Facebook and Twitter as well as instant messaging services, which means it could give Digsby a run for its money. Right now only a Windows version of the chat client is available, but OS X and iPhone versions are in the works as well. If you sign up for a beta invite, you may get a notice one of these days letting you know that those versions are available for download.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KeegdnaB said 1:35PM on 4-09-2009
I switched from Trillian to Pidgin because I was too lazy to bother err..."acquiriing" the pro version, but Pidgin has been running like a dog lately so we'll see how well this runs
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chrisaroz said 1:41PM on 4-09-2009
I've used Trillian for YEARS, even did the alpha of Astra. Once I found Digsby though it was all over. Trillian will have a hard time catching up, both in usability and astethics.
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richard.gailey said 1:48PM on 4-09-2009
Haven't used Trillian for years so giving it a shot.
When you first run the installer, remember to watch out for the usual, 'bloatware' check boxes.
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Syythlord said 1:48PM on 4-09-2009
Have been using Trillian for about 5 years and it's always been a great platform for my Windows PC's. I'm looking forward to trying this out. Just got my key a few minutes ago. It took less than 5 minutes from the submission time.
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johnwokc said 2:07PM on 4-09-2009
I just wish Miranda would add facebook support, then I'd be complete. All the others are bloatware.
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Bill Minton said 2:31PM on 4-09-2009
I zipped my Trillian folder (in program files) before the install, and I'm glad I did. I use SimpLite for encrypting my conversations, and it doesn't appear to work w/Astra. I was able to roll back though (via the .zip file) and all seems to be working well again.
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Paul said 2:32PM on 4-09-2009
Was a long time user of Trillian Pro but after a very long wait for Astra switched to Pidgin. I installed the beta of Astra and am not impressed. So far Pidgin has more features and for me better customization. I also like the fact I can run Pidgin on LInux as well. I would say the only thing I like better in Astra in the skins.
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Havers said 11:11PM on 4-09-2009
What's the word on system resources use for this new version?? Trillian was the favorite, as it was one of the first ones to do this, but Pidgin has surpassed. I'm rooting for Astra, but I'd like to know if it's heavy on system resources before I use it.
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lolek said 4:36PM on 4-09-2009
10 Mb max..
Ntw1103 said 9:48PM on 4-09-2009
I have been using trillian since it first came out. yes, including the alpha and other beta builds.
system resources: 27,964K (this is normal, also it has been running for a couple days.)
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Tech-Mike said 8:00AM on 4-10-2009
"pretty much anyone who signs up for a beta invite is being sent one almost immediately. That means two things. First, if you want to check out Trillian Astra, you can likely do it now."
Ive tried signing up about 3-5 times now and have not once gotten a response...not even in spam. Ive been using trillian for a LONG time now and love it, even tested the torrented versions of astra...If anybody has any luck in signing up - please send an invite my way:
Tech-Mike@gmx.com
http://tech-mike.no-ip.org
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Jash Sayani said 8:00AM on 4-10-2009
Having issues while creating a new account in Windows 7.....
Anyone facing this issue ??
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mgthantzin said 8:48AM on 4-12-2009
what is good about this over some other alternatives like pidgin, digsby?
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Tech-Mike said 2:39AM on 4-12-2009
Heres a screenshot of one reason I like Trillian.
http://www.boxshots.org/screenies/5100.jpg
Using a plugin with Trillian Pro (upper right of screenshot).
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Fatal Fury said 2:57PM on 4-12-2009
I got my invite immediately after I submitted the form. It looks like it's just an auto-responder at this point.
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Bond said 3:05PM on 4-12-2009
@Tech-Mike: Check your email.
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Tech-Mike said 3:27PM on 4-12-2009
Bond : I did, I had tried signing up 3-5 times over the last several months and NEVER received anything from Trillian...
Fatal Fury : Thank you !!
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Tech-Mike said 7:35AM on 4-14-2009
Well, now that I have it....Im not too impressed, first - it didnt play nice with my ESL plugin (Enhanced Skinning Library) which is shown in my previous posts screenshot link, crashed until removed. Second, I keep readn that it comes with 30 day trial of Pro features, which I read somewhere that the default skin was included in that and unavailable after the trial...I cant confirm that as of yet but also read something about the message history not being "full"...again, not too impressed and if after the 30 days I still dont like it - this long time trillian user will be goin digsby.
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