is a popular
Instant Messaging client for
Mac OS X that supports multiple
Protocol s through the
Libgaim Library . It is written using OS X's
Cocoa API , and it is released under the
Open Source GNU General Public License . Adium was originally created by a college student named Adam Iser, and the first version, 1.0, was released in
September 2001 .
The next version—originally slated to be called Adium 2.0, but then renamed to —is a complete rewrite of the code of the 1.x series. Its largest improvement was switching to libgaim to add support for
IM protocols other than
AIM ; supported protocols now include
ICQ ,
MSN Messenger ,
Yahoo! Messenger , and
Jabber . Most of the work on libgaim itself is done by the
Gaim team; the Adium team mostly works on the Adium X
Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Adium makes use of a
Plugin architecture; many of the program's essential features are actually provided by plugins. In addition, there is a built-in plugin that provides support for the rendering of
LaTeX math expressions during conversations. Other features in the newest version include support for file transfer, support for the
Growl notifications system, and support for encrypted messaging with the
OTR Library . Adium 0.88 was the first version compiled as a
Universal Binary , making it compatible with
Intel -based Macs.
The next major release is Adium X 1.0. The development can be followed at
Adium's trac page .
Adium X supports the following account types:
- Adium X — official website
- Adium Xtras — "Xtras" are interface customizations such as dock icons and contact list styles.
- Adium Forums — Official Adium Forums
