IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is one of those methods of communication that dates back to the early days of when the world wide web was working its way to the mainstream. mIRC and to some extent PIRCH became the more popular client (stand alone program) based ways of using IRC and entering the many channels available on the many networks around the internet. Browser based means like java applets and to a lesser extent flash embeds achieved the same through browsers but sometimes made IRC use awkward.
AdiIRC is one of the more recent entrants but is at version 1.8 now and includes a feature that most IRC clients support only through add-ons or plugins. ‘Now Playing’ display of songs being listened through the likes of WinAmp has a been a mainstay of IRC and AdiIRC has that built-in. Additionally it supports SSL connections, DCC File Transfers, Logging, Tab key cycling, and many other commands and shortcuts to ease its use and expected by those who still call the many IRC networks home. A couple of more impressive additions worth mentioning are what is called ‘Easy Message Search’ where the user can right click in the channel window and search the conversation inline. The other addition is a google search which can be had through customizing the toolbar. After all this it is important to also mention that themes and plug-ins are supported but very few ready made ones are available as of this writing.
The only possible negative that may be attributed to AdiIRC is the .NET (2.0 and above) requirement but otherwise this is a very promising IRC client and very much worth a look.
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