Miranda Instant Messenger
Miranda Instant Messenger is a multi-protocol messaging and chat client for the Windows operating system. What this means is that Miranda allows you to communicate over multiple networks at the same time through a single graphical interface. This keeps things standard and simple. Protocols that are supported include, but are not limited to: ICQ, MSN, Jabber, Google Talk, Tlen, IRC, Yahoo!, AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Netsend, VYChat and E-Mage. You just install the ones you want to use.
There are a number of interesting and useful plugins to extend the functionality of Miranda IM such as SMS, Email notification and weather conditions.
Why did I install Miranda at the office? We use Pegasus Mail as an inter-office email program for most things that need to be handled in the office – but sometimes you just need a quick answer – and email needs to be ignored while you are ‘working’ because you cannot stop what you are doing to see if the last email you received is urgent or another phone call to return when you are finished with the current client.
An Instant Messenger program solves this because if someone needs to a quick answer or an urgent answer – it can usually be handled quickly, and even without the client across your desk even knowing you are multi-tasking.
We also have multiple offices and Miranda allows us to communicate easily between the offices. Pegasus Mail does great for those questions that need to be researched but for a quick answer to a question Miranda saves picking up the phone and dialing long distance – just to find out the person has a client with them and will have to call you back.
In the office I have set up Miranda to use the VY Chat protocol – A serverless protocol that allows you to chat with other people on your LAN, and is compatible with Vypress Chat (but not required). Anyone in any of the offices can ‘chat’ with anyone else over our vpn (virtual private network). The ICQ and other plugins are not installed on the employee’s computers so we do not have to worry about unsolicited (or unauthorized) chat sessions.
At home (and on my office computer) the plugins for ICQ and AIM and Google Talk are installed – so I have the ability to ‘chat’ with others outside the office if needed.
Plugins I have Installed
- Database Editor++
- Lets you edit your miranda database
- Extended Idle System
- Provides the idle system with tow configurable state changes.
- Message Export
- Exports every message you receive to a text file
- Ping Protocol
- Allows you to add contacts whos status represents the results of an ICMP ping or TCP connect to a particular internet address. The result can be used to set the status of other protocols.
- VyChat 2.0
- A serverless protocol that allows you to chat with other people on your LAN, compatible with Vypress Chat.
- Multi Recipient available when used with SRAMMw
- Weather Protocol 3.5.0
- Retrieve weather information and display them on your contact list
- WeatherXML
- This Plugin adds Weather-Channel XML Support to the Weather Protocol
- Updater
- Will detect, download, and install updates for plugins and language packs on the Miranda File Listing that follow the standard rules.
Just updated my Miranda to the latest build and installed the tabbed message service and updater which checks to see any new versions of the plugins I use have been released.
Will update the list of plugins that I use.
Comment by Gary Paulson — November 17, 2005 @ 11:57 am
Hello, Thank you very much for your very clear description of your installation.
Miranda + VYChat : it works on my lan but not over the VPN. Any special setup?
Thanks in advance Olivier
Comment by Olivier — January 10, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Yes, for our VPN to work with miranda I had to add the IP address of each machine outside the local network to the “Broadcast Addresses” in the VYChat options, so I have 192.168.2.2 through 192.168.2.9 added, etc. in one office and 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.9 in the other.
Comment by YeOleImposter — January 11, 2008 @ 2:55 pm