At long last, Google Talk supports offline messaging.
I don't really like the idea of having to enable chat logging in order to get offline messages, but I guess it's better than nothing. Speaking of which, the number of people on my GTalk contact list has actually increased (although it's still no match for my MSNM...err...WLM list). Either this means that GTalk is starting to pick up a bit of steam, or it just means that I've met more geeks during the last few months. Somehow, I think it's the latter. :P

Meanwhile, Windows Live Messenger raises the bar again with the latest v8.1 beta by adding support for roaming identities (among other things). This means that your display picture and personal message follow you when you sign in from different locations - a welcome change for me since I frequently switch between my desktop and Tablet PC. Now if we can get support for multiple sign-ins like GTalk, that'll be even better.

I'm also back on the AIM network since last week, thanks to the AIM Lite client. This is an official client from AOL that's meant to be a cleaner, leaner alternative to the regular app. I don't like the UI too much (it feels out of place), but a lightweight, basic client that allows me to send and receive messages to and from my AIM-loving buddies is just what I needed to get back on the network after having tried and disliked just about every third-party, multi-protocol IM client out there.