Pidgin

The results are similar, but the trend obviously is shifting in our Best IM Client category. Pidgin takes the number one spot with a full half of your votes, while Skype barely squeaks out a second place win with 15%. Although its video chat is hard to beat, we think Skype lost some points due to its purchase by Microsoft. What does that new ownership mean for the future of Skype? No one knows for sure, but it has Linux users scrambling to find alternative video chat clients "just in case".