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Some dude named Dennis has gotten coverage from TechTV and Fark.com for his utility DeadAIM.

He is asking $5 from users of AOL’s Instant Messenger Client who want a subset of the useful features long available at no charge to users of GAIM and Trillian.

This small scale story resonates with the condition of the Software Industry writ large. Computer consumers can never be informed enough about the software menu at their disposal. No number of PC World’s, Mac World’s or columns in local newspapers will change the situation.

This ignorance leaves users smeared into our current situation. Ironically, with several major, uninteroperable instant messaging systems vying for dominance the consumer is left with less choice.

True change best occurs at the level of the companies involved. But those most invested in the status quo and are often most opposed to change. AOL’s steadfast refusal to share while dominant lead to plays by Microsft and Yahoo! for Instant Messaging marketshare.

Government intervention and action by users could be alternative agents of change. So far government intervention has failed to fix anything. AOL was ordered to open their system to competitors and TOC, the all but useless protocol was the result. From the open source world has come Jabber which has made inroads in some corporate environments, but has so far failed to catch on with consumers.

The best hope for change in the instant messaging world is those applications like GAIM and Trillian. If more users knew of GAIM and Trillian’s ability to simultaneously operate within a variety of protocols then the protocols themselves become inconsequential. People will just talk, and the system will just work.

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