Buy Proteus for Instant Messaging

I'm a shareware leech.

For years I've used shareware for free, clinging parasitically to the backs of programmers who only wanted to fill a need without going through the whole rigamarole of releasing a commercial product. No longer. Proteus -- and a little dog named Hamish -- has inspired me to change my ways.

For instant messaging on OSX, Proteus is really the only way to go. Justin Wood's user interface is so elegant it looks like he's part of the development team behind Apple's iLife applications. In reality, he's developing Proteus alone while a student at Queens University in Canada.

Justin's quick release of version 3.03 to fix Yahoo's attempt at locking out third-party IM clients made the 15-buck registration fee especially worth it. But now I may never get to see again the world's best shareware nag screen: A picture of an adorable white dog with an empty food dish and the legend, "Hamish says please register." Maybe Justin can send me a screen shot of the nag screen, and I'll post it here.