IRC has long been one of the Internet's most popular pastimes, but it's never been as much fun to use as it is now. OrbitIRC is a new app that adds several unique elements to the standard fare of features found in most IRC clients. The result is an IRC experience that is more enjoyable than ever before. OrbitIRC's most unique attribute and one of its best selling points is the use of themes to give each IRC channel an individual look. The client offers several built-in themes that you can customize yourself; additionally, the OrbitIRC web site contains an extensive listing of themes in its Theme Gallery that you can download and use. For even more customization, there's also a Poster Gallery on the web site that allows you to add a background image to the menu pane on the left side of OrbitIRC's screen. The entire interface of OrbitIRC is clean and thoughtfully laid out, making for an efficient and intuitive use of space. Unlike most IRC clients, Orbit IRC uses an interface in which windows never hide other windows -- everything is open and accessible from the main window so that you spend less time managing the client and more time chatting. The client is easy to get up and running with and yet still offers a multitude of configuration options for the control freak in all of us. And for those of us who sometimes need a little extra help in getting started, OrbitIRC provides extensive help documentation in web format. The result is a more than competent client that will appeal to both novice and intermediate IRC users. Experts will be happy to know that OrbitIRC doesn't skimp when it comes to advanced features either. Public, private, and DCC chatting are all supported, as are object scripting, flood protection, auto-logging, and menu mod capabilities (for customizing the chat menu). The client also offers a file server for allowing users to download files from your computer, advanced sound customization for playing WAV and MID files during different events, DCC file transfers for sending and receiving files over IRC, automatic notification capabilities for alerting you when one of your friends joins or leaves an IRC channel, and real raw-protocol accessibility for those crazy enough to want to see the arcane IRC RFC1459 commands being exchanged between OrbitIRC and the IRC server. At only $9.95, OrbitIRC is an inexpensive client that excels at spicing up your IRC chatting experiences. Pros: Themes support, excellent customization capabilities, efficient and easy to use, inexpensive Cons: Lacks real-time audio chat and other advanced features found in clients like ViRC and mIRC For the latest information on OrbitIRC, check out: http://cws.internet.com/32irc.html#orbitirc apps conference Main Menu