It seems all of the IM programs are finally realizing what users have known all along: There's just too many of them.
Apparently Microsoft has succeeded in getting Live Messenger 9 (currently in private testing) to communicate with Google Talk, and they are working on integration with AIM and ICQ also. Seeing as how Live Messenger 8 already talks with Yahoo Messenger, we could be getting very close to a polished, officially released, messenger hub.
You have to wonder what has taken so long for the companies to get with doing this. Trillian has been out for what seems like eons, and while it doesn't talk from one IM to the other, it at least combines everything to take up less memory. I for one am thrilled to see the IM programs finally working with one another as I'm tired of having all of them open every day!