I always tend to rely on applications rather than things running in my web-browser.. It's to darn easy to accidentally closing the web-browser, or closing the wrong tab and how often doesn't the web-browser suddenly decide to go haywire and messing things up?
I find it much better and easier to have a dedicated application in my dock bouncing every time something important happens, instead of keeping track on what's going on in my web-browser all the time.
My main problem is the lack of competitive solutions combing an awesome integrations of all my different instant messaging needs. All my friends are on Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger.. Which requires me to have both the horrible Messenger for Mac v8.0.1 that's downright awful. Everything from the UI, to the preferences, to the video functionality is way worse than Live Messenger for Windows have ever been, it almost reminds me and behaves just as buggy and clunky as MSN Messenger 6.0 back in the days.
Not to mention than the Office Updater doesn't even update Messenger for Mac eventhough it's included with Office 2011 for Mac. You actually have to keep track on Microsofts site and manually download updates like with v8.0.1 that you wont receive without downloading yourself...
Secondly it doesn't integrate Facebook chat like it's Windows sibling, forcing me to run another application for all my Facebook chatting. I want one darn application for both, and still being capable of providing me with video-chat features etc.. But that's impossible! Did I mention that Microsoft have re-done their entire adding and deleting contacts system, rendering the one in Messenger for Mac 8.0.1 useless? So I get back all those deleted contacts that I got rid of with Live Messenger 2011 on my Windows machine? And if I try to either add or remove some one using Messenger for Mac 8.0.1 it either crashes or does nothing at all? I actually have to logon Live Messenger on a Windows machine in order to do this, which is insane.
I really wish alternatives like Adium, Meebo and Trillian could include video-chat and I would be in heaven!