More ambitious than DeadAIM, Extreme Messenger 1.6.1 (AIM) (free for 15 days, then $12.95) gives you more control over AIM. It adds skins to IM windows, lets you give your buddies nicknames (which appear on tabs in the IM window), and, while the IM window is not in the foreground, even pops up ephemeral windows showing the text of any messages you sent. You can also set alert words; if you receive an IM containing an alert word, a window pops up.