I don't think Apple so much as dropped support for AIM as much as AIM dropped support for its more-open OSCAR protocol -- the same thing that apps like Pidgin u

I don't think Apple so much as dropped support for AIM as much as AIM dropped support for its more-open OSCAR protocol -- the same thing that apps like Pidgin used to connect to AIM. The trend is that the people running the IM services want control of the clients, and so they shut off outside access or create new services that never support open protocols (see also: Facebook Chat, Google Hangouts, Apple iMessage).