Messengers via internet

[Rowski]

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Which is better, AOL Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger? Does it matter which OS you have? I don't have an AOL account but they say AIM will work if you don't. Can MSN and AOL messengers "talk" to each other? Seems like the MSN has a few more features? Can it work from USA to other countries like Germany? Are these messengers practical?

Thanks!

 

[cstocks]

I don't know anything about MSN Messenger but I used AIM a few year ago. I don't know about now but you didn't used to have to have an AOL account to use it. During the same time period I started using ICQ and found it to be far superior to AIM. Of course your friends have to use ICQ as well for it to be of any use to you. I uninstalled AIM after getting ICQ set up... the difference was like day and night.

I don't know the answers to your other questions. Just thought I would point out an alternative to AIM and MSN Messenger.

 

[Inspector507]

AOL and MSN Messenger will work even if you don't subscribe to their service. And yes ICQ is superior to both of them in my opinion.
I have RoadRunner and their Instant Messenger is actually AOL in disguise.

 

[Rowski]

I have looked ICQ's web site quickly. What makes it a night and day difference?

Thanks

 

[cstocks]

Well, one thing I like better about ICQ is the chat setup. ICQ has live chat... in other words, the other persons words appear as they type them. There is no waiting for their last message to pop up. Also, if the other person minimizes his chat screen or looks at a web page while chatting a note tells you that they are "away." That kinda lets you know that they are there but busy doing something else on their computer. With AIM you wait until the other person sends their message and don't really know if they are still there or if they are just typing a long message. Also, you can do more with ICQ's chat screeen to personalize it while you are chatting.

ICQ just has a lot more features and lets you do more things than AIM. I am at work right now so I don't have the program to open and review for you. I would compare the difference between ICQ and AIM to that of a Volkswagon and a Cadillac. Really the best way for you to see which is best is try them both. That is assuming you know folks who use both so that you could actually use them.

 

[Bird]

I tried ICQ for a very brief time on the recommendation of a nephew (who happened to have been the only person I knew who had it). Personally I didn't care for it and dumped it. Then I tried AOL's AIM; liked it a little better, but eventually went to MSN Messenger and like it best; personal preferences I suppose.

Chat setup? One of the options that I've never used on MSN is "Go to chat rooms"; not sure what that does.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( With AIM you wait until the other person sends their message and don't really know if they are still there or if they are just typing a long message )</font>

With MSN, you don't get the message until the whole thing is sent, but it does have a line across the bottom of the window that tells you if the other person is currently typing a message.

 

[gator]

My wife and her family prefer ICQ, my kids prefer MSN Messenger, I don't use any. They all tried AIM and didn't like it. As far as one being able to interface with the other, I don't think they do. Go to DOWNLOAD.COM though and search for chat and you will find some that claim to work with the big 3, however read the user opinions then take them with a grain of salt. They tell you what operating system they work on. All the chat programs come loaded with adware and spyware, I guess thats the price to pay for the free software and use.

 

[cstocks]

Bird,

ICQ chat is not like being in a chat room. It would be like you and I talking except that we are on the computer and I am typing to you and you are typing to me and we can see each other's words as they are being typed. It is live and in living color, so to speak. ICQ gives you a split screen with one person on the top half and the other on the bottom half, and you can make the screen as big or as little as you want.

 

[cstocks]

It does seem like more and more free software these days comes with spyware, doesn't it? ICQ does display a small banner ad on messages but it is not overly intrusive and as far as I know there is no spyware connected with it. I run Ad-aware regularly and it has never picked up anything from ICQ. Of course I am no expert so if you know something that I don't know please tell me because I hate spyware.

 

[gator]

Chris,
Go to DOWNLOAD.COM and get Spybot Search and Destroy. It finds a ton of stuff Adaware doesn't and has updates alot more often. But be warned like it says though, if you delete the spyware and stuff it finds, some programs may quit working. To me its worth it, cause if its spying on me I don't want it! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif