[helpc] The new ICQ is better than ever...and available now!
- From: "Shaka( Rudy)" <strub.rudy@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <helpc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 21:45:50 +0100
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
In case you haven't heard, there's a new ICQ today. I've already
downloaded the new version of this instant-messaging tool and am using
it, and I must say I like what I see; the new version adds in some
much-appreciated new features and betters others that were already
pretty good to start with.
This release--the first big one in about a year from ICQ, an AOL
subsidiary--is an excellent showcase for what's happening in instant
messaging right now, especially on a global basis.
ICQ--pronounced "I Seek You" if you're not familiar with it--is the
pioneering instant-messaging network and the one to which the others are
usually compared. The company says there are 110 million users in its
member directory, although how many actually use the service each day is
harder to gauge. I'm betting there are about 30 million unique users,
but that's only a good guess.
THE NEW VERSION, downloadable beginning today at <http://www.icq.com>
www.icq.com, is called Version 2001b (the "b" is for "beta"). One of the
most important features is the new multilingual spell checker, a feature
sorely lacking in other IM clients.
I applaud this new edition wholeheartedly, as I can't tell you how many
times I've rewritten an entire IM just before hitting "send" because I
couldn't figure out how to spell one word. Even worse are the times when
I hit the "send" key and then--and only then--notice the mistake. Why
other IM clients don't have a spell checker, I have no idea, but I
suspect ICQ competitors will soon add the feature themselves.
ICQ is lagging, however, in tightly integrating videoconferencing into
its IM software. This is something Microsoft is touting as a key feature
of Windows XP instant messaging and something Yahoo has recently added
to its Messenger software as well.
ANOTHER KEY FEATURE of the new ICQ is the ability to send and receive
IMs over e-mail and via cellular-telephone SMS text messaging, as well
as through the traditional ICQ peer-to-peer Internet connection. The
wireless IM capability, which also extends to personal digital
assistants and pagers, is already well accepted in Europe and Asia,
where more than 1.5 million SMS messages are sent between ICQ and
SMS-enabled cellular devices each day.
While SMS hasn't caught on in this country, as wireless improves its
reach and more devices come online, ICQ is well positioned to take
advantage here as well. Of course, so are Microsoft, Yahoo, and even ICQ
parent AOL, all of which have wireless implementations of their own in
some stage of development or release.
Where ICQ really shines, however, is in how the company stresses
community and linking people, whether they already know one another or
not. Users can find people of similar interests using a new keyword
search in the ICQ White Pages user directory. The "find-a-friend"
feature, which looks for people you already know on the ICQ network, has
been improved as well, and the authorization process that allows users
to add you to their contact list has been simplified.
IN SHORT, it's easy to add people you know to your ICQ contact list, and
almost as easy to find new friends on the ICQ network.
While ICQ users have been able to transfer files for several years, the
new version lets you create a shared directory that is open to members
of your contact list. This makes it easy for them to download files you
make available to them. The only catch: They can only download from the
machine you are logged onto at the time. This constraint makes the
feature less useful to people who log on to ICQ from several different
machines over the course of the day or week, than those with a single PC
that's always on.
The look and feel of the ICQ client software has also been updated for
this release, mostly in cosmetic ways, though some of the reorganization
is intended to make ICQ's extensive privacy features easier to
understand and use.
A NEW TOOLS-ON-DEMAND FEATURE allows users to add or remove program
features without having to exit and reboot. This gives users more
control. For example, people who aren't interested in sending greeting
cards can make the feature simply disappear from their systems.
The new release improves upon ICQ's ability to work with the programs
you already own. Case in point: ICQ will look at your Outlook directory
and attempt to match the e-mail addresses it finds to ICQ users. If it
finds matches, ICQ populates the new user's contact list with the names
it found in the Outlook directory, rather than the sometimes cryptic ICQ
user names. For example, Bob Smith would appear in the contact list as
"Bob Smith," instead of BobEBaby or BSmith1928585--examples of typical
ICQ user names.
ICQ has been in business since 1996 and is based in Israel. The company
was purchased by AOL in 1998, a move seen as something of an end run
around Microsoft (or anyone else who might have bought the company--and
its huge user base). While AOL hasn't done much with ICQ (although I
understand it is a profitable business unit), I've been told the recent
AOL reorg will place more focus on the company as time goes on.
The last release didn't work well with--actually, it broke--my Outlook
XP. That's been fixed in this release and I haven't run into any
immediate gotchas. Since the software and service are free, upgrading to
the new 2001b version makes good sense.
--->>>
Shaka( Rudy)
HelPC list owner
shaka@xxxxxxxxx
-- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Listar --
-- Type: application/octet-stream
-- File: image001.gif
-- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Listar --
-- Type: application/octet-stream
-- File: image002.gif
-- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Listar --
-- Type: application/octet-stream
-- File: image003.gif
-- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Listar --
-- Type: application/octet-stream
-- File: image004.gif
Other related posts:
- » [helpc] The new ICQ is better than ever...and available now!
