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Lesson 25 ICQ
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There are many IM programs to choose from, and you may have a favorite: AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk and others. But there's a lesser known Instant Messenger that comes packed with a nice interface, plenty of features and is easy to use. It's also got an adorable name: ICQ, which is the three letter version of saying
Like all the others, ICQ sports the typical IM client features such as a chat room window and file transfers, as well as a whole host of other goodies. One of the really cool things I enjoy about ICQ--it appears that the creators of ICQ took this feature out of the latest version of ICQ, which is a shame-- is the way it handles chat room communications. Usually, when one chats with their buddies in a chat room, the most common method of conversation goes something like this: someone types in something and they broadcast their message so that any one in the chat room can read it; the text they typed is sent to the other chat windows for any one to see after they've typed it in. ICQ (the old ICQ client, rather) does chat rooms a little bit differently. Instead of typing a line of text and hitting Send to shoot it on over, each key that you type is immediately transferred over, in real time. This makes for a more fulfilling chat experience, for you get to see what your buddies are typing exactly as they're typing it. Of course, if you're a slow typist or bad spelling, this type of chat could be a source of embarrassment, which is probably the reason why they took this cool chat feature out of the latest version of ICQ. If you're into eye candy and beautiful interfaces, you'll be happy to observe that ICQ is a fully skin-able IM program that can be tailored to dazzle your visual senses. Also, the newest version of ICQ includes a neat feature called "tZers", which allow you to send flash animations that'll put the standard, text-based smiley faces to shame. Voice chat is also easier than ever with ICQ. Have a microphone connected to your PC? Open up a whole new realm of chatting with ICQ's Voice Chat feature, which can easily be controlled within a standard IM window. All you need to use Voice Chat is a buddy with a PC, microphone and ICQ installed, and you're all set. ICQ also sports a fresh batch of emoticons--emotion icons--that'll convey and exemplify your emotions with humor and accuracy. Are you having a delightful conversation with one of your ICQ buddies? Let them know it by sending them a cute smiley face. Surprised at what your buddy just said? Shoot on over a polished face with eyes bulging and mouth agape to express surprise and puzzlement. Some of the emoticons look so slick and smooth, that you'd swear that they came straight out of Apple's OS X operating system. Webcams can be had for fairly cheap nowadays. With ICQ you'll be able to conduct video chat sessions with anyone on your contact book. Simply initiate a one-on-one video chat with one of your buddies on your contact book, and you'll be able to get a visual of who you're chatting with, in real time. ICQ Video Chat adds an exciting dimension to Instant Messaging. Want to quickly send one of your friends a text message to their mobile phone? ICQ has got you covered. SMS text messages can be sent from any ICQ client, directly to your recipient's cell phone. Unfortunately, this feature is only limited to selected countries that are listed on the official ICQ website.
When firing up ICQ for the first time, you'll be greeted with a Login window. If you don't already have an ICQ account, select the Get ICQ Number button and enter in your account details. ICQ uses a unique ID number to refer to your account; this feature is useful, as you can change your ICQ username anytime you want without having to notify your buddies on your contact book about your name change; they'll see your updated name instantly when they log onto the ICQ network. After you've created a new ICQ account, you'll be able to login. Go back to the login screen and type in your ICQ # or email and password. You may opt to select the Save password checkbox if you don't want to type it in each time you login to your ICQ account. Select Connect As will start the login. You'll hear a train whistle (you'll probably want to disable this sound effect; it can give your heart a wild jump if your PC's volume is set to high) while ICQ sets itself up. Upon first appearance, you'll notice that ICQ's interface is clean and smooth, conveying a sense of liquidity. You'll see the familiar contact book--you may or may not have buddies already on your address book--and a sidebar that protrudes from the left side of ICQ's main window. This sidebar places useful ICQ features at a convenient location. Glide your mouse's pointer over each icon inside of the sidebar to get a tooltip balloon describing each option's main purpose. Inside the sidebar, within the top ICQ features menu, select on the See All Features icon. The XTraz Center window will appear. Well, it's not really a standard window, per se; it's more of a skinned dialog box that's pretty to look at. From the XTraz Center you'll be able to quickly select exciting games to play at your leisure, like Jewel Quest and Flip Words.
Double tap on any of your buddy's names in your contact book to initiate a chat window. Everything here should be fairly straightforward. You'll notice that ICQ defaults to an annoying typewriter sound every time you peck a letter on the keyboard, but this sound effect can be disabled at your whim, thankfully. One of the cool things I like about ICQ is its ability to allow you to send messages to anyone on your contact book when they're offline. Usually, with most other IM programs, when you try to send a message to an offline buddy, you're warned that they're offline and that your message will be discarded. Not so with ICQ. When you send a message to an offline buddy, they'll receive it the next time they log back into their ICQ account. I usually do this when I'm too lazy to send them an email. ICQ makes things so easy in this respect. With so many IM clients out there to download, it can become a daunting task to choose one that's right for you. ICQ, in my opinion, mixes the right amount of visual aesthetics, ease of use, fun and useful features.
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