Community Newsletter: Q&A: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger?
- 3/2/06 6:50 PM
iChat?
by Awesomebase - 3/3/06 6:54 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
It never ceases to amaze me that legitimate contenders are excluded based on various subjective assumptions in the technology world, but are perfectly acceptable in, for example, the automotive world.
For instance, anybody that has used iChat on a mac with an iSight camera would no doubt see it as at least one of the best if not the best IM application. It is easy to use, you can video conference with multiple people at the same time, the video is clear and clean, the interface is absolutely fantastic and the features are very good quality. So, while this is not even mentioned (though one could argue that it has limited compatibility with AIM) because of whatever subjective assertions, in the automotive world, nobody seems to have a problem with naming a Maybach or Bentley or Ferrari the best vehicle even though, as a percentage, there are literally a factor of "hundreds of thousands" times less people able to consider those vehicles as a viable option. CNET, what's going on? There are 30 million active Mac OS X users... certainly that is a much bigger population than those able to buy a Maybach, Bentley, or Ferrari...
I would agree...
by swimdanceski13 - 3/3/06 7:06 AM In reply to: iChat? by AwesomebaseiChat may not be fancy, but for mac users, it does have the streamlined mac feel, and works just fine for instant messaging. It supports AIM, Jabber, and Bonjour. Even if you don't have an iSight camera or microphone, for mac users, I would recommend you take a look at iChat - much more user-friendly and less obtrusive than other applications.
Trillian
by wasnot - 3/3/06 7:08 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
Just get a screen name on the major ones then use Trillian to sign in. This way you use only one interface (less clutter and CPU usage) and you can communicate with almost all your friends and family no matter which one they use.
IM's
by guitarmaninks - 3/3/06 7:28 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
You gave an answer to a person that has never used any of the chat software available...she stated she was fairly new to all the online world.IN your answer you used jargon that I bet she does not understand.
There are many dangers in the chat world from hackers and spammers that can come right to your IM(instant message).On Yahoo for one when you are in a chat room there are so many automated programs or bots (short for robot) you can hardly talk to anyone while in there. Bots post links in light blue text in the room...if you click on them they will either take you to a site that is trying to get you to buy a porn service or in many cases will down load a virus to your system. These same bots send links right to your IM also. Yahoo and AOL both have report spam features and that is what you should click when you receive a link in an IM.
All the messenger services have a feature where you can have your IM's set so only people you know have the ability to contact you.
One of the newer features is the ability to drag and drop a file in an IM and send it to another person...this is great but if you don't know the other person never accept the file as it could be either a virus or maybe something you would rather not see. Another new and great feature is web cam service.....when you connect via cam that is a direct connect to your computer and people can send things to you that way also.
Basically being online regardless of what people say is just like being out in public and meeting someone for the first time...you don't invite them over to your house and ask them to house sit for you while you are out of town because they really seem nice. Get to know the people you meet online over time.
PITA from bots
by Jimmied - 3/3/06 7:42 AM In reply to: IM's by guitarmaninksYou used to be able to get a program called "die bot die",which cut out interruptions from bots considerably if not altoghether.I haven't used it in 3 years,but it's probably still around.
GoogleTalk
by russws - 3/3/06 7:32 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
Google talk is simply the best, no ads, now you don't even have to download a client because you can use the in-browser client when logged into GMail (the best email system).
However, AIM is the most widely used IM system (by a large margin) and should probably be the one pursued by most beginners, but I would suggest a non-AIM client like AIMutation.
The best is ....
by dejanira - 3/3/06 8:05 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
The best IM is he one that most of your friends use. That can be AIM, YIM, the microsoft IM, ICQ (which by the way is owned by AOL.)
I use YIM and ICQ though not at the same time...
BEST to you
AIM Triton?
by capatel81 - 3/3/06 8:16 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
Does anyone know if they fixed the bugs in that client yet? I'd like to use AIM Triton because it integrates Plaxo (if you don't have Plaxo, I highly recommend it to organize your contacts www.plaxo.com), but last two times I downloaded it, it still had a few bugs to fix.
Skype is extremely good too!
by vdicarmine - 3/3/06 8:19 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
The free Skype software is more known for its VOIP calls but its bundled IM software is also working fine.
It has all the bells and whistles of the other IM softwares and it has a huge network of users (more than 200 mil. downloads sofar).
It's most probably the prefered IM among the business users since, in a single package you can:
- call another SKYPE user for free
- call a "normal" phone number at very low prices and sound quality is pretty good (if you use a broadband connection like ADSL)
- send an instant message + send files (very important for business users: you can keep a record of messages sent and received)
Recently they also added video conferencing.
Why SKYPE has not been mentioned in your review ?
INSTANT MESSENGER
by kcj2par - 3/3/06 8:25 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
WELL....I'VE ALSO HAVE RECENTLY RETIRED AND HAVE JOINED THE INSTANT MESSAGE "AGE" I USE MSN MESSENGER BECAUSE I'VE FOUND THAT ITS PROVIDES ME WITH THE SMOOTHEST "VIDEO" (LOGITECH CAMERA 3000 PRO) CONFERENCE AND TEXT MESSAGING WITH MY BROTHER FROM TEXAS. ITS A GREAT WAY TO STAY IN TOUCH! I ALSO USE YAHOO MESSENGER IT ANOTHER GOOD PROVIDER FOR TEXT MESSAGEING BUT NOT A GREAT "VIDEO" CONFERENCE, SO I HAVE TO BEST OF TWO WORLDS!
I RUN WIN XP AND USE COMCAST BUT SWITCHING TO SBC YAHOO....NOW THAT I'M RETIRED "MONEY" HAS TO GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER SO THAT WHY THE SWITCH!
I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU IN YOUR QUEST TO HELP FILL THAT SPACE & TIME WARP THAT US RETIRE PEOPLE HAVE.
KC
LIVERMORE,CA
Multi-Network Chat, Skype
by compubruce - 3/3/06 8:30 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
Kasey gives rather short shrift to the multi network IM clients. However, from a pure chat standpoint they are (with some reservations) a near perfect solution. They allow you to track your friends regardless of which of the major networks they use. I use Trillian. I have handles on MSN, AIM and Yahoo. I primarily chat with AIM people but have friends and colleagues who only use MSN and Yahoo. With Trillian, I have one application that tracks all three. It can also give you a popup when e-mail arrives on any of the IM services' associated mail services. Since my primary IM client is AIM, I also keep the AOL/AIM software open simultaneously so if I need to do a voice or video chat or to transfer a file, it's easy. It's not as fancy in the Icon or font or picture department. But for a grown up such as the retired woman who posed the question, these are frills that appeal mostly to teenagers. Trillian basic is still free.
But Kasey hasn't mentioned (perhaps someone else did) what I consider to be the best of the best: Skype. The free Skype IM client lets you chat as easily as any of the others and without (for now) any of the annoying ads or pop-ups. You can simply add others to your chat without having to go into chat rooms. In addition, and this is Skype's primary focus, it has the best voice chat around that I've heard. Even with a dial up connection it's good, with broadband the quality exceeds standard telephones to any other PX, Mac, or Linux computer on the internet anywhere. And now (for PC only so far) they've added video conferencing. For small fees, you can call virtually any standard phone in the world, you can have a standard phone number that rings on your computer your callers can leave voicemails and you can forward your skype to your cell or other phone and on a cell conduct chat using SMS. Unfortunately, unlike AIM, there's no ''online'' client like ''AIM Express'' that enables you to use the chat on a public computer or a friend's machine without installing software.
Skype is mainly marketted as a VOICE-CHAT client
by kschang - 3/3/06 8:45 AM In reply to: Multi-Network Chat, Skype by compubruceWhile it shares many similarities with Instant Messaging clients, it's really aimmed at a different market.
skype
by bg3570 - 3/3/06 10:14 PM In reply to: Skype is mainly marketted as a VOICE-CHAT client by kschangIf this is mostly marketted as a voice-chat client, and I don't mean this lightly, why not just use the telephone?
granlov5
the best IM
by darkbreed - 3/3/06 8:37 AM In reply to: 3/3/06 What's the best instant messenger? by Marc Bennett
ICQ is still very nice client and for those folks like me who use multiple IM's, Trillian is the way to go, because you can run them all from one program.
The free version is very good, my only advice is to stay away from skins because they cause it open a lot slower.
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