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Instant
Messaging Services
Staying connected with
friends and family are a big reason that you got online in
the first place. VisionNet makes it easy for you to
exchange messages with the people you care about 24 hours a
day, regardless of what online service they use.
Below are links to the
biggest providers of instant messaging services and
descriptions of their services. All of the services
have their own advantages, but remember that they only work
with users that have the same software on their
computers. All of the services listed are completely
free to download and use.
AOL
Instant Messenger
works with AOL users and other users who have downloaded the
AOL's Instant Messenger program. It uses the same
Buddy List system that AOL uses. AOL Instant Messenger
is very popular among ex-AOL users who want to keep in touch
with their old AOL "buddies."
ICQ
is the original Internet messaging service. It has
hundreds of thousands of users all over the world. It
offers a wide variety of features, including file transfers,
video conferencing, a reminder service and more. It is
the tool of choice for technically savvy users, but
installation and setup can be daunting to
novices.
Yahoo!
Messenger is
increasing in popularity as an alternative to ICQ and AOL
Instant Messenger. It notifies the user when new mail
arrives in his/her free Yahoo!
Mail account, and
allows communication between other users of Yahoo!
Messenger.
Messenger
Microsoft
Messenger is the
new kid on the instant message block. Backed by
Microsoft, expect it to become more widespread. The
key advantage of MSN's product was supposed to be its
integration with AOL Instant Messenger, but Microsoft has
met with some resistance. MSN expects their product to
work with AOL users soon, but right now it does not. It does
allow users to check their free Hotmail
account without going to the Hotmail page.
Ok, so now I know about IM. What is Chat?
What do all those crazy Abbreviations mean?
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