Below is a review of ICQ
Mirabilis ICQ
One of the difficulties of the Internet is
that it can be difficult to find people you know and conduct chat or FTP
with them. Not only is it hard to know where your friends are, it is almost
impossible for most users to know exactly when people they want to communicate
with are online. Almost impossible, that is, until now.
With the introduction of ICQ (pronounced
I Seek You) all of this is at an end. Here is what the makers (Mirabilis)
have to say:
ICQ is a revolutionary, user-friendly Internet
tool that informs you who's online at any time and enables you to contact
them at will. No need to spend time searching for friends online, ICQ does
the searching for you, alerting you in real time when they log on.
With ICQ, you can chat, send messages, files
and URLs, play games, or just 'hang out' with your fellow users while still
surfing the Net.
It lets you choose the mode of communication
you wish to employ. Regardless of the application, be it chat, voice, white
board, data conferencing, file transfer or Internet games, ICQ will get
your entire message across in real time.
ICQ supports a wide variety of popular Internet
applications and serves as a Universal Platform from which you can launch
any peer-to-peer application (such as Microsoft NetMeeting or Netscape
CoolTalk).
It can also be used in a multiple-user mode,
so groups can conduct conferences or just 'hang out' online.
The program runs in the background, taking
up minimal memory and resources. While you work in other applications,
ICQ alerts you when friends and associates login, allowing you to work
efficiently while maintaining a wide range of Internet functions at your
fingertips. Among the functions available are: chat, message, e-mail, and
URL and file transfer.
All these functions are consolidated into
one easy-to-use program that integrates smoothly into desktop or laptop
systems.
How Does It Work
It's simple. When you install ICQ, the program
asks you to register at a server, which is connected to a broad network
of servers spanning the Internet. As the time of registration, you
receive a unique UIN (Universal Internet Number). In addition, ICQ gives
you the option of entering personal information along with your UIN. This
allows other ICQ users to recognize you when you logon.
Once you've registered, you can compile a
selected list of friends and associates. ICQ uses this list to find your
friends for you. Meanwhile, ICQ waits quietly in the background without
interrupting any other applications in use. As soon as you logon to the
Internet, ICQ automatically detects the Internet connection, announces
your presence to the Internet community and alerts you when friends sign
on or off.
Once you know who's on, all it takes is a
click of an icon to initiate chat, implement URL transfers, send messages,
exchange files, or launch any external peer-to-peer applications.
The ICQ Server Network
the ICQ technology is based on a proprietary
server and database network.
The ICQ network was designed as a global
solution for a large number of users. By routing all inter-user communications
as peer-to-peer, we take the load off the servers, enabling them to support
a huge number of users.
So, is this program any good? Well, yes
it is. I can recommend this product to anybody who wants to stay in close
contact with his or her online friends. If you would like ICQ on your machine,
simply head off to the Mirabilis download area at:
http://www.mirabilis.com/download/step-by-step.html
Review by: Mirabilis. |