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December 14, 2004 at 6:00 am #16469BigBlueBall NewsMember
Jeff Hester
December 14, 2004
ICQ is one of the oldest instant messaging programs out there, and is still very popular, especially internationally. Thankfully, parent company AOL has left the ICQ folks to continue their good work, and the ICQ 5 Beta is the latest evidence. I took a look at the ICQ 5 beta, and here are my initial impressions.It took me a few tries to complete the installation process. I use Norton Internet Security, and even though I permitted ICQ to go through the firewall, the installation simply vanished twice during the middle of setup. ICQ did put a “restart ICQ install” icon on my desktop, and as they say, the third time’s a charm. It finally went through.
I was asked if I wanted to install the ICQ toolbar with pop-up blocker, which I declined. I have enough toolbars and pop-up blockers already, thank you.
Upon startup, the initial interface is slightly modified from ICQ 4.0. There is a change in colors and more squared-off corners. Not a big deal, but I actually prefer it. Otherwise there were no apparent changes.
The default sounds haven’t changed. You still get the foghorn when you first sign-in, and the “uh-oh” when you receive a new IM. Didn’t these sounds reached the end of their entertaining lifespan about four or five years ago?
New Features
My favorite new feature is the ability to use the “Enter” key to send a message. Every other instant messenger program on the planet uses this method to send IMs and finally ICQ allows me to do this as well. As a nod to their existing, hard-core ICQ fans, the default hasn’t changed, so if you want to use the Enter key, you’ll have to edit your preferences.
The Push2Talk feature turns ICQ 5 into a walkie-talkie, using store-and-forward audio technology powered by Mobile Tornado. Audio packets are recorded and forwarded. If you’re familiar with the Nextel phones in the U.S., it’s the same sort of technology. Push2Talk is only available in ICQ 5, so both you and your friend need to be running ICQ 5 in order to use it. If someone is running ICQ 5, you’ll see a new speaker icon next to their name in your buddy list. Clicking the icon initiates a Push2Talk session.Buzz It looks like a tool for SPIM-ing (think Spam+IM) your contact list. It lets you send an IM to any or all of the contacts in your buddy list at once, even if they’re offline. I have one person who uses this feature on Yahoo a lot, and I finally had to block him because it became so annoying. I really dislike mass IMs, but I suppose there is a place for them (the gates of Hell comes to mind).
Also new is the Status Manager. This lets you create and save up to five custom status messages. You chose the status icon, a title and a description. It’s a fun way to personalize your status.
The new skins are a nice touch, although I haven’t had a chance to look under the hood and find out how you can create your own. By default you get three skin choices, ranging from the default skin which is slightly modified from ICQ 4, a dark skin, to a retro ICQ skin that is definitely “old school.”
Ready to check it out? The ICQ 5.0 Beta seems stable enough, although you should remember that with an beta software, there will be bugs. If you’d like to check it out, you can visit the Official ICQ 5 Beta website where you can get the download the beta and find some screenshots of some of the new features.
Once you’ve checked it out, be sure to join in the ICQ 5 Beta discussion in the BigBlueBall forums.
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