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AOL Trying To Unify AIM And ICQ Services

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-still-hate-instant-messaging dept.

Nerftoe writes: "CBS Marketwatch is reporting that AOL has been quietly integrating its AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ products. This would create a combined user base of about 146 million." That's a lotta people.

7 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Hey, ICQ can be fun by Amon+CMB · · Score: 5

    http://www.somethingawful.com/spam/
    - Amon CMB

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    Men believe what they want. - Caesar
  2. They're also "quietly" planning to charge for AIM by ShaunC · · Score: 4

    At least, so say the icons built into the latest Macintosh AIM client. There's a service icon for "AIM Pay" and "AIM Pay (Unused)."

    Shaun

    --
    Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  3. This might not be such a bad thing... by BMIComp · · Score: 5

    I, personally, like AOL's AIM client, and I don't really care much for ICQ. However, a minority of my friends like to use ICQ, and refuse to use AIM at all. So, in order to talk to all my friends, I have to run both AIM and ICQ. I feel that integrating AOL and ICQ will make it easier for most IM users to communicate.

  4. For Gods Sake Man! by child_of_mercy · · Score: 5

    As it is, the phone loves to ring at the most pessimal moments, like right after I get home from work and sit on the crapper.

    You go to the crapper just AFTER you get home from work?

    You mean you haven't discovered that few pleasures in the world to equal that of a long crap on company time?

    --
    'There is a Light that never goes out.'
  5. Re:Everybuddy by Erbo · · Score: 4
    You should; the assortment of Jabber clients is growing by leaps and bounds. There are now at least two Linux clients (Gabber, for GNOME people, and Jarl, written in Perl/Tk...plus I've heard about Pybber, a Python client, that's up-and-coming), two Windows clients (JabberIM and WinJab) with more being worked on, Java applet clients under development, a Macintosh client (Jabbernaut), and it goes on and on...

    But Jabber can do more than just instant messaging. We're actually demoing a little application that consists of an MP3 jukebox program and a separate remote control program, both written in Perl and logging into a Jabber server as clients. The remotes send messages to the jukebox indicating which songs they want played, and the jukebox sends back, in its "presence" message, information about what song's currently playing. And all done via the standard Jabber protocol, extended in a standard fashion, because it's XML. (We wanted to do a Jabber-controlled robot, but we only had four days to rig up a demo :-). )

    Check out Jabber.org, JabberCentral, and, of course, Jabber.com Inc.

    Eric
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    Be who you are...and be it in style!
  6. 146 million *users*, not people. by generic-man · · Score: 5

    AIM and ICQ names/numbers are quite disposable -- if you want to get someone out of your hair, just create a new account and tell all your friends to message you on it instead. I personally have one ICQ number and as many as 4 AIM names (I've only ever used 2, but the other 2 never expired). I have known people who used upwards of 20 names in their lifetimes, plus more that I didn't know about.

    Please, don't believe the hype surrounding the enormous user bases. Many people have an AIM and ICQ account specifically _because_ the two services aren't seamlessly integrated just yet.

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    For more information, click here.
  7. Re:I don't use AIM or ICQ by generic-man · · Score: 5

    Yeah, really. I hate it when people start to talk to me. It feels all icky and social. I'd prefer just to crawl into my little corner of the world, surrounded by blinking lights and little boxes that behave exactly as I tell them to.

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    For more information, click here.