Its all about priorities!. Review on Choosing a Chat Software

'Chatting is indispensable', says a fifteen-year-old munching on a Mars bar as she attends five cyber-friends with equal enthusiasm.

'So is the clogging of disk-space and the nagging perverts', I join in, putting down an incontrovertible statement.

So alright, you can't sleep at night without saying good night to all the people on your list. You talk in LOL's and smiley faces. You thrive on Wazzup's and Wanna talk's. Great! You're the perfect victim for my crime. The crime of writing this advice.

I am going to skip the basic introduction of how chatting has influenced our bored lives - for the betterment of both you and me. So up, close and personal with the choice of the'perfect' or'not-so-perfect' chatting client:

ICQ

I must give ICQ the credit for actually changing our lives - no puns intended. The very first chatting client that revolutionalized the very idea of being online. So, of course, how long can you remain the king, eh? ICQ enjoyed its fame for long enough. The main features worth mentioning are the satisfactory interface, the moderate speed to send and receive messages and a good huge record of the history. All of these can be pro's and con's in their own sense.

ICQ can be disgusted for quite a few reasons - mainly the  disk space it tends to clog, troubles of restoring data during re-installation and the continuous ramble from nagging perverts - if you know what I mean!

The one option I really value is the idea of being'Invisible' each time you logon.

So although ICQ did rule the world in its time, move over flower-faced maniac, we have better options to consider!

MSN Messenger

MSN rules - in its true sense. No history-keeping. No reinstallation messes. No upgradations check. Its like a breeze. Even for a novice, MSN is the best thing that could happen. It has a very easy-to-use interface and an efficient messaging system.

Of course, to get some, you just hafta loose some. You cannot get the always-invisible option. Nor can you check up an important number you got from someone minutes ago, since you accidently shut close the window. And the display is barely customizable.

However, MSN barely ever disappoints you, because the'block' option works just as well! The idea of having a contact list online without having to worry about it is just great. As far as my experience with MSN goes, it only lets people I want talk to me. I dont get nagging perverts out here - whew!

Yahoo! Messenger

So alright, Yahoo! is just like MSN. Only, with a history option(again, a pro/con according to you) and a whole new idea of IMvironments. For those of you who like to talk in style, IMvironments is a pretty cool idea.

Yahoo! tends to leave you bored as it takes ages loading and then gives numerous popups before you actually see a familiar list. The interface and design are alright, kinda tired with the stress on smiley faces.

The major issue with Yahoo and MSN is that they only accept their users, no externals, which of course, is not the concern with ICQ.

These three aside, there are other options like AOL and Rediff Bol, however I don't know as much to discuss them in details. You even have softwares combining all these softwares and the contacts - a boon for some, an irritating joke for the others.

So, if disk-space is a concern or not, if usability is an issue or not, if chatting is worth it or not - its all about priorities!

Happy Chatting!