A Guide To Instant Messengers

These things are taking over from chat as the coolest way to talk to yer mates over the internet. So let pupiline let you guide you through the best instant messengers you can get, or alternatively try our own messenger out in the My pupiline section.

MSN Messenger
In my opinion, this is one of the coolest online messengers there is =) It allows you to chat with friends real time, and block those who you don't want using filters. If you have a Hotmail account (MSN's web-based email service), MSN Messenger has the ability to work with it, even notifying you of when new email is received.
Go get it here.

AOL Instant Messenger
This is another big company's venture into online messaging, and it's paid off big - as it boasts over 50 million users. Whilst it allows you to chat real-time and receive the standard instant messages, it also lets you share pictures and sounds. For those that like their extras, you can also get news bulletins and stock prices.
Go get it here.

Yahoo! Messenger
Now, who hasn't heard of Yahoo!? Whilst also providing an incredibly popular search facility, you can now take advantage of their online messager. Like the AOL instant messenger, it also boasts file transfer capabilities and even a 'voice chat' facility. Yahoo have expanded massively into various areas of online news, stock quotes, weather, sports scores, web based email and list the goes on. With Yahoo! Messenger you can interact with these services, get calendar appointment reminders and more...
Go get it here.

ICQ
I Seek You... geddit? This has to be the most widely used and feature rich of the online messengers. Originally it served as a way of notifying you when friends go on-line, and has expanded to include services such as file transfer, real-time chat, instant messages, directory services (a 'phone book' of icq users), email, to do lists, reminders - the list doesn't end ;)
You can also assign yourself a status to show others if you're busy, away from your machine or even available for a random chat with another icq user.
Go get it here.