ICQ 4.0 Lite

[TeamRocket]

Hey everyone,
There is a new ICQ in town - ICQ 4.0 Lite with Xtraz.

The new version of ICQ draws water from a well I thought had gone dry. Most instant-messenger competition revolves around adding feature after feature, but ICQ 4.0, which comes out today, breaks free of this compulsion. Instead, ICQ 4.0 supports plug-ins that let users decide which features they want.

I applauded ICQ when it split up its client into Lite and Pro versions, because I just wanted to chat and didn't care for all the other features that made the installation take so long. This newest version of ICQ takes a further leap by letting you start with a basic installation and add the features you want later. ICQ plans on maintaining a plug-in center to let you see what's available and to highlight new releases.

ICQ's assortment of plug-ins includes features you probably didn't know you wanted. For example, you will be able to download game plug-ins, so you can play a quick round of tennis with your chat buddies. Some plug-ins will integrate content from Web sites into ICQ. Of course, the company will keep a tight rein on what gets released, passing all third-party-created plug-ins through its quality control. However, the beauty of opening up development to everyone is that a few people will come up with very innovative plug-ins that a small team of developers would never have thought of.

The new version of ICQ should be available any time now. Keep checking Download.com.

After chat, what's your second-favorite use for an instant messenger? Look for our poll on the Download.com home page or on the right side of this newsletter.

Wayne Cunningham
Senior Editor, CNET Download.com

 

[Cherrim]

I think I downloaded ICQ once... that was a few years ago, and I couldn't understand any of it. @_@ So I've basically stuck with MSN and AIM since then. I'll occasionally use ICQ when I sign onto Trillian, but otherwise, I don't think about it much. This new version sounds kind of interesting though. But not enough to make me download it. ^_^;;

 

[Kairi]

Too spamy in my opinion. Plus no one really uses it, and aren?t they merging with AIM anyways? So you could just use AIM to talk to ICQ people?

 

[Sakura and Espeon]

Yep, you can use ICQ to talk to AIM people. ^_^

 

[^^NICK^^ v.2.0]

I had ICQ, but I deleted it cuz I thought it was taking up too much space i didn't need.

 

[TeamRocket]

Yeah - but ICQ doesn't have all of the bugs of aim - and too spammy? Sheesh - I would have thought people would like to know about IM evolution.

 

[^^NICK^^ v.2.0]

Thanks to Lighting, I'm using trillian now, so I have my ICQ again.

 

[TeamRocket]

cool - real cool you have icq again.

 

[Kairi]

No, I meant ICQ gets a lot of spam, this topic isn?t spam. =\