After spending years on America Online's "Internet Service", a cable modem provider came to my area. I switched over to the cable connection, leaving AOL. There was one problem - all my friends were still on AOL. To communicate with them, I would have to download AOL Instant Messenger. I thought to myself that this program would be horrible like AOL itself, but to my surprise, Instant Messenger is better then the complete AOL program itself.

Let's take a look at just some of AOL Instant Messenger's (AIM) features..

File Transfer: You can send files right though the Instant Message itself. This is very convienent, and when I was on AOL they did not offer this (I don't know if they do now).

Chat Rooms: AIM lets you create your own chat room and invite people to it. AOL had this feature as well, but it's a nice feature for a small communication program like AIM.

Away Messages: This feature is very useful. If you need to step away from your computer for a minute or two, instead of shutting the program down, you can set an away message. That way a friend knows you will be returning to your computer shortly.

Format Screen Name: This is a nifty feature that will let you change around the way your Screen Name looks. For example, you could change JaCKi24 to jacki24, Jacki24, Jacki 24, etc...

Save Buddy List: This is my favorite feature. If you decide you want a new screen name, instead of typing in all your buddys again, you can simply save your buddy list, then load it on the new screen name. Awesome!

And More.. There are a ton more features including IM talking (using your microphone and actually talking to the person), checking your e-mail, switching screen names, setting a buddy icon, inserting sounds and pictures inside the IM itself, access to the latest stocks and news, member search, nice sounds, and a lot more.

If you have friends on AOL and you are looking for the best communication tool, choose AOL's Instant Messanger. It's actually good, unlike AOL itself - which is very surprising.



Recommended: Yes