My preferences as messengers go is for ICQ, I like the interface more and the fact that it flashes in your taskbar when you have a message so if you are talking to several people at once you don't have to worry about having several message windows open. But if you want to go for a simpler program then AIM is the one to go for. Its as simple as AOL for those who like it (I am not one of those people) and the best feature is probably that you can talk to AOL users. Lots of people I know have AOL and it makes it really convenient to talk to them.
Every month or two they upgrade it and they have come a long way from the first program. Now you can send and receive files, copy pictures into the text window, send sounds so that they'll play when they receive them, talk over mics and speakers, and all sorts of other gimmicky stuff thats kinda cool. One feature that everybody seems to like is the warning feature. If someone starts bothering you you can warn them, and if they continue to bother you you may warn them more. At a certain point when they have been warned a lot they will not be able to talk to anybody for a day or so. AIM is also more secure than ICQ, ICQ displays a lot more information about yourself than AIM, such as IP, email(if you give it), and other stuff too.
I think that it is best to have both messengers so you can talk to people that only have one or the other.



Recommended: Yes