ICQ - NOT
Written: Mar 12 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: instant conversation
Cons: bloated, missed messages, spammers
The Bottom Line: I really can't recommend it, however so many people do use it, that you might find that it's handy to have.
|
|
|
| arachnia47's Full Review: ICQ |
I used to like ICQ, but unfortunately I just can't recommend it any longer.
When I was new to the internet (a few years ago), a few friends recommended ICQ to me. It was THE program to have. I could send a message to my friends, and receive a reply almost instantly. Even if they were offline, I could still send them a message, and when they came online they would receive it, and reply at that time. ICQ was great! It loaded quickly, and worked well.
That was a few versions ago. The new version of ICQ, called ICQ 2000b is terrible. The program takes a long time to load, is full of features I NEVER use, and this version is a bit buggy too.
It's Bloated
I run win 98 with 32mb memory, which I believe is still pretty standard these days, even if it's on the lower end of the memory requirement for programs.. however I find, that ICQ is so bloated, that after having it open for a while, my computer slows down, and only gets slower and slower until I close ICQ at which point it speeds up again.
It's Buggy
As I am in a different timezone to most of my online friends, its not easy to be online at the same time as them, so if I have a quick message for them, I sometimes send an offline message through ICQ instead of using email. However there have been several occasions, where my message never got to them!
Another bug is when you type a fairly long message and try to send it to a person on your ICQ contact list, it tries to send, but nothing happens. If you click cancel, you lose your message, but sometimes it sites there trying to send for a long time and never goes through. If you do decide to click cancel, sometimes you get a reply from the person you were messaging, so even though you cancel the message, it still goes through!
Other Problems
Another problem with ICQ in general is the amount of SPAM messages a person can get. I am not listed in the ICQ white pages, nor do I give out my ICQ number to just anyone, but I still get messages popping up from people I do not know, telling me about porn sites, or sending message hoaxes. This is very annoying.
Another annoying attribute of ICQ is the fact that once you are on someones contact list, there you stay until they delete you! I have on a number occasions, after talking to someone for a while, allowed them to add me to their contact list, only to have them start behaving in a rude, or unfriendly manner. However since I am now on their contact list, unless I set myself to invisible or change the settings so that I appear invisible to just them, then they can tell whenever I am online, and send me more unfriendly messages. However if for some reason I have to re-install ICQ and I have not imported that person back onto my contact list, then I am no longer invisible to them, but still on their ICQ list.
Lastly, the final straw for me. ICQ now has advertisements. OK, I know its a free program, and they need to get some money from somewhere, but the advertisements are annoying and will I believe cause the program and ultimately my PC, to run even slower!
Final Comments
ICQ is a great program in theory. The idea of being able to send message and receive replies instantly is great. However compared to other instant message programs ICQ falls flat on it's face. Although I have ICQ installed on my PC, I only use it if I need to talk to someone about something immediately, and cant wait for an email reply.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
arachnia47
|
|
Location: Sydney Australia
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
29yr old Aussie girl, who loves her son, and writing.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.