ICQ's power stems from its ability to make cyberspace feel more social. Microsoft has its own instant-messaging system, due to be released within three to four months, but the company's efforts have been plagued by more than a year of delays. The more features are loaded into ICQ, the more software other companies are likely to write for it, and the less time people might need to spend with Microsoft's desktop software. Much as electronic mail created new patterns of communication in the early 1990s, today ICQ and other forms of "instant messaging" are changing the way millions of people stay in touch and manage their online lives.Ī few analysts think that, over time, these instant-messaging programs could even challenge the market dominance of Microsoft Corp. It's not entirely easy to use - setup can be difficult - but more than 70,000 more people a day are finding it's worth the trouble. It lets them find people with similar interests, as well as maintain to-do lists and calendars and perform other personal tasks. Loaded with clever features, graphics and sounds, ICQ allows people to send private notes to friends anywhere on the Internet and detect their presence online. bought for about $300 million last year from the Israeli company that developed it. They are among 35 million people who have downloaded copies of the program that America Online Inc. "It's better than calling him at the office all the time and disturbing him."įree software called ICQ - "I seek you" - is behind this magic in the DiAngelus family.
"I can message him and tell him that our 2-year-old just said, `I miss Daddy,' " said DiAngelus, 24. A tiny box beside his name on the screen signals his availability to talk it's the electronic equivalent of eye contact. "Hooo-haw" means her mother in Florida has logged onto the Internet and is eager to chat - trade live messages at the keyboard.Ī famous salty line from a movie means DiAngelus's husband, Dan, a consultant who travels up and down the East Coast, has signed on somewhere - it doesn't matter where. Amy DiAngelus's laptop computer erupts like a noisy telephone whenever a loved one enters cyberspace, alerting her with an assortment of human squeals and musical flourishes.
0 kommentar(er)
