What's Unique in Different Instant Messenger Programs?
Appearance:
In my opinion, Yahoo! Messenger has the most friendly and clearest appearance. However, about color and graphic, Windows Live Messenger is the best. Skype has a very confused appearance. New users will have to struggle finding where to add a new friend or where to change settings; But they will be convinced to use the program easily because it has the best VoIP quality. Google Talk's classic appearance is very simple and easy to use.
Smiley or Emoticon:
This is the soul of any Instant Messenger. Smiley displays your emotion without typing any word. Many people like to use Yahoo! Messenger because it has a very funny and lovely emoticon system. However, Windows Live Messenger is the most flexible in changing and adding smileys. Here is a trick to bring Yahoo! Messenger's smiley into Windows Live Messenger. In Windows Live Messenger's appearance, go to Emoticons>Show all> Create> Find Image>. Locate image files of Yahoo! Messenger (Normally in C:\Program files\Yahoo! Messenger\Media\Smileys). Then, click "OK". Moreover, by using this method but locating another folder with *.gif files, you can add as much images as you want in to your smileys system.
Skype does not have impressive smiley. Google Talk only provides symbols to display smileys in Google Talk Gadget. For example, :-D would be a smiley face with a big grin.
Ability to Save Conversation:
While Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and Skype only saves your conversation temporarily in the computer, Google Talk is able to save the conversation in Gmail automatically. You can view your message anytime by logging in to Gmail (you can also disable this feature by going to "Settings".
In order for Yahoo! Messenger to save text message into your computer, go to Messenger> Preferences > Archive > Yes, save all of my messages > OK. You can view it by Contacts > Messages Archive. Windows Live Messenger and Skype have the default settings to save all your conversation. You only have to click "View entire conversation history" or "View full chat history" to see your text message again.
Ability to chat with other services:
Windows Live Messenger can add nick from Yahoo! Messenger. You only have to type
Published by Ace Huynh
Hi everybody. I am a full-time student at University of California, San Diego. Through writing those articles, I really like to make new friends online. Thank you for all of your comments and opinions! View profile
