IM Explained
Instant Messaging (often abbreviated to IM) is a popular, text-based communications technology that lets users converse in real-time with anyone, anywhere, over the Internet! IM draws on both e-mail and chat room technology, allowing for fast, private online communication between two or more parties.
Chatting over the Internet is nothing new - Internet Relay Chat is nearing its 20th birthday and the major ISPs offered chat room services even to their very first customers. But there are some big practical differences between today’s instant messenger applications and yesterday’s chat rooms...
Instant Messengers are basically Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications. The messaging software lets you connect your computer to another user’s computer through a centralized, dedicated server somewhere on the Internet.
The most popular commercial IM services such as AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and ICQ allow you to download, install and run the required software free of charge.
Once you've done this, your next step is to log in to your IM service which acts as the central point of interconnection for all registered users of that service.
You can configure most IM clients to launch and log on to the service automatically whenever you connect to the Internet. They then run in the background, minimized in your Windows Taskbar or System Tray until you send (or receive) an IM. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that messenger programs tend to hog system memory required by other applications, so it might be preferable to configure them so that they only run when you launch them manually.
Provided you know their screen name, you may then invite other users of the same IM service to become your ’buddy’ (effectively an approved contact), building up a list of people you want to be able to connect with via IM.
The messaging software will let you know which of your buddies are online and logged in to the service at the same time as you, thereby making them available to chat.
When you send a message to one of your buddies, a window containing that message pops up on the other user’s screen. Your buddy is able to reply straight back, with both your messages appearing in the IM window on your screen, allowing you and your friend to "chat" in real time.
There may be times when you do not want to be contacted via IM, and most messaging services include a customizable "do not disturb" feature that lets your buddies know you are online but unavailable for chat at that moment.
Similarly, some clients let you leave an "away message" telling contacts where you are and how they can contact you when you're not online.
Today’s IM clients offer much more than mere online chat capabilities. Messengers are increasingly being used for music and video file share as well as online gaming. Some messaging software allows users to make telephone calls, send text messages to cell phones and receive regular news updates containing links to stories on the web. Cell phone IM-ing has already taken off. And all this is just the tip of the iceberg! The scope and functionality of chat client applications is expected to broaden significantly over the coming months and years, with live streaming television likely to be available in the near future.
Instant messengers represent a super-powerful communications medium with extraordinary potential for development. However, the number one drawback of this technology has traditionally been the interoperability of the major clients. Users of one IM service are unable to connect with those of another. For this reason it’s not uncommon for enthusiastic IM-ers to have several different messaging applications installed on their machine, with AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and ICQ the most popular of the free programs. In recent years, software developers have started to address this problem, creating commercial applications such as Trillian, Odigo and Omni that facilitate open messaging, allowing subscribers to combine contact lists from different IM programs and communicate with all users. This may be the future for instant messaging.
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