For those following the crisis in the area of instant messaging, I would recommend a solution you may not have considered - an account on "jabber". Jabber is an open source project based on an XML protocol and using distributed architecture. What that means is that there are numerous Jabber servers which talk to each other, so registering on one gets you registered on the entire system. Once you are registered you can exchange messages with other Jabber users, but better than that, The Jabber servers maintain gateways or "transports" with other services such as ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, and AOL instant messaging services, plus IRC and group conferences, public and private. Best of all, there are numerous clients programs available, most of them GPL, for everything from Windows to Linux, including Mac OS. A few of them are text console clients for Linux, and the one I am using is a MICQ look-alike. It is called "imcom" and is written by Casey Crabb, who was helpful to me in getting my account created. It works, guys, and is highly accessible. Imaginbe one accessible console package for Linux that lets you communicate with all instant messaging systems everywhere! Whenever Mirabilis changes the rules, the Jabber team simply fixes the ICQ transport and jabber users are once again up to speed with ICQ. Check out http://www.jabber.org for details, and also http://www.jabbercentral.org for downloads of client programs. Be careful not to confuse jabber.org with jabber.com - they are related, but the latter is a commercial offshoot of the former, and it is the former you want. Chuck Visit me at http://www.mhonline.net/~chuckh The Moon is Waxing Crescent (12% of Full)
