Windows XP :: Instant Messaging under Windows XP. AOL, Yahoo and MSN messengers ::
If you have teenage children, you probably already know what instant messaging is. Instant messaging is something between chatting online and exchanging e-mail messages. What makes instant messaging so popular with teenagers and others is being able to know which of your friends are online at the same time as you and being able to communicate with all of them at once. Instant messaging gives you the opportunity to have an instant online party, or, in a business setting, an instant online meeting. Instant messaging programs all have a version of the “buddy list,” a box that shows which of your friends are online. As soon as the name of someone you want to gossip with appears on the list, well, the dirt gets dished and the party starts flowing. This article looks at the three most popular instant messaging programs: AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. AOL Instant MessengerIf you’re one of the 11 million or so AOL subscribers, you probably already know what Instant Messenger is. If you aren’t an AOL subscriber, suffice it to say that it’s a tool you’ll be addicted to in five minutes flat. AOL Instant Messenger (often called AIM) has some really neat features. It can tell you when your chat buddies sign on, even before they send you an online “Hello.” If your chat buddies sign off, you know that, too. This software is a breeze to use. What’s more, it’s free to everybody, even people who don’t subscribe to America Online. Becoming a registered user Before you can chat with someone using Instant Messenger, you have to install the Instant Messenger software and register yourself as a user with a name nobody else has used. To do that, go the AOL Instant Messenger Web site at this address: www.aim.com. There, click the Download button and complete the form to register yourself. To log on to Instant Messenger after you’ve registered, start by clicking the AOL Instant Messenger desktop icon, clicking the Start button and choosing AOL Instant Messenger, or clicking the yellow man icon in the notification area (beside the clock in the lower-right corner of the computer screen). To avoid having to type the password each time you sign on in the future, you can select the Save Password check box. If you want to automatically log in to Instant Messenger each time you sign on to the Internet, select the Auto-Login check box. Engaging in a chat session To initiate a session, either double-click a person’s name on your Buddy List or click the Send Instant Message, and, in the Instant Message window, type the screen name of the person you want to chat with. If the person you want to chat with is signed on to Instant Messenger, he or she instantly sees your message on-screen. Your Instant Message window splits into two windows. Type your message in the bottom window and click Send. To end a chat session, click the Close (X) button in the upper-right corner of the Instant Message window or press Esc. You can tell which of your buddies is currently signed on by glancing at the Buddy List in your Buddy List window. Click the Online tab in the Buddy List window. The screen names of all those who are currently logged on are displayed there. Adding and deleting buddies on your Buddy List The Buddy List within Instant Messenger is like a phone book listing your buddies’ screen names, and you can add buddies to the list. To add a buddy to your Buddy List, follow these steps: 1. Click the Setup button on the Buddy List window. 2. Click a folder to select it as the folder to which you want to add your new buddy. 3. Click the Add a Buddy button. This creates a *New Buddy* entry within that folder. 4. Type the Instant Messenger screen name of your buddy and press Enter. To delete a buddy from your list, select the name you want to delete, and click the Delete icon. Yahoo! MessengerIt seems that everyone wants to get into the act. Yahoo! Messenger is Yahoo!’s instant-messaging program. It works much like AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger (described later in this article). Do you ever get the impression that the Internet is just a bunch of copycats? To take Yahoo! Messenger for a spin, you must have a Yahoo! ID (it’s free) and you must have downloaded the Yahoo! Messenger program: - To get a Yahoo! ID, go to www.yahoo.com, click the Sign In link, and, on the Web page that appears, click the Sign Up Now link. - To download Yahoo! Instant Messenger, go to the Web page at this address: http://messenger.yahoo.com. Logging on to Yahoo! Messenger To start running Yahoo! Messenger, either double-click the Yahoo! Messenger icon in the notification area (the lower-right corner of the screen next to the clock), or choose Start -> Yahoo! Messenger -> Yahoo! Messenger. You see the Login dialog box, where you enter your Yahoo! ID and password. Adding and deleting friends To populate your buddy list with friends old and new, click the Add button. A dialog box offers you the option of searching for people by Yahoo! ID, by e-mail address, or by name. After you find a friend or potential friend, you can add him or her to your friends list. Engaging in a chat session Starting up a chat is simple. Just double-click a name in the Friends window. An Instant Message window appears so you can compose your opening volley. Click the Send button to send your words across the Internet. MSN MessengerTo trade instant messages with MSN Messenger, you need two things: Windows XP and a .NET passport. You need Windows XP because it comes with MSN Messenger software. You need a .NET passport to identify yourself to the Microsoft Network when you go online to instant-message. You can obtain the passport at this Web address: http://register.passport. com. To obtain it, you provide information about yourself and select a password. Instant messaging with MSN Messenger is free. Logging on to MSN Messenger To start MSN Messenger, double-click the MSN Messenger icon in the lowerright corner of the window (near the clock). You see the MSN Messenger dialog box. Engaging in a chat session The names of people on your buddy list who are currently signed on to MSN Messenger appear in boldface. To trade messages with one of these people, double-click his or her name. The Conversation window opens. Enter a message and click the Send button. To defend your privacy and prevent others from knowing when you are connected to MSN Messenger, choose File -> My Status -> Appear Offline. Even if your name is on someone’s buddy list, it won’t appear there, and your erstwhile friend or bothersome co-worker won’t know you are connected. Adding and deleting buddies To add a buddy to your list, click the Add a Contact button, and, in the wizard dialog boxes that appear, either select a name from your MSN Messenger dialog box or enter an e-mail address. Keeping Up to Date with News The Internet is chock full of information you just have to know how to access it. One way that you can delve into some of the most current issues is through newsgroups. A newsgroup is a place on the Internet where people gather to discuss a topic of common interest. A newsgroup resembles an electronic bulletin board on which people post questions or comments, and others respond to these questions and comments. Others then respond to the responses and so on, until a string, or thread, of discussion about a topic emerges. At any given time, multiple discussions can be in progress in a particular newsgroup. Usenet, also known as network news, is the worldwide distributed groupdiscussion system that feeds information to newsgroups. Internet users around the world submit Usenet messages to tens of thousands of newsgroups with names such as rec.gardens.orchids or sci.space. Within a day or so, these messages are delivered to nearly every other Internet host that wants them for anyone to read. |
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