ICQ helps students keep in touch

Michelle Garwood said her mother was upset with her high phone bills, so Garwood knew she needed to find an alternative form of communication.

ICQ -- "I Seek You" -- and America On-line Instant Messenger are user-friendly Internet tools that subscribers such as Garwood use to converse with friends and family via computer for no fee.

ICQ is available for the Windows 95/NT, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh platforms, among others, according to the ICQ World Wide Web site.

For those students who do not own computers, these on-line services can be accessed at any campus computer lab, said Carl Knowlton, manager of network operations at the University.

Knowlton added that ICQ is allowed in the labs as long as the user downloads it onto his or her personal disk and fully understands and follows the ethic codes and copyright rules.

Founded in 1996 by Mirabilis Ltd., ICQ is E-mail compatible and can send and receive on- and off-line messages, according to Mirabilis' Web site.

Its chat feature allows the subscriber to connect with other ICQ subscribers and type back and forth in split-style screens. This enables both users to see immediately what the other person is typing.

The program provides users with a small window screen that contains their own personal contact list of friends and family. The window also displays icons that indicate if anyone is trying to contact the user or tried to contact someone while he or she was away.

The window box is Trent Catich's favorite feature, he said.

"I like how the little information box automatically appears on my screen when I turn the computer on," said Catich (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies). "It stores friends and family connections and lets me know when others are on-line."

Instant Messenger provides similar features and is also free of charge. Instant Messenger can be used with any Internet connection and can transfer personal friends and family lists to different computers.

Kate Gourley (sophomore-film and video) said her friend E-mailed her through ICQ, but she has not figured out how to use it yet.

"I am going to ask my friend to teach me, because it sounds pretty cool," she said.