There is something that ICQ also lacks when it comes to different features on different levels, and an example is the messaging window that does not sit well with your eyes, and it is quite unwarranted having animated advertisements at the bottom of your contact window, and you can certainly do without match-making advertising as well.

You will also find that your contacts screen as well as text messaging window do nothing but clutter up the desktop, especially those vertical toolbars (Xtras, really.) Nevertheless, you can make personalized messages by inserting an image of you, which will then go out with all of your IMs. You can even try out the PC-to-PC calling feature, and mercifully you get decent quality of voice sounds though accompanied with hums and hisses, of and on.

There is not much to get you enthused about the video chat, with videos often breaking up and you are also going to be looking at images that only resemble a mosaic work, and there is some distortion to the images as well. However, there is impressive security and you get six different settings including spam control as well as user blocking, and more.

Never mind that there is a lot of distraction to using the interface. Still, with ICQ on your desktop, you can still get by well in communicating with your friends and family as well as with office people. And, if you had time to spare, you can really get down and check out all of the various features that ICQ has, and thus, get the most out of this application.

It means that the many different communication features that make up ICQ are sure to provide you with more than basic instant messaging, though it would have been far more useful if those annoying advertisements were not there. The bottom line is that it will sit well with advanced users, though the average user may find it a bit too much to swallow.