AIM® / AOL® Instant Messenger™

hmm... AIM®... I try reeeeally hard to like it, or at the very least find something likeable about it... at the moment it escapes me *blush* but mllions of people are diehard AIM users (all power to them :) and while I love using iChat and ICQ I'm struggling with AIM.. but then I always have... I don't think my brain is AIM compatible.

One cool thing I do know so far is that because AOL® owns ICQ and shakes hands with Apple the 3 Instant Messengers (AIM, ICQ & iChat) can quite happily talk to each other (meaning they are "interoperable") so I don't really "need" to master AIM to be able to talk to my AIM friends, I simply hop on ICQ (or iChat) and I'm away laughing... or rather chatting :) Another super cool feature of AIM (not directly related to its use) is AIM Presence, now to me this looks like an advanced version of an online status indicator, difference being with AIM's version it seems to reflects not just the fact that you're online or off, but also if you're idle, away or on mobile!

As with most Instant Messengers you need to obtain a unique name before you use their service, AIM/AOL calls it a "screen name" and to obtain one you need to be at least 13 years old (see Screen Name Service Terms of Use - section 2. Eligibility) but registration is relatively easy and fast, finding a screen name that isn't already taken is much more challenging though. AIM comes in 3 flavours (Windows, Mac, Linux) and they also offer a web based version called AIM Express for those who need instant access or are unable to download a full version.

AIM® Versions:
AIM® Triton 2.2.71.1  25 May 06 
http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win/latest_win.adp
previous
1.04.1 29 March 06
1.04 26 January 06
AIM® for Windows 5.9.3861 10 August 05
http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win/other_win.adp
AIM® for Mac 4.7 18 February 04 http://www.aim.com/get_aim/mac/latest_macosx.adp
AIM® for Linux 1.5.286 http://www.aim.com/get_aim/linux/latest_linux.adp
for more detailed information about current (and available) versions please check out our AIM Latest Versions

AIM® Version Links:
Latest Windows versions ~ http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win/latest_win.adp
Latest beta versions (if available) http://www.aim.com/get_aim/win/win_beta.adp
Using AIM on Windows ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/using/win/aimandother.adp
Windows Error Messages ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/error_mess/winerrors_buddylist.adp
Using AIM on Macintosh ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/using/mac/aimtalk.adp
Macintosh Error Messages ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/error_mess/macerrors_applicationlaunch.adp
Using AIM on Linux ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/using/linux.adp
Linux Error Messages ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/error_mess/linuxfaq.adp

AIM® General Links:
Homepage: http://www.aim.com/
What's AIM? ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/starting_out/getstarted.adp
AIM Presence ~ http://www.aim.com/presence/main.adp
ScreenName Signup ~ https://my.screenname.aol.com/
Lost Password Recovery ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/forgot_password/password.adp
Help ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/gethelp.adp
Security Central ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/security/faq.adp
Reporting a Problem ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/report_form.adp
Known Issues ~ http://www.aim.com/help_faq/report.adp
AOL Beta Central ~ http://beta.aol.com/
Site Map ~ http://www.aim.com/sitemap.adp

AOL® / AIM® Legal Speak:
AOL® Privacy Policy ~ http://site.aol.com/info/privacy.adp
AOL® Terms and Conditions of Use ~ http://site.aol.com/copyright.adp
AOL® Agreement to Rules of User Conduct ~ http://site.aol.com/copyright/rules.html
ScreenName Privacy Policy ~ https://my.screenname.aol.com/_cqr/help/infoPopUp.jsp?privacy=1
Screen Name Service Terms of Use ~ https://my.screenname.aol.com/_cqr/help/infoPopUp.jsp?terms=1