ICQ® version 5.1

The 7th February 05 saw the first release of version 5 (up from "Lite" v4) to be precise it was version 5.02 build #2309, and as I was still happily using ICQ Pro 2003b I never spent a great deal of time using it, old habits die hard :) but when ICQ released version 5.1 build #3000 on 11 July 06 I decided to push ICQ Pro down the list and make a concerted effort to upgrade my brain... and a little over a month down the track I'm happy to report all is well in the upgrade department... both PC and brain wise... I still prefer ICQ Pro though ;)

One of the (many) awesome things about ICQ is that with every version they pushed out the door they always updated their release notes pages which took all the frustrating guess work out of if one should update from their currently installed version and what, if any, advantages there would be in doing so, ICQ 5 ReleaseNotes is a classic example of this. It's a little disconcerting that this appears to be changing in some way as the last couple of releases providing very little information, hopefully this trend wont be ongoing, but if it is, I guess it's no great loss as by far the majority of the major IMs don't publish version history let alone what their latest version release is, so with ICQ at least one can say "something is better than nothing".

Previous versions:
ICQ 5.1 build #2575 18 May 2006
ICQ 5.1 build #2573 9 May 2006
ICQ 5.04 build #2321 11 April 2005
ICQ 5.03 build #2315 18 February 2005
ICQ 5.02 build #2309 7 February 7 2005
ICQ 4.14 build #1839 20 October 20 2004
ICQ 4.13 build #1837 11 October 2004
ICQ 4.12 build #1836 31 August 31 2004
ICQ 4.1 build #1807 27 July 2004
ICQ 4.1 build #1717 14 June 2004
ICQ 4.01 build #1668 17 May 2004
ICQ 4 build #1646 20 April 2004
for more information about what fixes and new features were included in the versions see ICQ 5 ReleaseNotes

ICQ v5.1 offers a wide range of features and services which include voice, video, file transfer, status indicators, typing indicators, sounds, smileys, tZers and you can IM, and add, your AIM buddies to your ICQ friends list, but like Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger user across their shared network, the ICQ and AIM features available to both are very limited also, for a brief overview of the new features included in ICQ v5.1 check out ICQ's page What's New.

From the "main" menu within ICQ v5.1 you have access to all of your settings and preferences which is of course very handy as you don't need to wade your way through the different options and buttons available in ICQ Pro. As would be expected, some of the Pro features are missing but never fear because you can have ICQ v5.1 and ICQ Pro installed on the same computer without issue or conflict and both versions allow for an easy "switch" between the two.

It doesn't take too long to get familiar with the Preferences available, the settings are all neatly, and logically, arranged under category headings and if you need any help with the options the ICQ Knowledge Base covers all the basics, just scroll down to Preferences, Security & Details for more detailed information.

ICQ® General Links:
ICQ Homepage ~ http://icq.com/
Register @ ICQ ~ https://www.icq.com/register (you must be 13yrs or older)
 ICQ Password / ICQ Number Recovery Center ~ https://www.icq.com/password/
Downloads ICQ v5.1: http://download.icq.com/download/icq5/
ICQ Client Comparison Chart ~ http://www.icq.com/download/compare.html
Knowledgebase ~ http://www.icq.com/help/help_choose_cat.php
Ticket Center ~ http://www.icq.com/help/ticket_center.php
ICQ Expert Board ~ http://www.icq.com/boards/browse_folder.php?tid=30227
End User License Agreement ~ http://www.icq.com/legal/end-user-license.html
Acceptable Use Policy ~ http://www.icq.com/legal/policy.html
Usage Notices ~ http://www.icq.com/legal/usenote.html
The ICQ Privacy Policy ~ http://www.icq.com/legal/privacy.html
Terms Of Service ~ http://www.icq.com/legal/