AIM vs. MSN

[bigjoe]

Lately AIM has been the suck. Im going to go out on a limb and say this. For the last 6 months, all the features theyve added have been ad-related. It even got to the point where there was an ad in every AIM window. This was , after many complaints, repealed, but it gives us a good view of how AIM is just a marketing tool of AOL.

MSN however, is flexible. You can do anything from ask for Remote Assistance to make your own custom smileys, a feature which AOL practically charges for , by only allowing its subscribers to use. Its as if AOL has become so threatened that it must resort to "selling smileys." :laughing:

Sure , you can use a program like Dead AIM to supress the ads, but such a program will cause AIM to multiply by at least 5 times in system memory, and not many people are particularly pleased that they have to pay for it now.

Id be in favor of a boycott of AIM, but too many people are set in their ways.

[DarkPanther]

Ever since we've started running our computers through a router, AIM hasn't been stable at all. Other than that, I think it's fine. I don't care what it does and doesn't do other than allow me to chat with my "buddies". That's what it's for.

I've never used MSN's.

[Kirby of Doom]

Maybe you should try Yahoo IM. I don't use it a lot, but for when I do it works fine.

[Menokh]

I said AIM, simply because of the protocal, and most of the people I talk to use it.

I don't use the actual AIM program though, for stability and ad reasons. I never use AIM on Windows anymore, but on Linux I prefer to use GAIM.

[Tsukuru]

I agree that AIM has been loaded with a lot of ads in the past year, but should we really complain about it when we aren't paying anything at all? Either way, I ditched AIM and use Trillian to connect to the AIM servers.

[MANDRAG GANON]

I use MSN mostly, I only really use AIM for showing people graphics.

[Ian]

I use MSN. I guess I was just too used to it by the time I first got AIM, and now with MSN 6.0 I don't really need anything else. PLus, the Custom Smilies just top the cake.

[Starkist]

I use AIM, because it's the one I started with and everyone I know is on it.

Gaah, I sound like an AOL commercial....

[AlexMax]

I use AIM because everyone is on it, and DeadAIM because I hate the useless shit AIM has.

[Starkist]

I've got DeadAIM too, it's nifty. I like making semi-transparent windows, and logging is nice too.

[moocow]

I prefer MSN, although I talk to most of my buddies on AIM. I've had MSN since we first got the internet, I love it.

[Mitsukara]

I don't really like either one because they're not hideable enough for my purposes. SS4 can be minimized to the taskbar, password-protected, and if set up properly makes no noise or other notifications, and thus is easily smuggled if you're not supposed to be on it. They both have huge, annoyingly visual messages that say "SUCHANDSUCH has sent you a message. SUCHANDSUCH may be sending you a virus or whatever. Do you wish to talk to SUCHANDSUCH???!?!" and things of that nature. that's why I almost never use them.

That said, I usually use AIM just because 99% of the people I would want to talk to use it.

Of course, it's been ages since I've used MSN, and maybe if you change the settings somehow you can turn those messages off... heck, you can probably do that in AIM and it's probably really easy in either case, I just haven't specifically found a way to...

[Gerudo]

Originally posted by AlexMax
I use AIM because everyone is on it, and DeadAIM because I hate the useless shit AIM has. i woulda have to say i AIM is the first program i run for IM'ing...

i have DeadAim as well, and yersh, it is l33+...

[Drunken Tiger]

MSN 6 so i can set backgrounds and play games.. :p

Never really liked AIM or ICQ....

[stormwatcheagle]

Dude, the answer to all our problems is simple. Just register at AIM, Yahoo, and MSN then download Trillian. It does ICQ and IRC Chat as well. I haven't recieved 1 ad, and I can add wicked cool skins to it, just like winamp.

[Tygore]

I use Trillian also. Have accounts on both MSN and AIM, although most people use AIM.

[Selah]

trillian and i dont care which one im on. they help me talk to friends and thats all that matters

[Sub-Zero]

The idea of trillian is great...however, most of the cool features such as custom smileys are not available with it....so i prefer just to use the regular programs... I prefer MSN over AIM...i have them all..... actually I think I like ICQ the most.