Messaging and e-mail
Instant messaging (IM) and chat are technologies that facilitate near real-time text based communication between two or more participants over a network. One way to talk with people on each one of these networks is to open an account for each and then download and install each IM client on your computer.
Running many different IM applications on your computer uses a lot of system resources, is difficult to manage, and broadens your attack surface. Therefore recommended using a multi-protocol IM client. These applications not only allow you to connect to multiple IM networks, but they are also advertisement free, more secure, and have features that allow you to easily manage your various IM accounts.
It is important to understand that what separates chat and instant messaging from technologies such as e-mail is the perceived synchronicity of the communication by the user - chat happens in real-time before your eyes.
E-mail, short for electronic mail and often abbreviated to e-mail, email or simply mail, is a store-and-forward method of composing, sending, receiving and storing messages over electronic communication systems.
Email programs today are a much more sophisticated than they used to be. In addition to simply sending and receiving email, they now can manage your contacts and calendar, read news groups and RSS newsfeeds, and even integrate with various web-based mail systems like GMail and Hotmail. MS Outlook revolutionized email and made it more user friendly, but there are now programs available that don't add bloat to your system and are much more secure.
ICQ is a program that allows users to send each other instant messages via the Internet.
QIP Infium is a one of the most popular multi-protocol freeware instant messengers.
Skype is a software program that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet.
QIP 2005 is an instant messaging client with support of ICQ and experimental support of AIM.
Thunderbird is a great email client from the same people who brought you the Firefox browser.
