See also: Chat Clients | Instant Messenger(s) | IRC
First: General information (http://www.techtv.com/products/software/story/0,23008,3342841,00.html) on Instant Messaging. (TechTV)
Instant Messaging clients have a growing number of features and IM services are gradually beginning to interact with one another. Instant Messaging clients usually make money through small advertisements in the main chat window but many are advertisement-free.
While most IM clients depend on what your friends are using, so much development is happening in this area, its wise to look at several.
- What is an Instant Messenger?
- List of Instant Messengers – clients and tools for download
- Encrypted Chat Clients both Instant Messaging and IRC-based for the security-consious.
TakeDown.NET -> “Using-Instant-Messaging”