There are many IM clients to choose from. The most popular is America Online's version, which is often called AIM. Though very user friendly, I don't support AIM because in the past AOL has blocked all attempts to allow other IM clients to work with it. Instant messaging should be universal so that we can all talk to each other no matter what client we choose to use.

For this reason, and because my friends use it, I choose Yahoo!'s instant messenger. Like AIM, Yahoo! Messenger is not only simple to use and rich in features, but also completely free. It's a lot like other popular instant messengers, so much of what I say about it will apply to the others. To download it, go to the Yahoo! Messenger page. For a full review of Yahoo! Messenger, go here.

But there's also one more major player in the IM client war, and that's MSN Messenger. This is Microsoft's tool for chatting online with friends. For a full review of MSN Messenger, go here.