ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, owned by Time Warner’s AOL subsidiary. ICQ was first developed by the Israeli company Mirabilis. The first version of the program was released in November 1996. The name ICQ is an oronym on the phrase “I seek you”.
ICQ features include sending text messages, offline support, multi-user chats, free daily-limited SMS sending, resumable file transfers, greeting cards and multiplayer games. Other features included a searchable user directory and POP3 email support.
ICQ users are identified by numbers called UIN, distributed in sequential order. As of ICQ 6, users are also able to log in using the specific E-Mail address they associated with their UIN during the registration process. New users are now given a UIN of well over 400,000,000, and low numbers (six or five digits) have been auctioned on eBay by users who signed up in ICQ’s early days. Since 2000, ICQ and AIM users are able to add each other to their contact list without the need of any external clients.
UIN was coined by Mirabilis, to be used as the name of the so called Universal Internet Number or Unified Identification Number that each user of the ICQ instant messaging software is assigned upon registration. Unlike most other instant messaging programs, in ICQ the only information that is permanent to a registered user is the UIN, although users are able to search for users by their e-mail address, much like MSN, or in fact any other detail that the user made public about himself or herself. The screen name may be changed at will, without having to re-register, as can all other kinds of user information, including e-mail.
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