Commerce/anticompetitive/instant

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM) has quickly turned the internet into a vast communication forum. It was not always this way however, Instant messaging actully started before the internet. Instant messaging first appeared on multi user Operating systems like CTSS and Multics. The users communicated to help with printing quotas and other small tasks. The usefulness of this "Instant Messaging" soon caught on and systems like Freelancin' Roundtable were started. A few years after the come and go of programs like Roundtable, GUI based instant messanger clients were born, starting with ICQ. What started with a small program developed by five Isralis, quickly spread over the internet becomine a must have program for an internet user. While instant messaging used to just be restricted to text messages, it has quickly evolved into sharing files, pictures, games, and also videos chats. Today the most common IM clients are AOL Insant Messanger (AIM), Yahoo Instant Messanger and MSN Instant Messanger (MSN)