ICQ 6 Blog
Thank you for all your feedback on our latest release: ICQ 6. From your feedback in our ICQ 6 forum, all the quirks some of you have encountered since the release have been ironed out. We hope you continue to enjoy ICQ 6 and look forward to receiving more feedback, because, as you all know, it's your show!
In the meantime, the following Q&A addresses frequently asked questions brought up in our forum.
How Do I...
Q: Transfer my History from ICQ 5.1 to ICQ6?
A: When ICQ 6 is downloaded, you are asked whether you would like to transfer your history from ICQ 5.1 to ICQ 6..
Q: Change my Background Colors/ Skins?
A: Coming up soon!
Q: Play games with other Contacts?
A: Right click on the user's name->Start->chose a game or: Right click on contact's name->Start-> More-> choose a game Then select the game from the Xtraz bar, at the top of the contact list
Q: Receive messages only from my contacts?
A: To receive messages only from your contacts, go to: main->options->privacy->accept messages only from my contacts
Q: Send an SMS Message?
A: In the conversation/message window you will find this option at the top,second button on the left. If you haven't added a phone number to this contact, ICQ will request for you to add a Mobile number for the specified contact. After you have added the Mobile Number, you can simply type your message in the window and send.
Q: Multichat?
A: Coming up soon!.
Q: Arrange my Contact List?
A: right click on Contact List-> show/hide->mark your choices. or right click on Contact List -> sort by-> mark you choice.
Where can I find :
Vielen Dank für eure Feedbacks zu unserer letzten Ausgabe: ICQ 6. Dank euren Feedbacks in diesem Forum, wurden alle Eigenheiten, die ihr hier genannt habt, verbessert. Wir hoffen ihr werdet ICQ 6 weiter geniessen, und warten auf eure nächste Feedbacks, da, wie ihr wisst, It's your Show!
Hier sind die Antworten auf die meist gefragten Fragen:
Wie kann ich...
F: Meinen Nachrichten Verlauf von ICQ 5.1 auf ICQ6 übertragen?
A: Du wirst automatisch beim Downloaden gefragt, ob der Verlauf übertragen werden soll.
F: Mein Hintergrundfarbe/ Skins ändern?
A: Kommt demnächst!
F: Mit anderen Kontakte spielen?
A: Rechtsklick auf den Benutzernamen->Start->das gewünschte Spiel anklicken. Oder:Rechtsklick auf den Kontakt ->Start->Mehr->das gewünschte Spiel anklicken. Dannach, wähl dein gewünschten Spiel vom Xtraz Bar, über der Kontaktliste.
F: Nur Nachrichten von meinen Kontakten annehmen:
A: Um Nachrichten nur von deinen Kontakten anzunehmen geh zu: main->options->privacy->accept messages only from my contacts (= Hauptmenue->Optionen->Privacy->Nur Mitteilung aus meiner Kontakliste annehmen. )
F: SMS schicken
A: Im Gesprächfenster: Einfach die zweite Taste oben links anklicken. Wenn du dem Benutzer noch keine Nummer hingefügt hast, wird ICQ dich anfordern eine Handynummer zum Kontakt hinzufügen("Enter a Mobile Number for..". Nachdem du die Handynummer eingegeben hast, schreib dein SMS im Chat Fenster und dann "Send" anklicken.
F: Multichat?
A: Kommt demnächst!
F: Meine Kontaktliste organisieren?
A: Rechteklick auf die Kontaktliste-> show/hide (=zeigen/verstecken)->deine Wahl anklicken. (-Gruppen, -Offline Kontakte, -Schnelle Zugang; -Devils;) Oder: Rechteklick auf die Kontaktliste -> sort by (=sortieren nach)-> deine Wahl anklicken
Wo ist:
It's no secret communication has been made easier and occurs more often because of instant messaging. What began with instant messaging, extended into innumerable venues of communication on the internet and these days, we wouldn't know what to do without our ICQ open and the ability to text from our instant messenger etc. ICQ wondered to itself: "How can instant messaging be made easier??" We ate many peanuts figuring out little ways to make it work.
There is a philosophy behind it, if people in general are spending more time online and internet browsers are becoming more efficient in reducing tabs and allowing you to run all kinds of web pages at the same time, ICQ wants to create that very same attitude with our messaging service. "Reduce all the clicking our index fingers are doing!" our product manager announced with his own finger in the air. Would it help? Would it matter?
Simple idea. Sounded good. So we did it.
Why click all over the screen and click more when we don't need to? Of course, it's not a revolutionary idea, but we developed a way to make instant messaging more instant. Just click to highlight the user you want to message and start typing on the client itself and the text bar will appear. No more double clicking and then clicking on the message window to type.
So there you have it. ICQ's version to make instant messaging quicker, just another little idea we came up with with user convenience in mind. Not bad ey?
We know many of you have been wondering what's going on with the registration.
After many weeks of users testing the ICQ 6 Preview Version successfully, we're eager to open the gates to
even more users. In that, we've now opened more slots for registration. Also, anyone registered for the
ICQ 6 Preview Version has the opportunity to invite two friends instead of one.
We would like to express our thanks to all of our users who are testing out the
ICQ Preview Version and giving us valuable feedback. Keep the feedback coming!
Spread the news that the ICQ Preview Version is out, and we will keep you updated on our future plans!
Thanks again,
ICQ Team
When we first started our research towards the new design for ICQ 6, we made many drafts. The design direction which we finally decided to go for was created by Dor Elliot. Dor, a young, talented professional and a friend, died of cancer last week (Nov. 25th) and wasn't able to see his work completed. We would like to dedicate this version of ICQ 6 to him.
As the development team working on ICQ 6, we faced many challenges. Especially since our target for the new version was to build many new features and change many elements. Every element and feature was carefully planned by the different departments in the company. As developers, we invested a lot of thought and energy in finding the best way to implement those plans, with as little deviations as possible from the original specifications. This required a lot of hard work behind the scenes. There were some elements, which at first we thought were impossible to build. We sat for hours upon hours, trying to solve problems or reach a compromise among the different departments. In order to overcome the challenges, we needed good coordination among the team members and between the different teams. Sometimes we worked together into the small hours of the night, munching hot pizzas and typing away... The team's persistence paid off in the end, and together we overcame the obstacles. There are a lot of things I'm excited about in this new version. As an experienced programmer, I can say there are elements which are very innovative. For example, a new and friendly way of sending IM to your friends, or the ability to see easily and clearly all the messages received. In general, I like this version for its user friendliness and great colors. I think this serves the ICQ brand perfectly.
From the beginning we knew that ICQ 6 was not going to be just a small update version. We wanted it to make a difference. We decided to start thinking out of the box about what instant messaging should be like in the future. First, we took a long look at ICQ and looked for those features and elements that haven't been changed or refreshed in a long time. Since we wanted to make a significant change, that was a good place to start. Next, we went back and took a second look at ideas that had come up in the past but were not developed, and at features that existed in previous ICQ versions but for some reason found their way out of ICQ, even though they were really good. That's why some of the new features in ICQ 6 may look familiar to veteran ICQ users. The important thing for me in the new version was to make the whole communication experience as easy and as friendly as possible. When I talk with my friends or my brothers, I like to keep it simple. So the idea was to group all the important conversation options in one place - I want to send a text message to a friend? One click and I'm done. I'm chatting with a friend and we want to switch to a video call? No problem. I think we achieved that in the new ICQ version. There is one new feature I'm especially excited about, but I still can't say much about it. I can only say that there will be more than one way to IM in ICQ. What I could really use now is some real feedback. Since we rearranged practically every screen and functionality, I'd love to find out what people think about it. So you're welcome to post your opinions and suggestions.
As we began working on new graphics for the ICQ 6 interface, the most challenging aspect was creating an innovative product that would address the young-at-heart audience while establishing a communication zone in which each user will be able to express his/her own personality. Our vision was to create an interactive experience that is exciting and entertaining, while being easy to use, light and flowing. Prior to establishing the design concept, we outlined a set of values and attributes for the new product that were going to guide us along the way. Here are some of them: fresh, growing, fast, light, experimental, easy-going, friendly, eye-level, warm... After a few sketches that lead us in a million directions, we decided on a sketch that seemed the most "to-the-point" and which best reflected the values we defined. We then started trying out different colors for the new product. Each experiment swept us in a different and unexpected direction, until we finally decided on shades of "warm, cheeky green". While very unusual, the green color helped differentiate our product from the others, creating the refreshing feeling of "lemonade on a hot day". We are also working on a more neutral and subtle color scheme, to fit all flavors. After having decided on the general concept and color scheme, we zoomed in and focused on the smaller and more hidden details - down to the smallest elements. In the end, we succeeded in bridging the gap that sometimes lies between beauty and functionality. The new version has set sail.
