Poor, poor ICQ Lite… I never really used ICQ that much, but I used to like ICQ Lite. Unfortunately, when I turned it on today, it asked if I wanted to download the newest version. I answered "No" and the application was promptly terminated. WTF?! Why the hell did they let me think that I had a choice?! They should’ve just said, "Download the newest version of ICQ Lite or else you will no longer be able to use ICQ Lite." A little honesty would be appreciated now and then. I downloaded and install the newer version (making sure to get rid of the AIM and ICQ icons that appear everywhere), but it now has those stupid little ads at the bottom that are one-third the entire messenging window. I want to kick someone in the head now. The main reason I used ICQ Lite in the first place was so I could avoid seeing the ads at the bottom. Why bother any more?!
While I really appreciate being able to chat with people on AIM & ICQ using just one list (yes, I know about Trillian, I just didn’t want to use it), I must suffer those ads at the bottom that are never targeted to my interests. If I want to buy something, I’ll go search for it! No, I don’t need a date. No, I don’t need to be reminded that I am using ICQ Lite. No, I do not want to fill in any information in my profile so I can get targeted ads; if I did, I wouldn’t bother using Mozilla to block cookies and pop-ups or Ad-aware to cleanse my registry and alert me to tracking programs and data miners. Yeah, I’m paranoid, so stop looking over my shoulder!
I think I’ll just have to start using AIM again, but I can always just move the ICQ window to the bottom of the screen to hide the ad…