I've tried 3 Instant Messengers over the summer. These are the ones I tried and the score I give them:
| Yahoo! Messenger | 5 |
| MSN Messenger Service | 7 |
| AOL Instant Messenger | 9 |
Note: Load times do not include logon. I chose not to post them because ISP speeds vary greatly.
Yahoo! Messenger
Statistics
| Load Time | 12 seconds + 2 per Yahoo tool active |
| Resource Usage | 7% (5% GDI) |
| Does it cause other apps to 'stutter'? | Yes |
| Download Size | 2.14 MB |
| Requires E-mail account? | Yes, Yahoo! Mail account |
| Version I Tried | 3,5,0,844 |
| Download from where? | http://messenger.yahoo.com/ |
MSN Messenger Service Statistics
| Load Time | 4 seconds |
| Resource Usage | 2% (5% GDI when not hidden in system tray) |
| Does it cause other apps to 'stutter'? | No |
| Download Size | 838 KB (May already be installed on Windows systems.) |
| Requires E-mail account? | Yes, Hotmail or MSN Account |
| Version I Tried | 3.6.0026 |
| Download from where? | http://messenger.msn.com/ |
AOL Instant Messenger Statistics
Note: AOL Users do not use this. Their version is built into AOL's Internet Explorer.
| Load Time | 7 seconds |
| Resource Usage | 5% (4% GDI) |
| Does it cause other apps to 'stutter'? | No |
| Download Size | 2.33 MB |
| Requires E-mail account? | No |
| Version I Tried | 4.3.2229 |
| Download from where? | http://aim.aol.com/aimnew/newreg/home.html |
