Still Green

I tested the new ICQ 6 preview on a Windows machine and have to admit it actually looks good. Not meaningful good, just prettier. Flashier. Greener, somehow, than anything should reasonably be, and the design philosophy seems to be targeting people who won’t notice that they have maybe three people in their contact list. But yeah—it’s clearly an upgrade from the last version, which was starting to feel ancient.

As someone who uses Adium on Mac, I’m watching this from a remove, but I get the appeal for Windows people. The whole thing is Flash animations and color—they’ve really packed it in there—and it’s clearly aimed at people who like their software loud and visible and full of advertising. New emoticons, new sounds, all these little details that feel like progress when you’re looking at fresh pixels. It’s not subtle, but it works for what it is.

It’s in English closed beta right now. Eventually it’ll be everywhere, and then the branded versions start: ProSieben in red, Sat.1 in hot pink, whatever network comes next. It’s the same software in different colors, but everyone treats each new color like a genuine release. Which is fine, actually. That’s how it goes.