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Using Microsoft Chat

Another type of chat involves downloading and using a chat client software program. These programs used Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, to conduct their chats. There are many such programs, but one of the best is Microsoft Chat—it's free, and it's a little bit unusual in that it makes the chat look like a comic strip.

If you don't have Microsoft Chat, you can download it free from the Tucows software directory at www.tucows.com or directly from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com.

Like any chat program, Microsoft Chat—henceforth to be known simply as Chat with a capital C—lets you communicate with chat servers. You can view the list of chat rooms, join a chat room, read what everyone says in the chat room, and make your own contributions ...