ICQ is a popular instant messaging computer program, which was first developed by the Israeli company Mirabilis, now owned by AOL. The first version of the program was released in November 1996 and ICQ became one of the first Internet-wide instant messaging services. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you". America Online (AOL) acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998 for US$407 million. According to Time Warner, ICQ has over 100 millio...
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ICQ is a popular instant messaging computer program, which was first developed by the Israeli company Mirabilis, now owned by AOL. The first version of the program was released in November 1996 and ICQ became one of the first Internet-wide instant messaging services. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you". America Online (AOL) acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998 for US$407 million. According to Time Warner, ICQ has over 100 million accounts registered.
Mirabilis was first established by five Israelis: Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father Yossi Vardi. They recognized that many people were online accessing the Internet through a non-UNIX operating system, and that there was no software that enabled an immediate connection between them.
What was missing was the technology for locating and connecting the users of the Windows operating system.
The technology Mirabilis developed for ICQ was distributed free of charge. The technology's...
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