3.3M views · Dec 27, 2009 · 0:04 · 0 HN recommenders · 3 mentions · discussed 2014–2022
A short upload of the classic ICQ notification sounds, such as the 'uh-oh' message alert.
Why Hacker News points people here: Linked for nostalgia, as an instant audio time-travel to the early instant messaging era.
“Instant audio time-travel just by reading a comment.”HN comment, 2022
The Worms sound is slightly lower and has a slightly longer "oh", imo.[0][1] I don't remember there being an "uh oh" sound in Chip's Challenge (the death sound was "bummer" iirc)[2] 0: this video 1: link (apologies for the video track, couldn't find anything better) 2: link
“Instant audio time-travel just by reading a comment.”
> Also, ICQ would say uh-oh when you got new messages Wow, as soon as I read that, I heard it in my head, exactly as it was. Since I wasn't sure it was a false memory, I looked it up[1], and yeah, it was exactly the same, except in my head it was in a slightly lower voice. Amazing. Instant audio time-travel just by reading a comment. [1] this video
His point about country usage patterns even applies to the US and Canada. I remember in Canada when most of my friends were on ICQ (and the ubiquitious "uh oh!") and then the slow switch to MSN. Yet the majority of my American friends used AOL Instant Messenger. For the younger folk that have never heard the default ICQ notification sound: this video
