Instant Messaging
From Mac Guides
All forms of Instant Messaging are available on the Mac. Here is a brief guide to some useful applications. Click on the application's name for more information.
Contents |
iChat
iChat comes with Mac OS X and is the standard Mac instant message protocol. It is based on the AOL model, and allows fulltime, four-way video conferencing, voice chat and the ability to send pictures as part of the chat (rather than a separate file download).
iChat not only offers connection to AIM (AOL Instant Messaging), but also includes Bonjour messaging (Rendezvous in Panther and Jaguar). This allows iChat to automatically find other users with iChat Bonjour messaging enabled on your local network — no server is needed. iChat v3, included with Tiger, also added support for the Jabber protocol.
Look for iChat in your Applications folder.
Proprietary Clients
Proprietary instant messengering clients are provided by the instant messenger network and only support the protocol for that network.
AOL Instant Messenger
ICQ
MSN Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Multi-Protocol and Open Source Clients
Multi-protocol instant messengering clients (sometimes called "polychatters") are applications that can connect to multiple instant messenger networks simultaneously using a variety of protocols.
The standard services that all of the multi-protcol clients connect to are:
- AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)
- Apple's Bonjour
- ICQ
- MSN Messenger
- Yahoo Messenger
- Jabber / XMPP / Google Talk
Adium
Adium is the most popular "polychatter" available for OSX. Besides the standard services listed above, Adium allows connections to Gadu-Gadu, Lotus Sametime, Novell Groupwise, and QQ. Its chat options vary with the service you are currently connected through. Adium supports skinning and a large amount of customization. It may be compared to Windows clients Trillian and Gaim on Windows, and it utilizes the core of Gaim for connectivity.
aMSN
aMSN is an open-source version of MSN messenger provides most of the features of the MSN client for windows. It is said to work better than the proprietary MSN Messenger.
Fire
Fire is another polychatter, which connects to services as well as IRC, it has been discontinued and some of the developers have joined Adium.
Proteus
Proteus connects to most of the services Adium does. Proteus is also very customizable. Previously shareware, it has been released as freeware after the previous development team left.
irc (Internet Relay Chat)
Internet Relay Chat (irc) is a form of instant communication over the Internet. It is mainly designed for group (many-to-many) communication in discussion forums called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication.
