Mac OS X AIM Client ShootoutFour AIM clients for OS X comparedEric Schwarz
- 2002.06.13Well, I've been writing for Low End
Mac for a year (on June 14) and have gone from a PowerBook
540c and Performa 475
running OS 8 to an iBook running
OS X 10.1.5. I'll probably do a piece reflecting on my first
year here later, but for now, I think it's time this was done (or at
least done more up-to-date). What Is AIM?AIM is the AOL Instant Messenger, a free, easy to use chat system
for users of Macs, PCs, Linux, Palm OS, and many more operating
systems. Millions use it to chat with AIM users around the world.
Eventually, with the introduction of iChat, iTools users will be able
to chat with AIM and AOL users. What is nice about Mac OS X is
that there are a lot of clients for AIM, rather than just the
official one from AOL. This article is intended to give you a
recommendation on which one to download. AIMDownload Size: 2.9 MB AOL's Official Client is up to version
4.5.x on the Mac (4.8 for
Windows) and allows you to log in with your iTools ID
(yourID@mac.com becomes your screen name, including the "@mac.com"
part). I've tried this, and it still seems kind of flaky, but overall
AOL's client works quite well. There are some problems with this program. First, it's a lot
slower than some other offerings (since it does have a lot of
eye-candy). It also shows ads (which are what pays for the service,
but can be quite ugly). Finally, it's a carbon app and does crash
(sometimes hard). AOL's client is also available for the classic Mac OS. Verdict: The official client is okay, but not impressive.
(2/5) FireDownload Size: 3.5 MB Epicware's Fire is
more than just a simple AIM client. Actually, it's a client for many
services, including MSN (bleh), Yahoo, ICQ, and Jabber. It's quite
fast, has many options, and works well. There are no ads, but it
connects with a different protocol than the official AOL client, so
there may be some outages. A major quirk is that it keeps getting the
buddy list off the AOL server, even when you don't want it to. This
used to be my primary IM client, but then I quit using the garbage
known as MSN and got the Yahoo client, so all that power seemed like
an overkill. Verdict: This is an excellent piece of software, but if you don't
need all the power, I'd suggest something else. (4/5) ProteusDownload Size: 2.1 MB Proteus is odd (in
my opinion), but not in a bad way. Proteus works like Fire but allows
you to have multiple accounts for each service (so you could sign on
to AIM as two different people). Proteus, like Fire, is a Cocoa app
and has a gorgeous interface. There are some annoyances, however, including the fact that things
aren't where they're expected to be (kinda like OmniWeb),
and for some reason, it seems that your buddy list cannot be shared
by multiple accounts (this could just be a problem with mine - your
mileage may vary). To connect or disconnect with a certain account,
you must open the account manager. Again, there are no ads, but it
connects with a different protocol than the AOL client, so there may
be some outages. Verdict: A promising piece of software with lots of power (like
Fire) that has some quirks that take some getting used to. (3/5) AdiumDownload Size: 1.5 MB Finally, we have Adium,
the iCab of AIM clients. It
was designed from the beginning to be fast (use nearly 0% of CPU
power), but also to provide lots of options. You can customize every
aspect of its interface, from its dock icon to what each little title
and message looks like. Obviously, it's a Cocoa app, and it's very
reliable. Previous versions did not allow warnings, but this one
does. The interface is very clean, and the dock icon can be set
not to bounce. There are a few nifty features, including
window modes that puts all your messages in one tabbed window, a
tabbed window that includes everything (buddy list and messages), and
regular mode (like the other clients). Like the other third-party
clients, there are no ads, but it connects with a different protocol
than the official client, so there may be some outages. This is the
client that I use for most things, and it has proven quite
reliable. Verdict: A wonderful AIM client, that is rather plain (but not too
plain). (5/5) So Which One?There are more clients out there, but these are the major ones.
The winner here is Adium, and it is well worth your download. The
others are not bad choices, either. Of course, this whole article is
opinionated, so if your favorite client didn't score as high as you
think it should, don't feel bad. For the best effect, try all of them
and see which one fits your needs. We'll just have to wait for iChat and see if Apple's client is as
good as they claim.
Eric Schwarz has been using Macs and other computers for a few years. His personal website - dealing with Macs (of course) - is at <http://schwarztech.macweekly.com/>. You can learn more about his current computer setup in Eric Schwarz's
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