AOL on Monday quietly released a brand-new version of its instant-messenger application for Mac users. Called "AIM for Mac beta 1," it's a replacement for version 4.7, which has remained untouched since February 2004.
Back then gas was a little over $1.50 a gallon.
Unlike the changes in oil prices, those four years have amounted to little more than what was offered in previous iterations of the program, or Apple's iChat application which comes pre-installed in every Mac computer. In the new version users can change emoticon sets and tweak background chat wallpapers--all things that you can't do with the current version of iChat. There's also tabbed browsing and contact search which the previous version did not have. Otherwise, it's largely playing catch-up to the PC version, which has received the most attention and is currently on version 6.8.
Also worth noting is how much the market has changed since the latest Mac release. iChat and third-party applications like Adium, Digsby, and Pidgin have the upper hand with compatibility for other protocols. AIM for Mac is currently limited to AOL and Yahoo contacts, while the others support things like Jabber, ICQ, and XMPP. In a more frequently fragmented market, with newcomers like Facebook and Google, these open platforms simply end up being more appealing.
AIM for Mac looks quite similar to iChat, although without the audio and video logos to let you know who is ready for media chatting.
(Credit: AOL Inc.)
AOL released a new press release about its AIM instant messenger service this afternoon, and while there aren't any massive overhauls (unless you count Vista compatibility), you can expect a few new little perks. And maybe a few new little bugs. Yum.
The new release of AIM 6.1, which will be available later this week, is most notably the first version of AIM to be compatible with Windows Vista. Prior versions of the instant-messaging software had not been optimized for use with Microsoft's new operating system. (It wasn't the only popular download that needed to be upgraded for Vista compatibility. Apple's iTunes had the same problem.) AOL has also revamped its Internet Explorer AOL Toolbar, which has some AIM features built-in, and optimized it for Windows Vista. According to the company, Firefox users will have their own version available during the week of April 2.
There are also some small new features in AIM 6.1; you can now make your Buddy List one of ten different colors (um, okay) and choose to dock it on either side of your desktop so that other windows don't cover it. Also, when your friends are signed off, you can send them offline IMs, a feature which some other instant messaging clients like Yahoo Instant Messenger already have. With AIM's offline IMs, you can opt to have them "delivered" via SMS to your cell phone or wait until the next time you're signed on.
Additionally, AOL is expanding its current beta (y'know, "Cayman") of its AOL Webmail, which interested users can opt into, to include better integration of AIM chat. Presumably, they're working toward making it as successful as Gmail's Google Talk sidebar.
Trillian Astra is the next generation of Trillian, the popular multi-account instant messenger from Cerulean Studios. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the alpha build of Astra this morning and muck around with some of its new functionality. The alpha build lacked some of the new features being pitched on the Astra preview site.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Astra is pretty. Really pretty. The new default skin called 'Cordonata' has that slick plastic look you'd find on Mac OS X or Windows Vista. It's also functional, taking up no more onscreen space than the current version of Trillian does. Message windows also seem better designed to handle tabs, and have a larger, more user-friendly design. Options for sending files and setting up conferences are at the bottom of message windows instead of the top, cutting down on clutter. You're also given a news ticker of sorts, which monitors your conversation and brings up content based on what you're talking about with your buddies. While talking with a friend of mine about his Nintendo DS, it brought up a news clipping for CNET's coverage of StumbleUpon's Wii viewer. This was a little creepy.
New to Astra are widgets, which can be added to a customized status bar that can be embedded into forums, Web sites and e-mails. Widgets are created by community developers and provide things like local weather information, mood, and pictures from Flickr. You can see examples of this at Cerulean's forums.
Also cool, but unfortunately not working well enough for me to fully test was the Astra Web interface, where you can login from any Web browser to chat with your buddies. As with Meebo, the interface looks like a desktop application.
A neat addition to Astra is the new framework given to designers for creating advanced skins. While the default theme is slick and good looking, choice is a good thing. Also tweaked is the ability to change skins without having to restart the app.
Trillian Astra also includes plug-ins for newer IM networks such as MySpace and Google Talk. (You could use Google Talk before, but you had to download the Jabber plug-in and edit the settings.) Likewise, to IM via MySpace required a software download and install. Adding both of these protocols to the core client is great.
No news on a solid launch date for Astra. In the meantime, if you want to sign-up for Astra testing, click here.
Have any questions about Astra? Ask in comments, and we'll try to answer.
Update: This post has been changed since it's original publish. Corrections were made regarding widgets and chat feeds.
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