Microsoft has a big interest in keeping the msn protocol closed (mostly because of the obnoxious adds they feed trough the even more obnoxious windows msn messenger), so don't expect any changes there soon.
That said, adium is a great solution for text chatting over msn (and most other IM protocols except skype). It is the best IM app I ever used and they are working hard at implementing video-chats as well.
Microsoft has a big interest in keeping the msn protocol closed (mostly because of the obnoxious adds they feed trough the even more obnoxious windows msn messenger), so don't expect any changes there soon.
That said, adium is a great solution for text chatting over msn (and most other IM protocols except skype). It is the best IM app I ever used and they are working hard at implementing video-chats as well.
yes I've used it before and really don't like it. The whole point in owning a Mac is to keep everything in the Apple realm as much as possible. Thas why I'm really hoping for native support or at the very least someone to come up with some magic script / utility to make it seamless. Actually I wouldn't even mind it if at least the OS X MSN client was more like the Windows client meaning more features and less bugs.
yes I've used it before and really don't like it. The whole point in owning a Mac is to keep everything in the Apple realm as much as possible. Thas why I'm really hoping for native support or at the very least someone to come up with some magic script / utility to make it seamless. Actually I wouldn't even mind it if at least the OS X MSN client was more like the Windows client meaning more features and less bugs.
Actually, MSN Messenger has more known bugs than Adium. And if you "really" want to get technical, Adium follows Apple's own codebase rules far more tightly than MSN Messenger does.
But honestly, what about Adium didn't you like? Because the who idea behind Adium's development is to customize it to your liking. So chances are whatever it was can be changed via the preferences. Here's an example of my own desktop: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/5...baa53a2e_b.jpg
As you can see, my Adium contact list is far different from any of the default layouts. It's all editable through the Preferences>Appearance menu. plus you can find tons more sounds and dock icons at http://adiumxtras.com
And if the reason you want to stay with iChat is all just because you want to avoid 3rd party apps and stick with Apple made products, then you'll be sorely disappointed.
I remember when I bought my first Mac. I felt the same way. I wanted to keep my OS clean of all the "impurities" of bad code common on 3rd party apps. Well truth be told, I learned that wasn't such a smart move.
Apple's supplied apps leave a lot to be desired. You'll find that out as you begin to get used to your Mac. Yes OS X is better than windows, but since OS X developers are few and so devoted, you'll find that the 3rd party apps are generally MUCH better quality than those of Windows. And you don't have to worry about uninstalling and leaving leftover files all over the drive, drag the app to the trash and it's gone. This goes for ALL OS X apps, not just Apple's.
iChat really sucks, honestly. It's not as bad as some, but the interface wastes space, hasn't changed much in several years, and in my opinion the message window's display style is one of the ugliest thing's I've seen on OS X. The only thing it has going for it is the video chat. Which Adium is getting soon.
My point? Give http://www.adiumx.com another try. I know some of the development team, they're VERY committed to keeping Adium more Mac-like than iChat ever was.
Comments
That said, adium is a great solution for text chatting over msn (and most other IM protocols except skype). It is the best IM app I ever used and they are working hard at implementing video-chats as well.
Microsoft has a big interest in keeping the msn protocol closed (mostly because of the obnoxious adds they feed trough the even more obnoxious windows msn messenger), so don't expect any changes there soon.
That said, adium is a great solution for text chatting over msn (and most other IM protocols except skype). It is the best IM app I ever used and they are working hard at implementing video-chats as well.
yes I've used it before and really don't like it. The whole point in owning a Mac is to keep everything in the Apple realm as much as possible. Thas why I'm really hoping for native support or at the very least someone to come up with some magic script / utility to make it seamless. Actually I wouldn't even mind it if at least the OS X MSN client was more like the Windows client meaning more features and less bugs.
yes I've used it before and really don't like it. The whole point in owning a Mac is to keep everything in the Apple realm as much as possible. Thas why I'm really hoping for native support or at the very least someone to come up with some magic script / utility to make it seamless. Actually I wouldn't even mind it if at least the OS X MSN client was more like the Windows client meaning more features and less bugs.
Actually, MSN Messenger has more known bugs than Adium. And if you "really" want to get technical, Adium follows Apple's own codebase rules far more tightly than MSN Messenger does.
But honestly, what about Adium didn't you like? Because the who idea behind Adium's development is to customize it to your liking. So chances are whatever it was can be changed via the preferences. Here's an example of my own desktop: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/5...baa53a2e_b.jpg
As you can see, my Adium contact list is far different from any of the default layouts. It's all editable through the Preferences>Appearance menu. plus you can find tons more sounds and dock icons at http://adiumxtras.com
And if the reason you want to stay with iChat is all just because you want to avoid 3rd party apps and stick with Apple made products, then you'll be sorely disappointed.
I remember when I bought my first Mac. I felt the same way. I wanted to keep my OS clean of all the "impurities" of bad code common on 3rd party apps. Well truth be told, I learned that wasn't such a smart move.
Apple's supplied apps leave a lot to be desired. You'll find that out as you begin to get used to your Mac. Yes OS X is better than windows, but since OS X developers are few and so devoted, you'll find that the 3rd party apps are generally MUCH better quality than those of Windows. And you don't have to worry about uninstalling and leaving leftover files all over the drive, drag the app to the trash and it's gone. This goes for ALL OS X apps, not just Apple's.
iChat really sucks, honestly. It's not as bad as some, but the interface wastes space, hasn't changed much in several years, and in my opinion the message window's display style is one of the ugliest thing's I've seen on OS X. The only thing it has going for it is the video chat. Which Adium is getting soon.
My point? Give http://www.adiumx.com another try. I know some of the development team, they're VERY committed to keeping Adium more Mac-like than iChat ever was.