Apple has announced its annual Back to School promotion, which includes an online rebate for $199 toward the purchase of an iPod Touch. But, though your new Mac is great out of the box, here are a few free applications you might want to add right away.
Some in the open-source camp would have you believe that open source is an all-or-nothing proposition. For such people, to believe that Linux makes for a superior server operating system is also to dedicate oneself to using open source for business applications, personal productivity, mobile, and likely brushing one's teeth. Open source on a proprietary platform like Mac OS X? Perish the thought!
But life is more complicated than that, and it turns out that there is exceptional open-source software for the Mac (or for Windows, for that matter).
The H Online has kicked off a nice "Open Source Stars for Mac OS X&… Read more
UPDATED 11:45 a.m., June 24, 2009: As I just found out via Twitter, what worked yesterday won't work today. If you've updated your client with the new version, but used the IP address below to fix Yahoo IM in the previous version, you must delete that IP from the Pager Server in Pidgin or the Login Server in Adium and restart the client.
Instant-messaging stalwarts Pidgin for Windows and Adium for Mac have updated to correct a Yahoo Instant Messenger connection error. Yahoo announced earlier this month that it was going to phase out support for … Read more
A variety of multiclient instant-messaging services have cropped up that allow users to communicate with each other over the Web. Some can be downloaded onto your desktop, while others can be accessed on the Internet. In either case, they're worth trying out, if you want to enjoy a fine experience communicating with your friends.
Multiclient IM resourcesAdium Adium is my favorite multiclient instant-messaging tool for a few reasons. It supports practically any IM platform around, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, Google Talk (via Jabber), and more. It even has a plug-in for Skype.
You'll rarely have any trouble communicating with friends in the service. But its most redeeming quality is that it's open source. So, if you want to modify the code to fit your own IM desires, that's possible. And those in the open-source community are constantly improving the product, whose updates typically install with ease.
When you download Adium (it's available for Mac OS X), you'll have the option of choosing your IM service. By default, Adium takes on the same design as Mac OS X. But with the help of some plug-ins from Adium's site, called "Xtras," you can customize it as you see fit. Those add-ons include emoticons, dock icons, scripts, and more. I could go on about Adium, but I think that you get the point: if you're a Mac OS X user, it's worth trying out.
Digsby Digsby is a multifaceted tool that lets you communicate with friends over instant messaging, e-mail, or social networks. I recently took a look at its social-networking capabilities. After having the opportunity to use its IM services, I was just as impressed.
After installing Digsby on my Windows PC (Mac and Linux versions are reportedly on the way), I was able to log in to my accounts on AIM, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, and others. Digsby's app is designed well, with a more attractive interface than Adium's default skin. Digsby also gives you the option of sending an SMS text message from the application. Overall, I liked Digsby.… Read more
Anyone who uses a chat client frequently knows what it's like when one of your friends is on a different service. You can download the client to match what they use, but that means you'll need to have at least two chat clients running at all times. If someone else comes along that uses a third service, that's when it really starts to get confusing.
Instead of filling up your Dock with chat clients, why not just download Adium? This multiservice chat client lets you register for new services and chat with all of your friends from … Read more
Mac users: are you a Twitter user who also uses Adium? If you are, you'll appreciate third-party plug-in, TwitterIM. With this plug-in installed, you'll be able to receive Twitter messages in a chat client window. Though the developers of Adium have promised Twitter support in upcoming version 1.4, Twitter users can get started early with this third-party plug-in.
You will need an account at Twitter to get started. Once you're registered, download and install the TwitterIM plug-in (above) and launch Adium (make sure to update to the latest version). With Adium running, open the Adium Preferences … Read more
Mac users long ago discovered the incredible power of Adium, the open-source, multiprotocol instant-messaging application for the Mac. The next time someone suggests that open source can't innovate, is not user-friendly, etc., point them to Adium. It's simply incredible.
What Adium isn't, however, is a good Twitter client. That's about to change, starting with Adium's next version (1.4), when sophisticated Twitter functionality will be integrated into Adium.
Sure, it has been possible to integrate Adium with Twitter with things like TwitterAdium, but those have involved a little more heavy lifting than most users want … Read more
If you're a Mac user and are still slumming with iChat, it's time that you used Adium. Let's just say that God was busy creating Adium on the eighth day....
For those who have been using open-source Adium, it just got even better. Now with Facebook integration, easier and more powerful search, and more, Adium 1.3 rocks.
This release improves almost every aspect of Adium, ranging from performance and memory to Facebook chat support, and from user interface polish to much improved MSN support with personal messages (finally!). A brand new, gorgeous Contact Inspector brings together … Read moreFormerly one of the most popular and customizable third-party clients for AOL Instant Messager, Adium faded from the public eye during development. The supercharged new version emerges from hibernation as Adium X. It supports multiple services, including AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and Napster. Part of what made the original Adium so attractive was its multitude of options, which still forms the core of this revision.
Adium allows for an incredible level of customization, with near-infinite tailoring of the user interface to make the buddy dock and chat windows look and behave as you wish. Adium supports group chats, displays your status … Read more
Google just announced its mentoring organizations for its 2008 Summer of Code. I was really happy to see that the open-source Mac instant messaging client, Adium, was selected as one of the mentoring organizations.
Looking at the list of ideas Adium has for its incoming student developers, however, I'm a little bummed by the lack of ambition. Or, rather, creativity.
On tap? Adding the ability to remote control a Mac through Adium (similar to Apple's iChat) and video conferencing support (similar to Apple's iChat), plus improving group chat capabilities. These are nice to haves, but they're simply replications of proprietary products. The reason I use Adium instead of iChat is for all the other things that Adium does better than iChat (customizability being the top reason).… Read more
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