Adium X

Open source; $0

Current Version: 1.2.7 (July 7, 2008)

Adium X (Formerly Adium, a simple AIM clone) is an extremely nice multi-protocol instant messaging client for Mac OS X, supporting AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, and ICQ. If you're coming from the Windows platform, you can think of Adium as Trillian for Mac OS X. It is probably the most capable IM client for the Macintosh, with a huge number of available options to customize the application to your liking, and it's actively updated and free, to boot.

Versions 0.50 and later are the culmination of more than a year-long rewrite of Adium, which now utilizes libpurple (formerly libgaim, the core part of Pidgin) to connect to multiple protocols, and is also based on a new plugin architecture. Partial address book integration, "cool" looking tabs, multiple protocols for instant messaging, and a compact contact list are some of the many features of the new Adium X.

Version 1.2.7 adds/changes the following:

• Fixed sending of invalid XML when asked for our version information in XMPP, which effectively broke XMPP connectivity. (Bug introduced in 1.2.6)
• Improved handling of invalid XML over XMPP
• Hopefully fixed a bug which caused an XMPP contact to infinitely flip between two groups shortly after authorization

The online release notes for version 1.2.7 have more details.

AOL Instant Messenger

Current Version: 4.3.1232 / 4.7.1333 (February 18, 2004)

From the AOL Instant Messenger home page: "AOL Instant Messenger combines AOL's popular "Buddy List" and "Instant Message" features. The "Instant Message" feature lets users send and respond to messages immediately while the "Buddy List" feature lets users know instantly when friends are online. Previously only available to [AOL] members, AOL is now delivering these features to Internet users worldwide." Another nice feature of the AIM service is that it's accessible via a web browser no matter where you are. Versions 4.6 and later feature ICQ integration, "Mobile IM" and other new features. Version 4.7 adds "friendly name support," allowing you to view people's actual names rather than cryptic IM addresses, and "multi-point file sharing" that allows you to share the contents of more than one folder.

AthenaIRC

Shareware; $10

Current Version: 2.1 (February 4, 2003)

AthenaIRC is among the newest of the Mac OS IRC clients, although it was also the quickest to die; the author noted in September 2003:

"Sadly, AthenaIRC eventually met the same fate as the clients it was created to rival. Constant patches to the code to add new features led to a bulk level that could not be worked with. It's like taking a house, and deciding you want to add a window, but you don't want to rebuild the wall, so you just cut a hole in it. Sure, it works, but the wall will never be as strong as it once was. Now do that over and over again, eventually that wall will be so unstable that you can't work with it any longer. AthenaIRC is that wall, and so it is time to rebuild it.

"AthenaIRC 2.1 will be the final version of the AthenaIRC legacy. Its replacement, Minerva, is a Mac OS X only rewrite of the AthenaIRC code. Numerous elements of the client have been reworked from the ground up. Parts of the client which served nothing but bloat have been entirely removed."

It bears noting, then, that the author has kept the "final" version of the software available for Mac OS 8, 9 and X for those loyal users. Some of its distinguising features include:

• Compact interface optimizes desktop space and keeps a low profile.
• OS X / Aqua Ready, fully supporting dozens of Aqua visual enhancements such as sheets.
• Easy to use Setup Assistant for configuring connections.
• Optional Single Window Connection interface for those who prefer as minimal windows as possible.
• Athena tracks your channel visiting and stores it in a Channel History.
• Athena remembers the window locations and settings for each specific channel. It's not just the order that the channel was opened in, it's the channel itself.
• Got a whole bunch of channels that you visit? Add them all to the Channel Favorites menu.
• A Channel Taskbar shows all open channels and query windows, and lets you know when something new is said in one of the windows in the background.
• Nickname Autocomplete for chat input.
• Command Aliases allow you to build your own IRC shortcuts and execute them from the command line. These aliases are stored in files which can be downloaded from the net or traded with other users.
• Athena uses SoundSet files for all event sounds. The soundset format is based on Hotline Client soundsets, and is backwards compatible with all Hotline soundset files.
• A buddy list type Notify system makes it super easy to tell when a friend is online.
• Auto re-connect if a server refuses to let you in. Very useful on undernet.

Version 2.1 sports a new and improved DCC system, and a faster userlist.

Chax

Donationware; $0

Current Version: 1.5 (September 5, 2007) / 2.1.2 (May 14, 2008)

Chax is a free collection of minor modifications and additions that make using Apple's iChat more enjoyable.

Chax comes in two versions - 1.5 for Mac OS X 10.4 (iChat 3), and 2.1.2 for Mac OS X 10.5 (iChat 4).

Features of version 1.5 for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger include:

User list:

• Toggle text status visibility of users
• Set font of names, status messages, and group separators
• Show animated user icons
• Ability to hide iTunes music store links in text statuses
• Idle time included in tooltips
• Display Address Book nicknames instead of full names
• Option to show a warning before messaging mobile users
• Hide the audio/video status icon at the top of the user list
• Message a specific screen name for people with multiple screen names

Message window:

• Tabbed chats, allowing you to keep all of your chats together in one window
• Option to auto-accept text chats, skipping new message notification window
• Show status changes directly in the message window
• Disable the smiley button in text input lines
• Option to open images sent through direct connect directly in Preview
• Send away auto-reply only once per conversation
• Save and restore window positions for individual screen names

Other:

• Unread message notification in the dock
• Growl notifications for new messages
• Properly use ICQ accounts without sending text formatting in messages
• Automatically set status to away when screensaver is activated
• Option to auto-accept file transfers
• Hide all iChat windows when iChat is inactive
• Always on top option for user lists, text chats, and audio or video chats
• Set a custom away auto-reply that is different from the away message
• Change the delay of or disable auto-away
• New message windows cascade properly instead of always appearing on top of each other
• Built-in log viewer
• Activity window shows history of user status changes
• Warn before quitting while there are active chats
• Option to disable pausing of AV chats while there are active file transfers
• Disable picture-in-picture in video chats
• Automatically reconnect when disconnected
• Disable alert sounds when away, idle, or available

A detailed feature list with screen shots will provide you with even more information on this very handy - and free - product.

Version 1.5 adds/changes the following:

• (Bug) Fixed an issue where some incoming messages could not be accepted
• (Bug) Fixed missing strings in the Italian localization
• (Bug) Increased responsiveness of the log viewer
• (Bug) Log viewer now sorts logs by creation date
• (Bug) Fixed an issue where the Chax preferences could become hidden

Features of Chax 2.1 for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard include:

• Unified contact list shows all contacts from all accounts in one window
• Growl notifications for new messages and users changing status
• Automatically resize the contact list to fit the number of visible users
• Built-in log viewer
• Activity log that displays your contacts' status changes
• Auto-accept file transfers, AV chats, and screen sharing requests
• Toggle text status visibility of users
• Always on top option for contact list, message windows and AV chats
• Set font of names, status messages, and group separators
• Option to auto-accept text chats, skipping new message notification window
• Show status changes directly in the message window
• Additional unread message notifications in the dock
• Automatically go away when the screensaver activates
• Properly use ICQ accounts without sending text formatting in messages

Version 2.1.2 adds/changes the following from version 2.1.1:

• (New) Quick Look support for inline image transfers (available by right-clicking an image)
• (New) Contact lists can now be sorted by user handle (View menu -> Sort Buddies -> By Handle)
• (New) New default to strip background color of outgoing messages (StripOutgoingBackgroundColor)
• (New) Russian localization (thanks to Denis Avdeev)
• (New) Options to undim the screen when receiving a message or AV invitation
• (Change) The unified contact list can now be set as the primary contact list in the Chax preferences
• (Bug) Unified contact list should now stay in sync properly with all accounts
• (Bug) Auto-replies to ICQ users are now properly stripped
• (Bug) Name notifications in the Dock now truncate better
• (Bug) Selecting "All Contacts" from the Window menu now toggles unified contact list visibility
• (Bug) Can now make all accounts invisible at once with the unified contact list
• (Bug) Fixed crash that could occur on wake-from-sleep or when reconnecting
• (Bug) Improved German localization
• (Bug) Viewing logs on a specific person will now properly reload logs
• (Bug) Exporting logs as text will now save status changes
• (Bug) Exporting log as text now gives a default name
• (Bug) Stop screensaver on event options now properly stop the screensaver
• (Bug) Find now works properly in the log viewer

Colloquy

Open source; Donationware

Current Version: 2.1 (3761) (October 15, 2007)

Colloquy is a free, open source IRC client based upon the Firetalk IRC engine for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later. Its customizable, Cocoa-based interface will feel familiar to users of Apple's iChat, making it quite friendly and approachable for an IRC application. It is also fully compatibe with mIRC coloring, aind includes full DCC support.

Version 2.1 (3761) adds/changes the following:

• Fixes the crash on launch for 10.3.9 users.
• Fixes the problem where you can't send messages after reconnecting to a server.
• Fixes SILC not showing room messages.
• Fixes JavaScript plugins.
• Introduces 'Auto join chat rooms on invite' as an option in the Behavior preferences.
• Adds the previously hidden 'Show Notices as Private Chat' preference an option in the Interface preferences.
• Fixes /amsg, /broadcast, /ame and /bract so that it uses the correct local user for each message sent.
• Fixes where non-alphanumeric nicknames weren't getting highlighted.
• The Get Info panel for a user (/whois) will now say "offline" if the user was not online.
• More support for receiving room notices and messages that are directed only to users with certain user modes (for example "PRIVMSG %#room :my notice").
• Allow the room part reason to contain colors and formatting.
• Allows @ in usernames for Jabber/XMPP connections.
• No longer joins a non-existent channel when accidently having two spaces in the /join command.
• Make the title shorter for the highlight mention alert. This should make it fit in more Growl styles.
• Allow plugin commands to be used again for auto commands in connections during application launch. This mainly affected using the /msg command.
• Adds the iTunes and Google plugins back.
• Minor French localization changes.
• Fix the Dutch localization.
• Adds a Norwegian localization. Translated by Kenneth Stevenson.
• Adds a Japanese localization. Translated by redgecko.

NOTE: This is the last supported release for Mac OS X 10.3.9 (Panther). Please update to Leopard or Tiger to receive further updates and support for Colloquy.

ConferenceRoom

Commercial; varies

Current Version: 3.5 (July 16, 2007)

Webmaster, Inc. produces ConferenceRoom, a highly-regarded browser-enabled chat/conferencing server application that runs on Mac OS X's UNIX layer ("Darwin").

Version 3.5 is a minor release that adds/changes the following:

• ConferenceRoom 3.5 has very few new chat server features but does introduce the new Flash client interface. We think our clients will be pleased with the speed and stability of this new client.

The software is available for purchase in various configurations, ranging in price from $995 to $4,995. The evaluation editions are limited to 10 simultaneous users and contain features from the Professional Edition of ConferenceRoom.

Conversation

Freeware

Current Version: 1.4.2 / 2.14 (July 18, 2005)

Conversation is a free IRC client with DCC and MP3 channels support for Mac OS X. Its Cocoa-based interface will feel familiar to users of Apple's iChat, making it quite friendly and approachable for an IRC application. Version 2.14 adds/changes the following:

• New Safari like download window
• Various bug fixes

DigiChat

Commercial; varies

Current Version: 5.1 (March 3, 2005)

Digi-Net Technologies, Inc. produces DigiChat, a Java-based client and server chat system for Web content providers. DigiChat and its sister product - DigiChat AV - feature a number of features that are summarized on the DigiChat Feature Set page.

Empower Pro Phone

Commercial; $14.95

Current Version: 2.2.2 (March 14, 2005)

Empower Pro produces Empower Pro Phone, a Mac-to-Mac, real-time voice communication utility that has been designed from the ground up as a Carbon application (and an efficiently designed one at that; the actual application is only about 250K).

Fire

Current Version: 1.0.4 (October 23, 2004) / 1.5.6 (February 16, 2006)

Please note: Fire has officially been discontinued as of February 23, 2007. The authors note: "We are saddened to announce that there will be no future versions of Fire. There are several reasons for this end, but the most notable is the loss of developers. Fire's development had dwindled to few developers who do not wish to continue the project alone. In addition, another major contributing factor is the fact that all but one of Fire's IM libraries is no longer in active development. The good news is that two of Fire's developers have joined the Adium team and have written a transition path. Adium 1.0, upon first launch, will import your Fire accounts, away messages, groups, buddies, and logs into Adium. For future updates and IM needs, we suggest that you look at Adium." However, the latest released version of Fire will continue to be available. More...

Fire is a free, attractive, multi-protocol instant messaging service for Mac OS X (written in Cocoa, Mac OS X's native programming environment). Currently, Fire handles AIM, ICQ, MSN, IRC, Jabber, and Yahoo! Pager protocols. Fire benefits from all the work that has been done on Linux to support these protocols; the "services" Fire provides are built off of open source/GNU Public License software libraries written for Linux, and compiled into a nice, attractive OS X front end. This is among the first of many pieces of software that will undoubtedly be brought to the OS X platform this way. Version 1.5.6 (for Mac OS X 10.2 and later only) makes the following changes:

• Fixed Jabber connection problems.
• Seem to have finally fixed the speech crash bug. It seems Apple's documentation is not quite correct.
• Fixed rearrangement of groups through dragging.
• Adium-style tabs dragging fixed.
• Speed up automatic translations.
• Buddy Text Encodings are saved for irc and ICQ conversations.
• Spotlight Importer - Added more detail info about files to import. This should help the importer to actually work.

FirstClass

Commercial; varies

Current Version: Client: 9.207 (July 24, 2008) / Server: 9.1 Build 612 (July 24, 2008)

Centrinity produces the FirstClass email and workgroup communication/collaboration system. Server software includes FirstClass Business Edition and FirstClass Education Edition.

FirstClass 9.1 Service Pack 1 (Client 9.207 / Server 9.1 Build 612) makes a number of changes that are fully detailed in the online release notes.

FirstClass Client requires Mac OS X 10.2.8, 10.3.4 - 10.3.9, or 10.4.x at a minimum; FirstClass Server requires Mac OS X 10.4.x or later.

You can find the latest version on FirstClass Online in the Conferences/Downloads/FirstClass Product Updates section of your software. Ensure that you review the Upgrade Instructions located there, and have your FirstClass upgrade license before proceeding with an upgrade. You should find the upgrade license in your FirstClass Online account mailbox or can complete an online request form for it.

See the online support page for more information.

Gizmo5

Freeware

Current Version: 4.0.0.266 (July 7, 2007)

Similar to Skype (but based upon the comparatively open SIPphone protocol), Gizmo5 uses your Internet connection (broadband or dial-up) to make free calls to other computers. Inexpensive add-ons called "Call In" and "Call Out" enable you to talk to people on any mobile telephone or land line. Features include:

• Sound effects - Add Sound Effects to your calls. Open the Dialpad at the bottom of Gizmo Project window and press the emoticon button during a call. You can choose other sounds (or upload your own) from the options menu.
• Check call quality - Click for the Call Quality Assitant to see bandwidth quality.
• Pick online status. Green: Available, Red: Away/Do not disturb, Orange: Idle, Blue: On the phone, Grey: Invisible/Offline
• Online status. Gives the current status of all your contacts.
• Click Map It to view map of call locations. Get a detailed map of the location of each call.
• Instant Messaging (IM) - Chat instantly with your contacts.
• Person being called receives call subject. Let them know immediately the purpose of your call.
• You can record any call on your Gizmo Project phone with the click of a button. The call record button is in the active call window, next to the mute and hold buttons.
• Type in Gizmo name or number here to make a call. Gizmo to Gizmo call always free. You can also call any traditional phone using Call Out.

Version 4.0.0.266 adds/changes the following:

• Added video calling functionality

ICQ

Current Version: 1.7.2 / 3.02 / 3.2 / 3.4.23 December 30, 2002

ICQ is one of the most widely used chat "buddy" systems on the Net today, and this is a long-awaited port of the software to the Macintosh. ICQ informs you who's on-line at any time and enables you to contact them at will, alerting you in real time when they log on. ICQ, allows you to chat, send messages, files and URLs, play games, or just hang out with your fellow 'Netters' while still surfing the Net. Unfortunately, Mirabilis pays much less attention to its Mac development than its Windows development, so there are woeful differences in the capabilities of the two versions. Because of this, Gerry's ICQ, a privately-written alternative available above, has become quite popular. Version 3.4.23 - the latest non-beta release for Mac OS 9 & Mac OS X - adds/changes the following from version 3.2:

• Version 3.4 of ICQ for Mac brings AOL interoperability, as well as better compatibility with Mac OS X.
• Interoperability with AIM and iChat instant messengers. You can add users from those messengers to your Contact List and exchange instant messages with them.
• Better peer to peer connectivity: MacICQ now supports passive p2p connections for users behind firewalls.
• Users behind firewalls can now choose their listen port range.
• Auto-reconnect (available in the Connection panel of the Network and Security window). Users with a permanent internet connection should turn this on to avoid occasional disconnect messages.
• Easy way to enter active URLs directly into outgoing messages.
• New support for unicode text entry (e.g., for Arabic and Hebrew).
• Cosmetic issue: Incoming SMS messages are now displayed (as opposed to not displayed in the previous version).
• The Contact List can now display names in multiple languages.
• URLs are read from Safari.
• Clickable URLs in message windows.
• Many bug fixes.
• Other small features and improvements.

Icy Juice

Open source; $0

Current Version: 1.0.2 (August 25, 2006)

Icy Juice is a free, open source ICQ client for Mac OS X. The software is architected in such a way as to encourage support for many languages other than English. The author notes, "Icy Juice is still not feature-complete, and the current release is a preview and an invitation for users to express their needs and expectations from an ICQ client and for developers to take part in this open source project in one way or another."

Version 1.0.2 adds/changes the following:

• Fixed a bug in the decoding of UTF-16 messages on Intel.

ircII

Open source; $0

Current Version: 20060725 (July 25, 2006)

ircII is an IRC and ICB client that runs under most UNIX platforms. It runs as a command-line application, comes in source form, and is completely free of any charges or fees. The ircII project is a group of people who maintain the source code, incorporating fixes and new features.

Version 20060725 adds/changes the following from the previous release (20040216):

• Remove dead /set use_old_msg variable.
• Lex is no longer required for any part of ircII.
• Fixed /set irchost vs /set irc_encoding problem.
• Default status line now tells you when you are scrolled up.
• New variables status_scrolled and status_scrolled_lines.
• New status format modifiers %P and %s.
• Fixed a bug with the input prompt being overtaken.
• /set translation has been removed. All encoding support now depends on the existence of iconv(3) support, enhancing the capabilities and correctness of codeset conversion. The translation and iso2022_support variables have been replaced with input_encoding, display_encoding and irc_encoding.
• /msg -server <servergroup|servername|number> <target> <message> now works to send message on specific servers, i.e., other than the current window's server.
• Support new $IRCSERVERSFILE that overrides $LIBDIR/ircII.servers.

IRCStep

Current Version: 0.701 (February 26, 2002)

IRCStep is a relatively mature (it's been under development since 1998) IRC client, originally written for NeXT OpenStep (Steve Jobs' prior effort at a usable Unix), and now ported to OS X (Cocoa). Since it is of Japanese origin, it is also seamlessly capable of working with Japanese (2-byte) Kanji. IRCStep is also compatible with SOCKS5 firewalls. IRCStep is distributed as freeware.

iSpQ VideoChat

Commercial; $49.95

Current Version: 8.1 (July 18, 2008)

nanoCom Corporation produces the iSpQ VideoChat cross-platform video conferencing software, considered by many people to be one of the best videoconferencing systems available. The fully-functioning 21-day trial version features many improvements and additions.

Version 8.1 adds/changes the following:

• Improved Video Codec
• Audio Volume indicators on Video chat screen
• Networking improved
• Higher performance
• Many other minor fixes

iVisit

Commercial; varies

Current Version: 3.5.1 (December 30, 2005) / 3.7.2 (October 26, 2007)

iVisit LLC produces the iVisit multiparty, serverless videoconferencing software that is developed, in part, by Tim Dorcey, the original creator of CU-SeeMe.

Version 3.5.1 - the latest release for "Classic" Mac OS - adds/changes the following:

• Background file transfer via iVisit message "attachments"
• New option to iVisit recordings as QuickTime .mov files (Plus accounts only)
• New "Guest Invite" option to create invites URLs

Version 3.7.2 - the latest release for Mac OS X - adds/changes the following from the previous release, 3.7.1:

• The main change from previous versions is the addition of audio/video messaging capabilities. This allows you to send short audio/video clips to other users without opening a live connection. The audio/video file is sent directly from you to the other person, without passing through a server. This means that you must both be logged on before the transfer will occur. Once you send the message, iVisit will watch for the earliest chance to transfer it. For best performance, you should leave iVisit logged on all the time.
• To send an audio/video message push the new "camera" button on the remote video window. When you let the button up, the recording will be sent. Optionally, a dialog will open and give you the opportunity to cancel. The first time you receive and audio/video message from a certain user, you choose whether to receive all or block all messages from that user.
• If you send a message to someone running an older version of iVisit, it will create a link in their chat window to receive and open it like an ordinary file transfer.

iXQ

Current Version: V2 SP10

iXQ is a new open source ICQ Client for Mac OS X. It is developed in Objective-C and it implements the new protocol of AOL, OSCAR (ICQv7). iXQ can import contact lists from Fire, Gerry's ICQ and ICQ; offers a fair number of preference settings, and has a very clean interface. Version V2 added/changed the following:

• Multiple accounts - you can now open as many account as you want simultaneously
• Visible and invisible lists
• Extended Search
• Extended User Info
• Managing visibility lists with the server
• New History Manager, which let you search quickly your messages
• Auto detection of contact's encodings
• New GUI - the GUI has been totally rewritten, bringing new features such as Multiple level nesting of folders in the contact list
• Auto-switch to transparent windows when iXQ is not in front
• Personalization of message windows
• New notification system
• And much more

JabberFoX

Current Version: 0.4.1

JabberFoX is a free Jabber client for Mac OS X whose name stands for "Jabber For OS X." Jabber is an open source instant messaging system fully based on XML. Thanks to the server-side Jabber Agents, Jabber clients can communicate with users of other instant messaging systems, like AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, or IRC. JabberFoX is written in Objective-C using Apple's Cocoa API, and makes good use of Aqua, Mac OS X's cool new user interface system. It aims at implementing all of the standard Jabber features including chat, group chat, messages, the roster (buddylist), and agents. Eventually, the authors hope to incorporate all of the features of the Jabber protocol, including browsing, strong encryption and the new conferencing protocol. Version 0.4.1 adds/changes the following:

• Localized to Spanish.
• URLs in incoming messages/text are made clickabkle, like in a web browser.
• Roster/UserChat/GroupChat can have transparent backgrounds.
• To reduce clutter, roster contacts with only one resource can't be expanded anymore.
• Added a menu item to show/hide offline roster items.
• GroupChat: added Tab-completion of nick names.
• GroupChat: highlighting possible via color, sound, or speech.
• Support for new "invisible" mode (only works on Jabber servers 1.4.2 and higher).
• Various other minor changes.
• Lots of bugs squashed.

Linkinus

Shareware; $20

Current Version: 1.3 (June 2, 2008)

Linkinus is an advanced IRC client for Mac OS X whose main draw is a clean, modern interface that is simple to use. Features include:

• Complete OS X integration and Aqua look-and-feel
• Interface/Agent architecture (allows detaching)
• Rules defining specific IRC behavior
• Dynamic content display with Styles
• Cross-session history capabilities
• Automated flood protection
• Aliases, Shortcuts, Highlights
• Cocoa Plug-ins, AppleScripts, and more.

While other Mac IRC clients may be:

• Inelegant and clunky, lacking many of the amenities of other Mac OS X apps (visual preferences, for instance)
• Very buggy
• Lacking a GUI
• So customizable that they just fall apart

. . . Linkinus aims to be none of these things, which is a worthy goal.

Version 1.3 adds a number of new features:

• New Multi Chat Split Mode
• Revamped graphical user interface
• Major performance improvements
• Automatic reconnection after unexpected disconnections or errors
• New and improved count badges for public messages, private messages and highlights
• Plain text or formatted logging
• Spotlight integration for log files
• New Autocompletion (Tab cycling through nicks, spacebar validation...)
• Improved auto-away behavior
• Automatic Away Nick
• Added option to Revert Color Selections
• Added option to show/hide IRC Message of the Day
• Fixed Unicode Problems
• Fixed a bug where messages would stop displaying
• Added contextual menus in the sidebars
• Added contextual menus in the chat view when clicking a nickname
• Added an option for default nicknames, usernames and realnames
• Support for /amsg and /ame
• Updated Sysinfo (now a plug-in with its own preference pane)
• Updated iTunes Script
• New Weather Script
• New Apps Script
• Added support for Logitech Control Center

Bug fixes are detailed in the online release notes.

MacIrssi

Open source; $0

Current Version: 0.8.1 (June 12, 2007)

MacIrssi is a powerful, free, open source IRC client that is based on the *nix IRC client irssi (http://www.irssi.org/), combining the power of the irssi engine with an elegant and flexible GUI. MacIrsse supports all of the themes and scripts available at http://www.irssi.org/ without modification.

Version 0.8.1 - the first update since September 2005 - adds/changes the following:

• Upgraded irssi core to 0.8.11
• Compiled with irssi perl scripting support.
• Intel native build added!
• Fixed a crashing bug (in ChannelBarCell).
• Improved line splitting when pasting multiple lines in input field (carriage returns are now recognized correctly).
• Dropped support for OS X 10.3 due to perl library linking.

Meeting Maker

Commercial

Current Version: 8.7 (December 13, 2007)

PeopleCube produces Meeting Maker, a cross-platform groupware calendaring product that supports Macs, Windows, DOS, Unix, and OS/2, and has concurrent support for TCP/IP and IPX, SMTP mail notification for non-users, data caching, and built-in proxy and resource capabilities.

Version 8.7 (available only to registered users) adds/changes the following:

• Meeting Maker Re-Acceptance Preference - This new preference no longer forces Meeting Maker users to reaccept meetings if there are minor changes to the meeting (e.g., a guest list or agenda change). Meeting Maker still requires meeting reacceptance when major items change for a meeting (e.g., time, date, or location). Guests are not notified if the agenda, title, or guests change. Guests must always reaccept a meeting if the location or the meeting time changes. Meeting Maker is delivered with this feature disabled.
• Server-Side User Restore - The serverside restore allows a Meeting Maker administrator to restore a deleted user's account through the Admin GUI.
• Microsoft Vista Support - All clients and the Meeting Maker Admin have been tested and certified on the Vista platform.
• Solaris 10 Support - The Meeting Maker server has been tested and certified on a Sun SPARC Solaris 10 platform. Solaris has not been tested on Fujitsu SPARC64 platform-based systems or x86 platform-based systems.
• Guest using autoaccept should not send email notification.
• Support for OS X horizontal scrolling.
• Scrolling in banner area with mouse button causes wrong display.
• MM client not working after changing SETUPCONTROL file.

Microsoft Messenger

Current Version: 2.5.1 (July 22, 2004) / 6.0.3 (August 22, 2007) / 7.0.1 (June 30, 2008)

Yet another Instant Messaging program, Microsoft Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) is Microsoft's equivalent to the AOL Instant Messenger product. However, Microsoft Messenger 6 and 7 are compatible with the Office Communications Server products used in many corporate environments.

Version 2.5 (for Mac OS 8.6-9.x) makes the following changes:

• Updated Emoticons
• Other improvements to enhance stability and performance
• Japanese, German, Swedish, French, and Spanish versions of MSN Messenger now available
• Other miscellaneous bug fixes

Version 6 - for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later only - brought the following major enhancements:

• Messenger for Mac 6.0 is a Universal application built to run on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macs.
• Chat with Yahoo! Messenger contacts.
• Add a status message that your personal contacts can see.
• Share what you are listening to in iTunes with your personal contacts.
• Create, send, and receive custom emoticons with personal contacts.
• Send and receive custom animated emoticons with personal contacts.
• Search for conversation histories using Spotlight.
• Check the spelling in your instant messages.

Version 6.0.3 makes the following additional changes:

• Messenger for Mac 6.0.3 includes improved performance during file transfers and improvements to Kerberos authentication.
• It also introduces support for the Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian languages.
• In addition, Messenger for Mac 6.0.3 includes logging for the personal account. Log files can help troubleshoot various problems in Messenger such as connection problems, status failures, and other issues. Enabling logs saves a file containing personal information to ~/Documents. Anyone with access to this directory can open this file. By default, Messenger logging is turned off.

Version 7 - for Mac OS X 10.4.9 and later only - brings the following major enhancements:

• Includes new features for both the corporate service (works with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007) and personal service (works with the Windows Live service).
• Delivers audio and video for the first time in the corporate service.
• Bonjour support, available in both personal and corporate services. Using the Mac OS X Bonjour technology, Messenger for Mac 7.0 includes the ability to detect other Messenger for Mac users that are near by on the same local network.
• New features in the corporate service. Messenger for Mac 7 makes it easier to track down co-workers you need to contact. Using the new search feature, you can easily search for people in your organization and start communicating with them.
• More detailed presence information that is compatible with the presence model of Office Communications Server 2007. Messenger for Mac 7 displays additional presence states to better reflect your contacts (or your own) availability.
• Through the corporate service in Messenger for Mac, you can now conduct virtual meetings with your co-workers using audio and video calls. You can communicate inside or outside your corporate network, you can communicate with co-workers running Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 on Windows, you can even participate in a multi-party Audio or Video conference.
• AV is not available yet in the Personal service. We are making progress and working on the delivery of Audio and Video for the personal service and are looking forward to getting the feature out there and in your hands as soon as we can.
• You can now assign nicknames to your contacts. Do you know two people named Jack and can never tell them apart in your contact list, since they both have their display name set to Jack? Put an end to the confusion and assign them some identifiable nicknames! Do you have a friend that insists on changing his\her display name to a different expression everyday? Use a nickname to reduce the amount of time you spend trying to identify your contact in the contact list.
• A new contact search field enables you to look contacts up more easily.

Messenger for Mac 7.0.1 improves support for users of the VoiceOver feature in Mac OS X, and it fixes user interface issues that appear when Messenger is used with some European languages.

Other versions are still available for Mac OS X 10.1.3 - 10.3.

Minerva

Current Version: 1.2.0 (February 26, 2004)

What is Minerva IRC? Well in the simplist or terms, Minerva is a chat-centric IRC client. The author likens Minerva to Epic in a GUI. It's a clean-cut basic, but flexible, IRC client that does everything which is documented in the IRC protocol, a rewrite of the AthenaIRC code that the author felt had gotten overbloated. Numerous elements of the AthenaIRC client have been reworked from the ground up. Parts of the client which served nothing but bloat have been entirely removed.

Version 1.2.0 final adds/changes the following:

• Minerva now tracks when users last spoke in a channel or private message. Use the command /lastspoke to get this information.
• Auto-Complete system can now sort nicknames according to how long ago they last spoke, see the preferences window to turn this on.
• Added entries to Whois output and user Get Info window for last spoke information
• All new contextual menu engine allows for user created contextual menus for the userlist and buddylist.
• Complete rewrite of the sound library
• Chat notification bubble on taskbar and channel tabs now has three forms.
• New Tabs interface on connection windows. This new look saves some space, and makes it more clear what channel is selected. Closing and undocking channels is now done by clicking on the arrow on the tab and selecting from the menu.
• Minerva now displays a global floating popup window when chat is highlighted for attention and Minerva is in the background. This can be turned off on the Highlight settings tab. The window fades out after 10 seconds, or can be closed immediately from the red close widget. A popup can also be created via the /throwpopup command
• Added Find and Find Again to the edit menu. Use this to search the chat output for a piece of text. The find dialog supports RegEx.
• Connection menu now has a new command, Hide Server Window. If at least one channel is un-docked then this will be available to hide the main connection window from view.
• Added new command to hide the server window: /hideserverwindow Only works if there are no channels docked to the window
• Scrollback buffer increased from 32k to 1MB
• Minerva now buffers some low priority data requests such as userhost information and buddy list info gathering. This increases response time for user initiated commands.
• Added new menu items to Channel menu: Leave current channel, and Dock/Undock current channel
• Help Topics window now works again. There's a free registration code waiting for anyone who's willing to take the job of writing more topics.
• Preferences button on the task bar is now a menu that includes shortcuts to alias and contextual menu settings
• Minerva now waits for the server to reply to the QUIT command before closing the connection. This fixes the "EOF From Client" signoff message that occurs on some servers.
• Fixed several problems that would inhibit message highlighting
• Fixed a bug where whois results would not come back if the nick sent did not match the case of the actual nickname (ie, requesting "chiper" when actual nickname is "Chiper")
• Fixed a null object error when a voice mode change occurred
• Fixed a glitch in login that sent out an incorrect mode change, resulting in a bunch of Unknown Mode errors.
• New exception window. Now when an unhandled exception occurs, Minerva will create a log of what was happening when the exception occurred. This should make so called "spontaneous errors" (re, errors from server activity) easier to debug.
• Fixed: Send buffer wait setting is now properly used
• Fixed a crash that occurred when using the /part command.
• Fixed a problem with channels not showing up on rejoin after a dropped connection
• Waiting for disconnect dialog now has a timer that drops all connections after 30 seconds.
• Rejoining channels after a kick / disconnect when "Leave channels open" is enabled now switches to the channel
• Fixed a glitch in message formatting that caused chat text containing &nick or other properties to be replaced
• Fixed a glitch in message formatting that caused nicknames and signoff messages containing a closing bracket to display wrong.
• Message format strings can now have multiple instances of ${}$ and ~{}~ (Why you would want to is beyond me, but the point is that you can).
• The ~{}~ message formatting attribute now does what it's supposed to
• Updated various lists such as userlist and buddylist to use the selection color in General System Preferences for the currently selected row.
• Leave Channel menu shortcut changed to Option-P so as to not confuse people expecting a Print command.
• Fixed a bug where server window would go blank after opening a channel in a separate window
• Fixed a graphical glitch where a hidden scrollbar would flash in the window from time to time.

ohphoneX

Open source; $0

Current Version: 0.4.3 (May 23, 2006)

ohphoneX (pronounced as "oh-fone-ten") is an H.323 compliant client application for video conferencing and IP telephony. It can be used to communicate with all sorts of H.323 software, including Microsoft NetMeeting. It uses the protocol stack developed by the OpenH323 Project. ohphoneX is the first application from the XMeeting Project, the goal is to bring standard based video conferencing and IP telephony application to Mac OS X. For more information about ohphoneX and the XMeeting project, please visit the XMeeting web site at http://xmeeting.sourceforge.net/.

ohphoneX is designed to be a simple application that does Mac-to-Mac and Mac-to-PC audio/video conferencing, as well as Mac-to-Phone voice only communication. Therefore, advanced features such as multi-party conferencing and answering machine are not included in this release. However, these feature will be included in other applications from the XMeeting project.

Version 0.4.3 adds/changes the following:

• Fixes problems with bandwidth requested when registering at a Gatekeeper
• Fixes problems with Full Screen mode
• Various other small bug fixes

Proteus

Freeware

Current Version: 4.2 (June 9, 2008)

Proteus is a simple and attractive Mac OS X instant messaging application that supports the ICQ, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Jabber and Yahoo! Messenger protocols. One distinctive feature of Proteus is that it separates the user interface from the actual services that interact with IM servers. These services run in self-contained daemon application that handles each connection independently. Some distinctive features include:

• Message bar icon - easy access via OS X's Menu bar. Change your status and see how many unread messages are waiting for you.
• Connect to as many accounts as you want - multiple instances of each account type are supported.
• Make use of Mac OS X's advanced password management - Proteus integrates with OS X's keychain, making password managment simple and universal.
• Broadcast conversations to other contacts, across services - become a virtual-host of a chat room for your buddies. Proteus acts as the hub, redirecting your contacts messages out to any reciepient.

Version 4.2 adds bug fixes and new icons.

Psi

Open source; $0

Current Version: 0.12 (August 8, 2007)

Psi is a free, open source Jabber client for Mac OS X. (Jabber is an open source instant messaging system fully based on XML. Thanks to the server-side Jabber Agents, Jabber clients can communicate with users of other instant messaging systems, like AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, or IRC.) Psi is small, fast and responsive. It uses a graphical toolkit called Qt, which takes on the appearance of whichever operating system you run it on. For this reason, Psi doesn't use 'skins'. We'd rather it blend with your desktop like any other application. Psi has full support for Unicode. Unicode allows Psi to send and receive messages in other languages, even ones that aren't based upon the English letterset. In fact, you are able to use Psi in your choice of eight different languages, with more on the way. Cross-platform compatibility is important to the Psi development team; they believe that you should be able to use whichever operating system you wish. In keeping with this belief, there is a version for each of the three major OS's: Microsoft Windows XP, Apple Mac OS X and GNU/Linux/KDE3.

Version 0.12 adds/changes the following:

• Multi-user chat windows now join one on one chat windows and can be opened in tabbed form, either sharing a window, or seperately.
• The roster search has been updated, and now triggers a filter when typing into the roster window.
• An XML ringbuffer is now used, allowing access to already received XML in the XML console.
• When resolving a name for new contacts, the full name is now used if the nick name is missing from the vcard.
• Auto-connect on wake is now an independent option.
• MUCs can now be bookmarked, and auto-joined.
• The old config.xml file has been dropped in favour of the new options.xml format - all options in Psi can now be configured from the Advanced options pane (no more hand-editing of config files is required).
• Vcard avatars are now transmitted for the benefit of legacy clients and servers not supporting PEP.
• A new diagnostics group is available in the help menu, to allow debugging problems with the QCA security layer.
• Launching several instances of the same profile on Windows and Unices with DBUS now behaves more sensibly.
• On X11, the taskbar should now flash on new messages for compliant window managers.

QuickConference

Commercial; see text.

Current Version: 1.6 (June 20, 2001) / 1.6.6 (May 12, 2005)

Startly Technologies, LLC (formerly CE Software) produces QuickConference (formerly "Prairie"), an instant messaging system that is geared toward business use.

Servers are available for Windows and "Classic" Mac OS, and clients are available for Windows, "Classic" Mac OS, and Mac OS X. Pricing starts at $119.95 for a 5-user bundle. Downloads are in the form of 30-day demonstration versions.

QuickPopup

Commercial; see site

Current Version: 4.5 (August 23, 2006)

(Formerly MacPopUp.) From the QuickPopup home page: "QuickPopup is a program that allows Mac users to exchange instant messages with other users on any local area network (LAN). With QuickPopup, you can send and receive messages from different operating systems such as Mac OS, Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups, Linux and other UNIX OSes. QuickPopup is compatible with the Microsoft WinPopup application and the similar clients in other operating systems." (Note: While QuickPopup is a TCP/IP-based application, it is geared for use on local area networks (LANs), not via the Internet.)

While no information is available regarding what's new in version 4.5 (other than the fact that the Mac OS X version is available as a Universal Binary that runs natively on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs), version 4.1 added/changed the following:

• Bug fixes.
• Windows version is Terminal Service aware now.
• QuickPopup Hosts file support added. The IP address list for WAN and P2P networks.

Skype

Freeware; see text.

Current Version: 2.7.0.330 (February 14, 2008)

Skype is a free program for Mac OS X (as well as Windows, Linux and Pocket PC) that lets you make free calls to your friends all over the world. After you download, register, and install, you plug in your headset, speakers or USB phone to start calling your friends. The calls have good sound quality and are secured with end-to-end encryption. The optional paid SkypeOut service lets you make calls to old-fashioned phone numbers all around the world. Additionally, Skype allows you to transfer files and participate in plain, old-fashioned instant messaging as well.

Version 2.7.0.330 makes a huge number of bugfixes (including some that bring better Leopard compatibility) and makes the following additional changes:

• Improvement: added NAT-PMP support
• Improvement: added uPnP support
• Improvement: added Authenticated Proxy support
• Bugfix: 3-4 second delay when hanging up video call
• Bugfix: sometimes Skype crashed when applying changes in Edit Profile window
• Bugfix: "Add to Contacts" command was not working for 1-on-1 chats in history view
• Bugfix: "Add to list" button was cut off in Start Conference and Add Users to Chat windows on Tiger
• Bugfix: Safari 3.1 (4525.13) chats time-name were getting cut off.
• Bugfix: Abnormal exit on declining two sent files.
• Bugfix: Add and remove buttons were cut off in Send Contacts window on Leopard
• Bugfix: Add to Contacts command didn't work in the context menu of the history list
• Bugfix: Address Book phone numbers with custom tags were not shown in Skype
• Bugfix: Call Transfer menu not updating when new contacts were added
• Bugfix: Chats were loosing their topics
• Bugfix: crash/hangup on skype credit change when old SMS chats open for long time
• Bugfix: default call window height was too small
• Bugfix: do not add chats without activity timestamp to event history
• Bugfix: fix for delayed sms delivery notifications
• Bugfix: flag icons not showing in upper case
• Bugfix: Freeze with lots of Address Book contacts (>3000)
• Bugfix: history entries became blank when right-clicked on Leopard
• Bugfix: Improvements to audio sync
• Bugfix: it was not possible to use the context menus of conference call participants when the call was muted or on hold
• Bugfix: it was possible to change the value of sound level indicators in conference calls
• Bugfix: Leading 0 was removed when user tried to call to Italian landline number - they need leading 0
• Bugfix: missed events badge was missing from chat drawer after Skype restart
• Bugfix: outgoing calls that went to voicemail didn't have icons in the history view
• Bugfix: own voice level indicator was still moving when conference call was muted
• Bugfix: Skype crashed after "Delete all SMS Messages" was pressed
• Bugfix: sometimes Skype got stuck in the login process when Address Book integration was enabled
• Bugfix: sometimes window artifacts appeared when having two simultaneous calls
• Bugfix: Status does not reset correctly after screensaver triggers away if Set my status to Away when inactive for 0 minutes was set
• Bugfix: strange sound start happening on end of the call (Apple Bug ID# 5796436)
• Bugfix: when being signed in on at least two Macs and answering a call on one machine, then ringing didn't not stop on the second machine
• Bugfix: When chats are closed after draging them around, wrong chat gets activated
• Bugfix: when placing a call, then sometimes the word "Button" was briefly displayed instead of the phone number
• Bugfix: Word wrap in Public chat settings window
• Bugfix: Workaround for strange large number startTimestamp on some chats (preventing chat history links displaying)
• Bugfix: Yellow alert were hiding chat topics quite often.
• Change: Replaced SkypeIn with Online Number
• Change: increased minimum size of SkypeOut Caller Window
• Change: New User Registration Window: By default, eMail notifications checked
• Change: pop-up dialog to enable or disable Address Book integration
• Change: sometimes duration of some calls was displayed as 1193 hours in the call history
• Change: Sound event for contact coming online is now off by default
• Skype API: BTN_RELEASED NO clears quickfilter field now (previously removed the last character only)

Skype operates on a peer-to-peer model, wherein users of the Skype network help route other users' calls around the globe, which may consume your bandwidth unexpectedly if the conditions are right. See the Skype Wikipedia article for more information.

SnapTalk

Commercial; see text.

Current Version: 5.1 (November 30, 2007)

Glass Bead Software, LLC produces SnapTalk, a cross-platform (Windows & Mac) instant messaging system, which, like its SnapMail product, is a peer-to-peer system that doesn't require a server.

Pricing starts at $16/user for 1-9 users, and quantity pricing is available.

Version 5.1 adds/changes the following:

• "Show Recipients" now show all recipients of incoming messages.
• New preference to automatically select all recipients when replying to a group message.
• Better handling of the transfer of large files.
• Change in server behavior which results in improved performance on large networks (>100 users).
• Sorting archives list with multiple rows selected now selects the correct rows after sorting.

VChat

Freeware

Current Version: 1.1a9 (March 12, 2007)

VChat is a CU-Seeme video conferencing client for use with Mac OS X. With VChat you can participate in group conferences by connecting to a CU-SeeMe reflector or you can also have one-on-one conferencing with another person.

Version 1.1a9 adds/changes the following:

• PPC-Only version can display (but not send) H264 encoded video.
• libavcodec updated to current svn version.
• Corrected bug in spelling checker interface on PPC version.
• Implemented new thread locking strategy.
• Use POSIX threads for scheduling periodic tasks.
• New implementation of a Token Bucket bandwidth scheduler to give better network utilisation at high speed reflectors.

Web Crossing

Commercial; see text.

Current Version: 5.0 (Updated regularly)

Web Crossing, Inc. produces Web Crossing, a high-end, high performance news/chat/discussion server system that runs on many platforms, including Mac OS and Mac OS X. Web Crossing may be extended via a host of plugins that provide a great variety of additional functionality, from blogs to wikis, and beyond. Features include:

• Message boards
• Chat & live events
• Mailing lists
• Polls
• RSS Feeds
• Blogs
• Wiki
• Calendars
• Access controls (private areas)
• Scripting
• Notification of new content
• Complete web service, FTP and email functionality
• Localization
• Scales to serve massive communities

Web Crossing also produces bundled solution suites (groups of plugins forming a complete, integrated package) that provide the Web Crossing product in special configurations for three select environments:

• WebCrossing Core - WebCrossing Core includes fully-functional internet protocols: multi-domain web server, newsgroup server, email server, chat server, XML-RPC server, FTP server, and more. Use it out of the box, or use it to build your own web application.
• WebCrossing Community - WebCrossing Community provides a preconfigured collection of the most popular online community tools including message boards and chat.
• WebCrossing Neighbors - WebCrossing Neighbors extends WebCrossing Core to provide your organization, company, school, clients - any group of people with common interests - with your own private-branded social network that includes personal spaces.

Pricing depends upon the combination of users, page views, and features that you choose. See the official pricing page for more information.

WebEx

Commercial; see site.

Current Version: 6.2

The widely-used, cross-platform WebEx service provides powerful on-demand web conferencing capabilities for a subscription fee. Of all of the "big-name" online web-based conferencing services, however, only WebEx provides smooth-running, native support for the Macintosh. The free WebEx Meeting Center software requires Mac OS 10.2.x or later and runs in Internet Explorer 5.2 or Safari 1.1 or later.

X-Chat Aqua

Open source; $0

Current Version: 0.16.0 (October 28, 2006)

From the X-Chat Aqua home page: "X-Chat Aqua is a Mac OS X IRC client. If you are familiar with XChat for UNIX/GTK+/X Windows, then you will be at home with X-Chat Aqua. X-Chat Aqua uses the IRC engine from XChat and has been designed to look and feel like XChat." The author expects to add additional Mac-only features in the future.

Version 0.16.0 adds/changes the following:

• Smarter algorithm for selecting a tab after closing the front tab.
• Implemented /lastlog command (CL)
• Universal binary
• New server list
• Pref for /part all channels on sleep
• Prefs for keys that switch tabs
• irc:// protocol support fixed
• Auto away
• mIRC color protocol bug
• UTF8 tab completion fix
• nick completion sort pref (A-Z, last spoke)
• mIRC reverse color protocol fix

Note: As of March 22, 2008, the author is actively seeking Cocoa developers to take over this project.

Xirc

Shareware; $20

Current Version: 0.9.9 (July 24, 2006)

From the Xirc home page: "Xirc for Mac OS X is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) application completely written in Cocoa / Objecti