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If I were to use one word to describe Jaguar, it
would be 'integration'. Nearly every new aspect of
OS X 10.2 is linked to provide seamless operation
between programs. The most evident of these is the
integration between the new Mail App, Address Book
and iChat. In addition, new system level features
are also available to these applications, such as
the ability to have Jaguar speak an entire e-mail
message for you or to speak an entire chat session
in iChat. Spell Checking is a system wide service
available to the new applications too. What I'm here
to talk about though is Apple's first foray into the
world of instant messaging, iChat. I've had the opportunity
to explore iChat's abilities over the past couple
of weeks and now present to you what I have discovered.
The easiest way to begin using iChat is to open the
System Preferences and click on the My Account icon.
Then click to edit your Address Book card. Input as
much personal info as you like, but make sure to put
in either your AIM name or Mac.com email address.
Launch iChat and you should then be logged into the
AIM service and your buddy list window appears.
Next we need to add some buddies to your list. If
you have a previous AIM account, you should see your
familiar list of buddies automatically appear in your
list. As Mac.com members are new to the AIM service,
they will have to create a list of buddies. To do
so, simply click the plus icon in the Buddy List Window
and you'll notice the integration with the address
book right away.
This is the list of names in your Address Book. If
you have input their AIM information or Mac.com email
address, simply select the person and press 'Add'.
If the person you wish to add isn't in your address
book yet, select the 'New Person' button and enter
their information. That person is then added to your
Address Book also. It's that simple!
From here, it's a matter of selecting who you wish
to chat with. If none of your buddies are currently
online (their names will be grayed out), don't worry
you have a way to entice them to log in. In the Buddy
List window, you'll notice the small stamp icon near
the bottom. Using the 'command' or 'Apple' modifier
key, select the buddies you want to chat with and
click the stamp icon. This launches the Mail App and
opens a new email message addressed to the buddies
you've selected. Send them a message that says, 'Hey!
I'm online, where are you?' then send it. Conversely,
if you're checking email and one of your buddies is
checking his email, a small chat icon in the Mail
app lets you open an instant message session instead
of volleying emails back and forth. If your buddies
don't want to talk to you, well, I guess I can't help
you there. Now, on the other hand, if your buddies
are already logged in, their names and icons are highlighted
and it shows their availability. Select the buddy
or buddies using the command/Apple key and press the
chat bubble icon next to the stamp icon. This sends
a chat invitation to your buddies and opens an Instant
Message window. If they accept the invitation, then
your all set. You will see their icons and messages
on the left and yours on the right. If someone sends
you an invitation, you'll see a small bubble pop up
on your screen. Click on it and you can either join
the chat session or dismiss the invitation if you're
busy.
iChat doesn't stop with simple 'Hello's' and 'How
are you today?' though. You'll notice a paper clip
icon in the instant message window. Click it and it
allows you to pick any file on your computer and send
it to the person you're chatting with. The images
below show a movie file being sent through iChat.
If you're sending an image file through iChat, it
even displays a thumbnail of the picture right in
the message window. Simply drag and drop the image
to your desktop to download it.
In addition, iChat understands web links and email
addresses. Send a link and your buddies can double
click it to launch their browser or email program.
Of course, no chat program would be complete without
the inclusion of emoticons, those little faces that
help chatters relay the appropriate meaning to their
message. The simple omission of an emoticon can make
the difference between upsetting someone or making
them LOL. iChat makes the inclusion of these faces
very easy with a button in the message window.
To add one, simply type your message select a face
and press return. This is all very cool stuff, but
iChat gets even better. The level of customization
in iChat is almost infinite. In addition to custom
balloon colors, users can set their own fonts, font
sizes, add bold and italicized type, set a background
image for instant message windows and (if your not
a fan of balloons) turn the balloons off. You can
access these in iChat preferences Message tab.
Taking customization even further is iChat's ability
to assign custom actions for events, like logging
in and logging out. Go to iChat preferences and select
'Actions'. You have the option of playing certain
sounds or even speaking a phrase. Also, each buddy
in your list can be assigned custom actions when they
log on, log off or even change their status. Here
too, iChat can play a system sound or even a custom
sound that you create. Also, if you choose, iChat
can speak a custom phrase when your buddy logs in
or out. To access these actions, select a buddy in
your list, click the 'i' icon then select 'Actions'
from the drop down list in the window.
iChat also supports a number of contextual menu or
right-click options within the instant message window.
The 'View' menu lets you select name, icon and balloon
options. You can also access Jaguar's built-in speech
and spelling capabilities. Select 'Start Speaking'
and Jaguar proceeds to speak the entire contents of
your chat session using your chosen voice in the Speech
system preferences pane. In addition, iChat can check
your spelling while you type.
To be honest, I've never been too excited about instant
messaging, but with the introduction of iChat and
its seamless integration with other Jaguar programs,
it's too simple not to love it. The only thing I find
disappointing is iChat's inability to link with other
instant message groups like ICQ, Yahoo and MSN services.
Programs on the PC, like Trillian, and a few on the
Mac, like Fire, can do this, but none of them are
as elegantly designed or integrated as well as iChat
is. Perhaps iChat will gain this ability in the future,
but for a version 1.0 program, iChat is a well thought
out and fun to use program.
For IM newbies here's a list of IM lingo you may
come across while chatting with friends, enjoy!
Stuffit
7 (10-18-02) Dr. Neale Monks. What purpose does file compression have
in this day of 100 GB hard drives? Is version 7 worthy of the upgrade fees?
Fireworks
MX (10-8-02) Dean Browell. Fireworks is more than just a pretty face;
The last app I needed to convert entirely to OS X delivers in upgrades and
features as well...
Dreamweaver
MX (10-8-02) Joel Davies. Not being satisfied with just carbonizing it's
product, Macromedia made sure that Dreamweaver MX was the killer app for web
design.
SliMP3
(9-6-02) Pat St-Arnaud. The SliMP3 is a small, simple and elegant network
devices that connects to any audio component with RCA inputs and lets you
browse, search and play music directly from your computer's MP3 collection.
Voyager
III v.3 (8-16-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Carina's Voyager is the grandfather
of Mac planetarium programs, but does it still have what it takes to keep
up the current generation?
CodeWarrior
8 (8-16-02) Douglas A. Welton. Doug dives into the latest version of this
robust multi-platform programming tool.
STM
Sports Backpack (8-9-02) Pierre Igot. How will this backpack designed
for the "global digerati" stack up when Pierre puts it to the test
with his mobile digital lifestyle?
Scope
Driver (8-2-02) Dr. Neale Monks. An alternative to the 'point and click'
telescope control paradigm: a powerful list-based utility for Autostar and
LX200 telescopes.
Apple
Final Cut Pro 3.0 (7-19-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the video-editing
powerhouse Final Cut Pro 3 and sizes up its competition. Does Final Cut Pro
3 hold its ground?
Strata
DVpro RME (7-16-02) Matt Frederick. Matt Frederick. Matt takes a comprehensive
look at Strata DVpro, Strata's pro-level non-linear editor for digital video.
Stargazer's
Delight (6-28-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Looking for a viable shareware alternative
to the big commercial astronomy software packages? Neale may have found one.
TheSky
(6-21-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Neale takes a look at the easiest to use planetarium
program for the Mac.
NI
FM7 (6-21-02) Matt Frederick. Matt takes this software replica of Yamaha's
DX7 synthesizer for a test drive.
The
Digital Universe (6-14-02) Neale Monks. Planetarium program, astronomy
encyclopaedia and space flight simulator all rolled into one - could The Digital
Universe be the ClarisWorks of astronomy software? Neale Monks takes a look.
After
Effects 5.5 (5-31-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the OS X native
version of After Effects and likes what he sees.
InDesign
2.0 for Non-Professional Designers (5-24-02) Pierre Igot. In the second
part of our review of Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac OS X, Pierre Igot looks at
InDesign from the point-of-view of the non-professional designer - and finds
plenty to like.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 2 (5-24-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw returns in full
force and Corel R.A.V.E makes its debut.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 1 (5-17-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw is back, and
it's brought some powerful friends that makes this Suite worth the look...
OmniGraffle
2.0 (5-10-02) András Puiz. Analog napkins are so 20th century --
this gem from OmniGroup knows (almost) all about diagramming. András
Puiz wishes all Mac developers developed a similar understanding of Aqua,
and of Mac OS X in general.
Watson
(5-03-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate discovers a 'Swiss Army Knife' for OS X...
it's called Watson.
