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ichat v aim

question fear

question fear

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 10, 2003
2,277
84
The "Garden" state
so i have been a diehard AIM user...the only part of my new mac i have not adjusted to was ichat...but i started using cpu monitor and noticed that AIM uses waaaaay more of my computer's time than anything else...like, i can be word processing, playing itunes, surfing safari no problem...i turn on AIM and start IM'ing and there's a noticable delay during any IM conversation...i just turned on ichat for atest and it is significantly faster/less cpu hoggish.
so what do people think of ichat v aim in general...and specifically, is there a cure for my AIM woes or is it a platform wide problem?
also, is there a way to keep the ichat man bouncing or something so i know a message has been recieved?
--carly
ps i am on a 900mhz ibook with 256 ram.
 
I noticed this with AIM too. This was a while ago, and they've probably gone through several revisions of it since then. I'd have hoped they'd fixed the issue by now. I doesn't really matter, I now use iChat.

With me, the problem would gradually increase. I'd launch AIM, there'd be no problem with system use. I hardly ever turn off my machine or quit programs, and AIM over time would start to consume vast amounts of memory and CPU time. It would be especially bad if I had open an AIM window that I'd typed in for more than a week, with length approaching that of LOTR but to get all my system back I'd have to totally restart the program, not just close chats. In the end, I took to releaunching AIM every day. It was just one more reason to switch to iChat.
 
The only advantage AIM has (that I noticed) is the bouncing icon, like you said, and profiles. Other than that, iChat is nicer, faster, and more integrated into OS X.
 
Originally posted by XnavxeMiyyep
The only advantage AIM has (that I noticed) is the bouncing icon, like you said, and profiles.
Click to expand...
profiles are in iChat, click on the person's name and select Get Info from the Buddies menu and select the person's screen name by selecting it from the drop down menu next to "Show" If you haven't used it, it should be on the person's address book
 
Originally posted by übergeek
profiles are in iChat, click on the person's name and select Get Info from the Buddies menu and select the person's screen name by selecting it from the drop down menu next to "Show" If you haven't used it, it should be on the person's address book
Click to expand...

You can read others but you can't set your own.
 
iChat is a nice alternative to AIM. The A/V beta still has some quirks, and the groups feature isn't as nice as AIM's, but I'm hoping that Apple realizes this and does something about it...

There is also Adium. I haven't used it in a while, and I don't know if it's a CPU hog or not, but it gets the job done.

I don't remember if Adium is AIM only or not... I know Fire will work with more than just AIM. I recommend you try them all, and find what you like best.
 
I never understood AOL's development program with AIM for OS X. Every few months they release version like 4.5.1662 beta. Check VersionTracker and look at the past versions. I suppose they release them according to their internal build numbers?

Anyway, I use iChat, but have the current version of AIM. I used AIM before Apple released iChat but now I basically only use iChat. I like it more.
 
The only thing keeping me from using iChat is the lack of being able to create your own profile, as well as some other AIM only features. I like to write silly messages and stuff in the profile area. I don't understand why Apple doesn't offer this ability.

Plus I think AIM has more features. Why can't I warn someone back after I've been warned? Ahh, if you only talk to other Mac users iChat is fine, but if you're like me and interact mostly with PC users (who like to warn you and get in warn wars and like you to constantly update your profile) then AIM is sorta a must.

Plus I think AIM handles direct instant messages better.

Oh, and why didn't Apple make iChat AV compatible with the Windows AIM Talk feature? that would have been so great.
 
yes if you dont like ichat or aim take a look at adium. its great and i love it.

iJon
 
personally i think iChat is way better. i'm basing this on the fact that before iChat came along i NEVER engaged in an online chat in my life. i absolutely hated AIM and refused to bother with it. lots of my friends and coworkers were always giving me **** because they could never "find me online". i just didn't like something about it, maybe it was the typing but it just felt very ancient to me. iChat changed my mind, mainly because it makes me feel like i'm actually having a conversation with someone. not just reading vertical text. now that iChat AV is here i'm completely sold and now an avid IM'er. i think it's wonderful. i'm also saving a ton of money on long disatnce phone charges. i love it.

p.s. when i receive a message my iChat icon bounces in the dock. is this not happening for some of you? maybe it's a pref setting?
 
Originally posted by tjwett
]
p.s. when i receive a message my iChat icon bounces in the dock. is this not happening for some of you? maybe it's a pref setting?
Click to expand...

dunno about everyone else, but for me it still bounces. but only once. so my complaint was that if i am away from the computer for a second or two, i miss the notification.
i am surprised that everyone has the aim problem though...it was really driving me nuts. and it hung a lot too, so i would never know if it was frozen or just doing its power-hungry running man thing.
anyhow, all this talk about this is taking its toll..i swear i saw the little man in a dream last night.
--carly
 
Originally posted by tjwett
p.s. when i receive a message my iChat icon bounces in the dock. is this not happening for some of you? maybe it's a pref setting?
Click to expand...
It's a pref setting you can change in the Alerts section of the iChat prefs. For individual people, you can do it by clicking on their name, clicking on Get Info from the Buddies menu and selecting "actions" from the "Show" drop down menu.
 
For me AIM really lags the system. I type something in and I have to wait 5-7secs for it to come up in a group chat. iChat does this too, but far more less frequently. AIM went a little faster after turning off the stock tickers, so that may be it.
 
My icon keeps bouncing

My icon keeps bouncing once i receive a message. It's easy to do. Go to preferences>alerts and then go to event: message received and make sure the boxes next to "bounce icon in the dock" and "repeat" are checked. Problem solved.
 
Re: My icon keeps bouncing

Originally posted by elliotay
My icon keeps bouncing once i receive a message. It's easy to do. Go to preferences>alerts and then go to event: message received and make sure the boxes next to "bounce icon in the dock" and "repeat" are checked. Problem solved.
Click to expand...
is this in ichat? i dont see an alerts option...
--carly
 
There's definitely an alerts option in my preferences. Although, I am using iChast A/V....so that could be the issue. But, there's definitely an alerts section.
 
Originally posted by question fear
dunno about everyone else, but for me it still bounces. but only once. so my complaint was that if i am away from the computer for a second or two, i miss the notification.
Click to expand...

You can do an audio alert in preferences.

My sis usually comes on line late at night when I'm curled up with a book so when she does, I have iChat say "Hi, this is ____! It would be annoying to have it do that all the time but in some situations its great.
 
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