Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Solve the equation, please : iSight + Mercury Messenger (or aMSN) = ???

S

SeRgIo_42

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 5, 2004
89
0
Hi,

Since my iMac G5 needs a (decent) webcam, there are not many choices
here. As many of you, many friends of mine are heart-plugged fans of MSN
and I am looking for an alternative.

Does someone use the webcam feature in Mercury Messenger (or aMSN) ?

I wonder why there are so many complaints in the iSight forum at apple.com
if these programs really work.

Thanks for any input,

S.
 
I would like to know this too, if someone with an iSight could download amsn and try it out that would be great!
 
I'm pretty sure it works. I am also pretty sure aMSN is better for it, just because it works better for me. I have a Logitech Quick Capture Zoom Pro or whatever... works fine. I'm not sure about an iSight.
 
haiggy said:
I'm pretty sure it works. I am also pretty sure aMSN is better for it, just because it works better for me. I have a Logitech Quick Capture Zoom Pro or whatever... works fine. I'm not sure about an iSight.
Click to expand...

Sweet, did you have to install a 3rd party usb webcam driver?
 
I use it with my G5's built in iSight. Only issue as far as I can see? N o voice chat built in like the Windows MSN. Other than that?
 
LastLine said:
I use it with my G5's built in iSight. Only issue as far as I can see? N o voice chat built in like the Windows MSN. Other than that?
Click to expand...

Munckee, aMSN and Mercury Messenger are freeware (I think?) alternatives to MSN Messenger.

I've had one fairly long session with Mercury and my Firewire iSight. Yes, just like LastLine said. Worked fine. Even on an iBook G4/800 (in a way, I'm glad I got a rev. B iMac and a FW iSight... I can take my iBook in the house wherever I feel like chatting. :)
 
SeRgIo_42 said:
Is this one you have, haiggy ?

http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-QuickCam_Zoom

I tried all sorts of drivers on my logitech webcam but they did not work.
Maybe this model will do the trick.

Anyway, hopefully the iSight owners will tell their opinion too.

Thxs,

S.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is the camera I have. It came with a CD with the necessary drivers for it... to adjust settings and such. I didn't need to do anything for it to work with aMSN. I think it should work for you. The only thing you can't use it for is with iChat (unless you have the 3rd party plug in... iChatUSBCam). You can use this camera that I have to import into iMovie as well.
 
Hey guys, thought this was a good thread to post in. So I'm buying a Powerbook soon for school and well, most of us here at the university have webcams. I obviously want one too, well the iSight to me is my only real choice. I've read reviews saying it was incompatible with AIM, is that correct? Do any iSight owners have any responses? Basically I need the iSight to work with MSN, Yahoo, and AIM. Or some Apple variation/freeware that will make it so I can chat with people using thise programs.
 
If you go to the IOExperts website, they have drivers for various webcams that wouldn't normally work on Macs. Same with a site called Macam, except Macam is free, while IOExperts isn't.

aMSN works well, but I own a Macally IceCam, which works great since Macally and has the Mac in mind when making products. ;)

I didn't use Mercury because even the person who made it will admit that there's some sort of limitation where the fps maxes out at 5-6, realistically, and it matters very little what he does. Don't know if aMSN has such limitations, but even if I only get 5 fps in aMSN (no better than with Mercury), the potential of becoming better than Mercury is there.
 
Jonathan360 said:
Hey guys, thought this was a good thread to post in. So I'm buying a Powerbook soon for school and well, most of us here at the university have webcams. I obviously want one too, well the iSight to me is my only real choice. I've read reviews saying it was incompatible with AIM, is that correct? Do any iSight owners have any responses? Basically I need the iSight to work with MSN, Yahoo, and AIM. Or some Apple variation/freeware that will make it so I can chat with people using thise programs.
Click to expand...

In summary:

AIM: Use iChatAV, pre-installed on the Mac, allows for high-res, bidirectional audio-video chatting. It works on the AIM network, although the absolutely most stunning iChat AV chatting is with all users using iChatAV only (it does conferencing with multiple high res bidirectional feeds with you and your friends).

MSN: Use Mercury Messenger or aMSN. Discussed above.

Yahoo Messenger: Works with iSight out of the box. The Super Webcam feature should also be compatible out of the box, although, pssh...their super webcam still does not come close to iChatAV....

So basically, you will not need to install any drivers. When you get your mac, you will need to download Mercury or aMSN and Yahoo Messenger.

FWIW, I personally use Adium (which does NOT do webcams), except when I want to do webcams, and then switch to Mercury, because my friends with whom I use them use MSN. But I have done brief AIM video chatting with iChatAV.
 
Thanks for all the posts

Ok, it seems that the equation is partially solved. When
Skype starts to offer video services for Macs, maybe
this scene will change. I think it is funny to read that Apple
believes that everybody is happy with the current setup.

Thank you very much for the inputs !

S.
 
I remember hear somewhere....can't remember where at the moment that Mercury or one of the alternatives is a "bad java program" is this true? I just remember reading that somewhere
 
this rasies another question...

Abstract said:
If you go to the IOExperts website, they have drivers for various webcams that wouldn't normally work on Macs. Same with a site called Macam, except Macam is free, while IOExperts isn't.

aMSN works well, but I own a Macally IceCam, which works great since Macally and has the Mac in mind when making products. ;)

I didn't use Mercury because even the person who made it will admit that there's some sort of limitation where the fps maxes out at 5-6, realistically, and it matters very little what he does. Don't know if aMSN has such limitations, but even if I only get 5 fps in aMSN (no better than with Mercury), the potential of becoming better than Mercury is there.
Click to expand...

ok....so my mind is just not fully grasping something...either because i'm retarded or...no, i think it's cause i'm retarded.

with macam, the concept is all fine and good with it's drivers for quicktime, and it's app to make a quicktime movie with your webcam, but i just don't get how i'm supposed to be able to chat using that...

so starting from the beginning, i was looking for an alternative to the isight because if what i read at various place about compatibility issues and yada, yada...so after a horrifying experience that involved the best buy geeks squad, circuit city, office max, about 300+ dollars, and 2 cases of yuengling ;) ...i finally figured out that the folks @ logitech were a bunch of azzclowns who (in a many ways) abandoned osx users. (in 1 weeks time) i had become the not so proud owner of the quickcam fushion, the quickcam notebook pro, the quickcam orbit mp, and the quickcam communicate stx...all of which have no (logitech software) for mac's os. i tried the third party driver thing, and i had no luck. so i finally got the list of supposedly compatible logitech cameras with osx

(the quickcam orbit, qucikcam pro 400, QuickCam for Notebooks Pro (the half oval one), and the quickcam zoom)

and chose to scavange the net for a good price on a quickcam orbit. got it in the mail today, and what do you know - works for mac users alright - user's of 10.2 and below....(grrrr... :mad: ). i'm using os x 10.4, and the software installed just fine, but when i plugged in the camera, i got an error, and came to the conclusion that i was sol...then i stumbled upon this thread...and it actually seemed as though god had stop passing bouls over my head for a minute, because i dl'd macam, (the app and the driver), "installed" the driver, and opened the app. and i was able to control the movement of the orbit, and i almost cried....but then i realized that there was no picture...and then i actually did start crying....

then i dl'd aMSN...and i don't get how it's supposed to work/help (with) a/v chatting) if the driver from macam is for quicktime movies - not to bridge the gap/update between 10.2 users and 10.4 users for the particular webcam in question. so i'm just wondering if there have been any (successful) stories of anyone using os x 10.4 on any logitech quickcam...and it actually working? what EXACTLY did you do? what did you download? who did you kill? :confused: i just need to know if i'm really sol...or if there is any glimmer of hope in my sad sad story...((sigh))

i should've just bought a damn isight in the first place...and i probably will have to in the end...

___________________________________
iBook G4, 1.22 ghz, 768mb ram, 80gb hd, combo drive / 40gb iPod

"talk is the same cheap, it's been...." - JM (the bear-suit-man)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back