No, that
headline is not a typo: at long last, after hoards of OS X users have cried out to Apple in vain for a feature to be
added to iChat that other clients have had for what seems like a millennia (I'm Irish. I exaggerate. Sue me) - iChat
now has tabs, thanks to the latest Chax update to v1.4. You have the option
of placing tabs at the top or bottom of a chat window (or not using them at all, of course), and you can also chose
colors for the text in the tab based on whether there is a new message, the user is typing or they've gone offline. I
know I speak for many, many iChat users when I say: thank you, Kent
Sutherland.Another handy new feature in the update is a set of (optional) Chax menu badges to designate which iChat menu features belong to Chax. Of course, there are various bug fixes and tweaks, but what are you waiting for? Go grab the latest Chax update for tabbed iChatting goodness, and while you're at it: leave a donation for Kent's hard work.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2006 @ 4:50PM
narco said...
This is great! Just two more things and I'll switch back to iChat from Adium:
• Speaks the person's name whenever I receive a new message.
• Customize the Buddy List look -- or just make the text smaller!
I actually do miss iChat because Adium's file transferring blows.
Fishes,
narco.
Reply
3-26-2006 @ 4:59PM
David Chartier said...
#1: iChat has always offered customizable audio alerts: right-click on a buddy in the list, chose Get Info. In the popup window, chose "actions" from the pulldown menu. In there you can customize all sorts of actions and alerts including "speak text" whenever that buddy does something, like goes on/offline or sends you a message. It might not be *exactly* the way Adium implements it, but hopefully it does the trick.
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3-26-2006 @ 5:09PM
lgc90 said...
and chax lets you change the font in the buddy list
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3-26-2006 @ 5:27PM
Danny said...
Yes, I was using Adium before too, and now I've switched back to iChat. These features should be put out by Apple themselves, though, they don't have to wait until OS X 10.5 to add tab support (which I hope will be added then if not before)
Reply
3-26-2006 @ 5:35PM
Zach Holman said...
#1: Adium's working on the file transfer thing (which I agree is a pain).
http://www.adiumx.com/blog/2006/03/wheres-10.php
They seem to be moving to a new underlying IM package that looks to solve those problems in the future (I hope!)
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3-26-2006 @ 8:21PM
Team player said...
Thank you Apple for finally listening :) It did seem like a millenia
Reply
3-26-2006 @ 9:53PM
Mark Scrimshire said...
Ever since I upgraded my PowerBook to Tiger I have experienced frequent disconnections in iChat. Chax seems to have solved that by doing an automatic re-connect. It's a great set of functions to extend the functionality of iChat.
Reply
3-26-2006 @ 10:23PM
David Chartier said...
#6: Have you run Software Update and made sure you're up to date? There have been a number of software releases specific to Airport and wireless stability, especially with 3rd party devices and routers.
Also, if you can get to it, double-check to make sure your card is seated properly. A friend of mine just found out that both her RAM and Airport card in an older-school PowerBook were getting unseated, leading to all sorts of headaches.
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3-26-2006 @ 11:12PM
Justin said...
Its awesome I've been using the tabs for about a week when I found out the beta ver that had the tabs feature.
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3-26-2006 @ 11:23PM
Mark Brooks said...
I have always been a hug supporter of this application. I never donate but one day I was so please with the developer emaiol communications with me I send him everything I had in my PayPal account. Good job Kent!
Reply
3-26-2006 @ 11:51PM
Brad said...
There's no gurantee that I will switch back to iChat from Adium, but it's possible. I'm using the tabs now in iChat and I'm enjoying it.
And it might be nice to use something else for a change.
Reply
3-27-2006 @ 10:36AM
narco said...
I tried it, and the tabs are cool, but it's not enough to have me switch back from Adium.
• Yes, I can adjust the font and font size with Chax, but it doesn't make the box or the space between names any smaller. With Adium, I have full control and it's in the foreground at all times, but It doesn't take up valuable real estate.
• iChat doesn't allow multiple accounts to be signed on at once.
• Sure, iChat allows spoken text when a buddy goes online, IMs you, etc., but you have to manually program each one, whereas Adium can do all of them at once.
I really do want to use iChat again, but I am comfortable with Adium for right now. Sure it sucks with file sharing, but apparently they're working on it.
Fishes,
narco.
Reply
3-27-2006 @ 11:41AM
cole said...
I wall all excited when I read that Chax now supports tabs in iChat, so I downloaded the newest version immediately. So, I tried it for a bout 15 minutes, and didn't like it.
So, now I'm back to Adium. I just like Adium's small footprint and its ability for complete customization. I guess I'll have to wait till OSX 10.5 to give iChat another chance.
Reply
3-27-2006 @ 12:30PM
David Cintron said...
I'd been using Chax since the previous version, and really enjoy this update.
Reply
3-27-2006 @ 4:06PM
Dan S said...
Does anyone know how to increase the text entry box in iChat? I used to use something called iChat Enhancer, but can no longer find it online (I'm on a new Mac, so I don't already have it installed). If I can figure this one thing out I will be a happy man.
Reply
3-27-2006 @ 7:01PM
Pick said...
LOL, they block out John's last name in the tabs, but don't block it out in the chat, thus, his full name is John ***!
Reply
3-28-2006 @ 1:21AM
Travis Bell said...
While it's true iChat doesn't support multiple chatting accounts, with any Jabber server with other services running on them , you can be chatting with your AIM, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo friends within minutes.
Check out www.ijabber.com to see what I mean. I have 1 iChat window, with 3 servies connected and it's awesome.
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