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.
User Reviews
"Somehow, Mirabilis has managed to make a complete pig's ear of version 2.5. Problems include: common crashes, an astoundingly annoying tendency for it to turn on balloon help while in the background, incompatibility with many other clients (e.g., many clients get no acknowledgement when sending messages to me, file transfers often don't work, multi-person chats cause it to give in and quit), and many many other annoying "features". I know it's supposed to be a beta, but this is ridiculous. Stick to the previous version if you have it, and avoid this one like the plague."
—Andy Lewis
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the 680x0 version (1.7.2).Also See . . .
Can't find what you're looking for? Try a search:
Also, if you have an older Mac, be sure to check out the "Classic" applications page for more options.
Finally, take a look at ALEMIA if you think you know that name of an application, but aren't quite sure.
Also Consider . . .
These are applications that are newer and of potential interest, but which I haven't yet selected for permanent inclusion. Have a look, and let me know if you think they deserve to be part of the permanent collection!