WHY can't Microsoft Messenger handle video chat from MSN!?@##

[lamina]

[rant]
WHYYYYYY can't Microsoft Messenger for Mac OS receive/transmit webcam? Why am I limited to iChat that NO ONE USES? WHY do I have to run from my PowerBook to my iMac, boot it into Windows and have MSN Messenger crash on me *3* times?!!?

I'm sure its not Mac OS that doesn't allow me to use a webcam. YET! Why does it seem that pretty much the only webcam compatible with Mac OS is the $200 iSight. All I want is to view my little cousins in Italy. That's it. I dont want to have to boot to Windows on my iMac.
[/rant]

Is there a program/client that will allow me to view webcam content from a MSN messenger contact?

 

[janey]

That's not a Mac OS problem, it's a MSN Messenger problem.

Sorry I don't know how to answer your question though :S

 

[Chundles]

Yeah, it's Microsoft's problem for not integrating video/audio chat into it's crippled, crap version of Messenger for Mac.

Hopefully MS will put it into the next version of Messenger but for now it's a sucky, sucky situation. Get on the wire to Microsoft and let them know what you think.

But no, it's not an OSX problem.

 

[26139]

yeah...

Do THAT many people actually use MSN messenger? I've never been a fan of it, PC or otherwise, nor has anyone I know.

 

[MBPmad]

What about aMSN?

Is there a program/client that will allow me to view webcam content from a MSN messenger contact?

http://cmq.qc.ca/4w/amsn/

This may help as well:
http://www.mercury.to/

 

[janey]

also, all webcams for the most part work with OS X. And instead of the iSight you can substitute your own firewire digital cam. Or use pretty much any USB webcam and iChatUSB or whatever that software's called that lets you use any webcam with iChat.

 

[erikamsterdam]

yahoo

Yahoo messenger has webcam capabilities. Also available for Window$. Even for Linux.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/download/mac.html

And as a true Mac person you *naturally* convince your family in Italy to buy a Mac. iChat's video is superb though, way way better than crappy jerky M$N.

Edit: You can also buy ISPQ for $30 or so. Works on Mac and Win and is also way more stable than M$N.

 

[Chundles]

Do THAT many people actually use MSN messenger? I've never been a fan of it, PC or otherwise, nor has anyone I know.

It's not popular at all in the states but in the rest of the world it's the number 1 IM client with a bullet. I don't know of anybody who uses anything else and it's damned annoying to have MS release a version lacking so many of the basic PC functions.

 

[aloha]

It's a little bit of a pain but aMSN and Skype do the trick for me!!

 

[ikonq]

Do THAT many people actually use MSN messenger? I've never been a fan of it, PC or otherwise, nor has anyone I know.

really depends on where you are.

it's extremely prominent in australia.

I'd suggest Mercury Messenger BTW, It's very good, almost all the funcitonality of 7.1 for windows- BUT it's a Java App.

 

[lamina]

Thanks for all the replies. aMSN is actually pretty good! Sure beats Microsoft Messenger for Mac.

I'll give it a shot, thanks all!

 

[ReanimationLP]

That's not a Mac OS problem, it's a MSN Messenger problem.

Sorry I don't know how to answer your question though :S

Janeys right.

MSNs webcam part sucks.

It crashes out on my Windows XP machine.

And Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger 8) isnt any better.

 

[odedia]

aMSN for Mac OS X works great with MSN and webcams. No need to boot windows.

 

[jive]

aMSN is great but I didn't like the way it looked. I use Adium - which hopeully should support webcams soon...

 

[munkees]

you can use ichat with aol aim accounts and aol aim people on the other side, it is how i video with my brother, works well

 

[Platform]

Skype should get Video support for the Mac too, iChat should get MSN support too

 

[lamina]

Update: I have been using aMSN, and I absolutely love it! Video chat works great, and it shows you a lot of the gritty stuff like when the person closes the chat window and who's on your list, but has you deleted on theirs, and much more. I recommend it to anyone who uses MSN.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

aMSN sure is lovely. I've been using it for just over a day and think its great. I tried Adium but it didn't support video. I tried Mercury but it was uuuugly as hell even with skins and the isight came out blue. AMSN is absolutely lovely though, combined with Growl. I do wish it had audio support but you can always use Skype for that I guess.
I don't know anyone that actually use AIM/iChat over here in the UK. I have two contacts on my iChat list and they're both mac users who wanted to test iChat out. Simply everyone's on MSN here. I've got over 60 contacts and yet that's little compared to half the people I know!! If you go to University in the UK you use MSN. Its part of the degrees here.

 

[Saluki Alex]

Everyone I know around here in Southern Illinois uses MSN, I know of no one around here who uses AIM or Yahoo. Perhaps it's a regional thing in the US.

And as for aMSN, since it's not Universal (I don't think) it runs pretty slowly on my MacBook Pro. Regular old MSN Messenger (not universal either) runs much better IMO.

 

[quigleybc]

Everyone I know uses AIM

 

[sk1985]

Do THAT many people actually use MSN messenger? I've never been a fan of it, PC or otherwise, nor has anyone I know.

Yes actually. I have friends that live in other states (I live in IL) and all they use is MSN. I say they must live in some F-ed up backwards world though. Some thought it was weird I used AIM.

 

[notjustjay]

Everyone I know uses AIM

Everyone I know uses MSN (almost 100 contacts) -- except for about 3 people who use AIM. The odd one uses ICQ or Yahoo.

The 3 AIM users... are all Americans.

So it's definitely a regional thing.

I use Adium on my Mac to keep logged onto all of them, and I switch over to aMSN if I'm expecting to see a webcam.

 

[shuurajou]

I really wish that Apple & Microsoft would bang their heads together and make iChat run on the Microsoft Messenger platform the same way iChat runs on AOL.

I can never connect to iChat for more than a few seconds, half the time my messenges don't deliver when I attempted to use it & webcam certainly didn't work. My QuickCam Sphere didn't work with OS X either, despite logitech claiming it does.

 

[Queso]

I really wish that Apple & Microsoft would bang their heads together and make iChat run on the Microsoft Messenger platform the same way iChat runs on AOL.

That's not going to happen. Microsoft are protective of MSN Messenger to the point of paranoia. As with their file formats and protocols, they like to make certain features Windows-only to discourage their customers from moving to other operating systems.

Windows heads may deny it, but currently Apple are the biggest threat to Microsoft's continuing dominance of the consumer area. There's no way they are going to remove an obstacle that prevents Windows users switching to Macs, especially on software they don't earn a penny from.

 

[HughJ]

iChat is crap, Video support is awful & will NOT Work with anyone using AIM (that would be a total of three people i know who use it), Yahoo is ok, but can be problematic with video, Mercury is too damned demanding and is really flakey