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Apple Discontinues AIM Support for Many OS X Users With Legacy Mac.com/Me.com IDs
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I love and use AIM on a daily basis. Am I the only one except for one other person earlier in this thread?
I have multiple group chats with different groups of people that I can talk to throughout the day via my computer or iPhone. The messages sync, it keeps everything nice and tidy. I can talk to people on Gchat or Facebook chat. It's always with me and I can mute certain convos if I don't want to be interrupted by excessive messaging. It really is the best way to chat for me.
Out of curiosity, what do all of you that don't use AIM use as a substitute? Perhaps the majority of the people here don't have the same needs in a chat app as I do. I just love being able to mute AIM on my phone and chat on my desktop and then resume on the phone on the go. That combined with the group chat functionality, the ability to talk to different chat clients, and the fact that I still have my user name from 1997 (middle school chat baby) makes it my favorite chat app.
I have multiple group chats with different groups of people that I can talk to throughout the day via my computer or iPhone. The messages sync, it keeps everything nice and tidy. I can talk to people on Gchat or Facebook chat. It's always with me and I can mute certain convos if I don't want to be interrupted by excessive messaging. It really is the best way to chat for me.
Out of curiosity, what do all of you that don't use AIM use as a substitute? Perhaps the majority of the people here don't have the same needs in a chat app as I do. I just love being able to mute AIM on my phone and chat on my desktop and then resume on the phone on the go. That combined with the group chat functionality, the ability to talk to different chat clients, and the fact that I still have my user name from 1997 (middle school chat baby) makes it my favorite chat app.
As someone who is using a newly older style mac pro, on OSX 10.7.5
I am miffed that Apple doesn't support us better.
What would it hurt?
I am miffed that Apple doesn't support us better.
What would it hurt?
I wonder what server runs AIM these days? An old Pentium II covered in dust, in the bottom of a server rack somewhere.
Haven't used iChat for ages. FaceTime was just better and more convenient, it being on all devices and all. Almost like discarding the VHS machine isn't it? I still use both @me as well as @iCloud for e-mail.
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I use team viewer. It both allows me to control my computers, and start a "meeting" with someone to screenshare. I know it's a little bit different, but I can do it with anyone by sending them a link... no need to be friends.
My @mac.com AIM address still works...
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This is correct - you have to have an AIM account to make screen sharing work in Messages, but Apple is adding native support for it in Yosemite.
Tuck
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This is correct - you have to have an AIM account to make screen sharing work in Messages, but Apple is adding native support for it in Yosemite.
Tuck
AIM is the backbone for iChat. I use it to video/audio chat with my mom and others, oh and also to do screensharing. Wiithout AIM how can I do screensharing in iChat/iMessages?
exactly you can't without a paid service.
iChat has a lot of life left in it. Until they offer all the features of iChat in iMessages (Screensharing, theatre, etc) it will be a long time until it dies as people claim?
Not everyone wants to give people there phone number to text. I know allot of people only on the Internet.
iChat has a lot of life left in it. Until they offer all the features of iChat in iMessages (Screensharing, theatre, etc) it will be a long time until it dies as people claim?
Not everyone wants to give people there phone number to text. I know allot of people only on the Internet.
I thought you could use any Jabber account as well? I haven't used it in years so I could be wrong, but I thought that was the case.
I quit using AIM late last year (after 15+ years of use). Mostly because there was hardly anyone else that used it anymore, so I dropped it too.
Skype has been a decent substitute for video chats and instant messaging, and in my experience at least, is where most AIM deserters seemed to end up.
Skype has been a decent substitute for video chats and instant messaging, and in my experience at least, is where most AIM deserters seemed to end up.
"Users who wish to avoid the issue may find it easiest to simply create a new AIM login, although they will have to recreate their buddy lists on the new accounts."
No big deal. You can copy them over from the .Mac one. I thought this was about Messages dropping AIM support and freaked out for a second because iMessage still stinks.
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Yeah, AIM is easily the best service out there, only AOL has such a bad reputation now that it's uncool to use it. It's got file sending, voice, video, and screen sharing if you use iChat/Messages, and it's totally free with no strings attached. Many of my close friends still use AIM, but everybody used to use it. I still use it because somehow, nobody has come up with a near substitute. And I'm PO'd that crap like Skype has become popular. At least use Facebook rather than Skype!
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What's wrong with AIM? Nothing else works right in iChat/Messages.
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MS dropped support for an old Skype application, and everybody hates the new one. Apple dropped .Mac AIM accounts, but this has nothing to do with the chat client. You can still use a regular AIM account, thankfully.
No big deal. You can copy them over from the .Mac one. I thought this was about Messages dropping AIM support and freaked out for a second because iMessage still stinks.
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Yeah, AIM is easily the best service out there, only AOL has such a bad reputation now that it's uncool to use it. It's got file sending, voice, video, and screen sharing if you use iChat/Messages, and it's totally free with no strings attached. Many of my close friends still use AIM, but everybody used to use it. I still use it because somehow, nobody has come up with a near substitute. And I'm PO'd that crap like Skype has become popular. At least use Facebook rather than Skype!
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What's wrong with AIM? Nothing else works right in iChat/Messages.
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MS dropped support for an old Skype application, and everybody hates the new one. Apple dropped .Mac AIM accounts, but this has nothing to do with the chat client. You can still use a regular AIM account, thankfully.
Conversely I hated @me, way too narcissistic for me. Reminded me of the tyrant who roamed the campus intimidating his employees.
@iCloud isn't so bad even if the service is a bit sketchy. Poor Apple they just don't quite get it, but with their obscene stockpile of cash they don't need to.
Since Mac OS X 10.7 you can share screens using AIM, Jabber, Google Talk, and Bonjour.
There are official Apple support documents for Mavericks (Messages), Mountain Lion (Messages) and Lion (iChat).
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Don't worry. Just get a jabber account or new AIM account for them and add it to their account list.
Test if the new account works and dump the old account afterwards.
You're not alone. I still use AIM as well, with my dot-Mac account. It's one of the two things I still find truly useful about the "new" iCloud, in fact — that, and the email account.
Doesn't surprise me that Apple has decided to kill off another legacy dot-Mac feature that otherwise works fine, though. Apple never treated dot-Mac well, even though it was a paid service — and an expensive one at that.
I believe that yosemite now will do it with your icloud account. Of course, that doesn't help older systems (or even the current osx.)
When the previous drop in support, I switched my parents to teamspeak. Works well, very little configuration needed, and free.
Pretty much. The funny thing is that SMS texting is probably older than AOL IM is, and that has existed as long as I can remember.
Let's remember AOL is discontinuing support of using Apple IDs as AIM screen names. They are not discontinuing the AIM service. This is more akin to yahoo requiring users to get their accounts to use flickr instead of just logging in with facebook or whatever.
While AOL's official clients are crappy, I'm really going to miss the service if it gets canned, because well, I can't stand skype. Facebook IM has improved to the point you can use it in adium or trillian without even realizing it, but I still prefer the old standby.
Time for them to move off of Cheetah. Tell them a 21.5" iMac with a 256gb SSD would cover them for the next decade and a half.
