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iChat AV 2.1, iPhoto 4.0.1 Released

Milanek writes "Apple has released final version of iChat AV 2.1. It's available on Apple's iChat site or via Software Update. It adds support for video conferencing with the new AOL Instant Messenger 5.5 for Microsoft Windows." Also available this week is an update to iPhoto, to version 4.0.1. Apple says it has performance, stability, and organization enhancements, including faster importing, smoother image viewing, easier Rendezvous sharing, and improved thumbnails.

23 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Ahem by daeley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Apple says it has performance, stability, and organization ehancements

    Not to be a spelling nazi, but that should be eHancements. ;)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:Ahem by lullabud · · Score: 5, Funny

      For the educational users, yes, but for the average users they're iMprovements.

  2. Small but very nice updates by pafmax · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've ran them both, iPhoto is indeed a little bit faster and it renders the thumbnails in a different way. But... it took me about 15 min. to update my 2000+ photo lib!!
    As for iChat, it seems like the beta version, but final. I can't wait to try the video tomorrow with a friend... She coulden't make it work the last time with aim 5.5 beta, so I gess I'll have to go to her house and do the aim config myself :-) It would be great to have a good PC-Mac compatible video chat...
    Now, if only MSN Messenger for mac would be *close* to the PC version I would not have to try to convince 99% of my friends to change to AIM in order to get vid...
    BTW, I must thank the people of the aMSN sf.net project, for giving me a reason to continue to use MSN... Keep it up!!! (and pleeeeeeeeeeease, gimme some more use for my iSight, if M$ doesn't! ;-) )

    1. Re:Small but very nice updates by Quobobo · · Score: 4, Funny

      15 minutes to plow through over 2000 photos is pretty good if you ask me.

      As for iChat, it seems like the beta version, but final.

      I don't even need to say anything about this sentence.

  3. Ummm... by bfg9000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... video conferencing... performance, stability, and organization ehancements, including faster importing, smoother image viewing, easier Rendezvous sharing, and improved thumbnails.

    These things are all good, but wouldn't it be much simpler to accomplish all these performance improvements by releasing THE NEW G5 POWERBOOK!! COME ON, APPLE! I'M DYING HERE!

    Thank you.

    My Visa is ready, since I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs reads Slashdot.

    --

    I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."

    1. Re:Ummm... by lpangelrob2 · · Score: 5, Funny
      Good Lord, that'd be wrong. :-) Consider that the internal temperature of my G4 PB 1.33 already reaches 125 degrees under normal conditions, and 128 under CPU-intensive conditions, with current cooling technologies.

      Now consider the effects of 150 - 180 degree temperatures on the male genitalia.

      Nothing says G5 quite like "boiled eggs"...

    2. Re:Ummm... by Squozen · · Score: 5, Informative

      The 90nm G5 produces a fraction more heat than the 1.25Ghz G4. A little bit of extra heatsink/waterpipe magic and the G5 Powerbook will probably run slightly *cooler* than your 17" PB.

    3. Re:Ummm... by bfg9000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dude, I'm from Canada. The flaming heat of the G5 isn't a bug, it's a feature.

      In fact, it's more than a feature, it's a life-support system for when I'm buried in an Avalanche.

      --

      I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."

    4. Re:Ummm... by geoffspear · · Score: 2, Informative
      Now consider the effects of 150 - 180 degree temperatures on the male genitalia.

      Nothing says G5 quite like "boiled eggs"...

      Umm... I hate to tell you this, but the male genitalia does not contain eggs. They're the female reproductive cells.

      --
      Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
  4. For those running OS X Server... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    Also available:

    Applications Server Update 2.0 (95.6 MB)

    The Application Servers Update provides JBoss version 3.2.3 GM, Tomcat version 4.1.29, and WebObjects Deployment 5.2.3. WebObjects Deployment 5.2.3 provides qualification for WebObjects applications running under Java 1.4.2 and improvements to stability and correctness.

    For further information about this update, please see:

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107 869 (doc not found - why do they always update docs AFTER the software is released??)

    RAID Admin 1.3 (5.2 MB) (actually available about a week ago?)
    The RAID Admin 1.3 Update improves over all reliability of the RAID Admin software. This update is recommended for all Xserve RAID users.

    Key enhancements include:

    Solves issue where fibre channel link LED goes off even when link is up

    Addresses condition where management coprocessor does not respond to RAID Admin

    Prevents erroneous enclosure events that caused buzzer and email notification

    Corrects situation where disks have a RED status LED after a RAID controller restart

    Battery modules will now be detected by RAID Admin 1.3 on Xserve RAID systems with firmware 1.1-117

    Addresses RAID Admin Java 1.4.2 compatibility issues

  5. And I'd like it to share with Windows! by MarcQuadra · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd like the thumbnail cache to be cross-platform and open. Why on earth can't someone publish a simple RFC for thumb caches. If bill broses his home folder on Windows, the generated thumbs should work for KDE/GNOME/OSX and whatever else, it's just common sense and it would be an 'everybody wins' sort of thing.

    --
    "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
  6. reboot! by gumbi+west · · Score: 2

    Okay, can somebody please explain why an iChat update requires a reboot?

    1. Re:reboot! by ZackSchil · · Score: 4, Informative

      Because it updates the private system instant messaging framework. It's good practice to restart after updating a service that possibly more than one app relies on. I just force quit software update when it was done and everything was fine but it could have caused a crash in Mail.app, Address Book or some other app that accesses the framework.

    2. Re:reboot! by bsartist · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'll explain that right after you explain why you're using iChat on your mission-critical server that needs five-nines availability.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    3. Re:reboot! by bsartist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Right, because a reboot isn't an inconvenience or anything.

      I realize you're being sarcastic - but you're right, it's not. Having to schedule some down time for a 24x7 server that's used by an office (or building) full of people is a pain. But a desktop workstation? Puhleeze. You're the only person on that machine - if you choose an inconvenient time, that's your own damn fault.

      My linux box has been up for 211 days

      So? What do you want, a medal or something?

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    4. Re:reboot! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Informative
      My linux box has been up for 211 days, and it's fully up-to-date.

      Right. Fully up-to-date. I can think of at least one Linux kernel vulnerability that's been found in the last 211 days. Unless I missed something, Linux can't upgrade its kernel without a reboot.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  7. AIM video support is nice and all. . . by the+argonaut · · Score: 2, Interesting

    . . . but it would be REALLY nice and infinitely more useful (not to mention probably easier from a programming perspective) if they would add support for little things as editing you AIM profile and transparent buddy icons.

    --
    fuck you.
    1. Re:AIM video support is nice and all. . . by Fortunato_NC · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Support for animated buddy icons would be nice, too. I've got some friends with animated buddy icons where the first frame of the animated gif is blank, and it gets old talking to a blank space after a while. I'd put the running man back, but I'm also extremely lazy...

      --
      Blogging Weight Loss, Distance Education, and more at verlin.com
  8. Needs more functionality, Apple. by Stick_Fig · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I like iChat and all, but I really wish Apple would make more of an effort to enhance the general functionality of the program.

    I like tabs. Tabs are such a great benefit when browsing the web. However, if I want to send instant messages to people, my only really option for tabbed IM conversations is Adium, which while it has benefits, doesn't have nearly all the features of a normal client, and suffers greatly because of it.

    On top of this, I wish that iChat had Konfabulator-type features that would allow the buddy list to be docked on the main window. That's a pretty darn cool (though memory-intensive) feature that Adium has that would really add a lot of appeal to iChat for me. I don't wat to have to leave the window open all the time to find out who's online. It should just stay open in a way that is unobtrusive.

    Apple strives on thinking different? Well, they should think less in the AOL mold of instant messaging, because there's some really cool stuff that some of the other indie IM clients have that I really want to see iChat implement.

    I think AOL and Apple have seriously overestimated the market for video IM. Instant messaging should be free to use in the middle of the day, at night, when people are sleeping (because it makes a GREAT replacement for a phone) and any other time when a phone isn't very helpful to have around. Video offers few of those benefits to everyday life.

    Small little details that make IMing easier, however, offer many.

    --
    ShortFormBlog: Writing a little. Saying a lot.
    1. Re:Needs more functionality, Apple. by Hes+Nikke · · Score: 4, Informative

      it DOES work with ICQ (just choose new chat with person and type in an ICQ number) and one you didn't even mention - SMS. (just choose new chat with person and enter +1 and the 10 digit phone number of the phone you want to message)

      both of these are actually supported by AOL, so by extension it works with all AIM clients - iChat included

      --
      Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
  9. Wireless Mouse and keyboard updates too... by Boccaccio · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...via software update. It downloads two programs to your utilities folder which you have to click on to run. I haven't tried the mouse update out yet as my batteries are low and it won't let you run the update in this situation.

  10. system frameworks by wibs · · Score: 4, Informative

    Okay, can somebody please explain why an iChat update requires a reboot?

    A lot of iChat is within the .app, but there's an entire framework for it (including code and graphics) within the system files. Ppresumably it gives it a bit of a speed boost, but iChat is also tied with a lot of Apple's other apps (while reading an email in Mail, for example, you can see if the person who sent it to you is online without actually looking at iChat).

    Whatever. It's still not as good (or pretty!) as the nightly builds of Adium.

    --
    If you get nervous, just remember that there are a few billion other people who don't really give a damn.
  11. application locations inconsistency by BobWeiner · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For iPhoto, you have to keep the iPhoto app in the Applications folder for the Software Update to find the app and install the updater. (I had mine in a nested folder called 'Photo apps' under my Applications folder, and the Software Update 'could not find iPhoto.' Yet, for iChat 2.1, which was also nested in a subfolder under my 'Applications' folder, 'Software Update' was able to find the old version and make the update without nary a hitch. Could someone explain the inconsistency as far as why certain apps MUST be in specific places yet others don't...?

    --
    The PC Weenies: 11 Years of Online Tech 'Too