Facebook is the new Orkut and Facebook Messenger is the new GTalk. It’s how most of your friends, if not you, like to communicate. A lot of people hate that Facebook Messenger on Android and iOS was split from the main app and that you can no longer use the main app to chat. I like the Messenger app and the reason is that it is hands down the best way to chat with my friends. Also, when you’re in the Messenger app, you’re not distracted by Facebook itself. There’s no notifications popping up, no timeline refreshing.
Feb 22, 2018 Trillian is another popular chat client that brings together many of your messaging apps into one place, including AOL Instant Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk, ICQ, Olark, and Twitter. I much prefer Trillian's interface because it reminds me so much of the built-in Messages app. Available from Mac App Store for $4 (trial version disconnects you every 2 hours). Textual is one of a few truly modern Mac IRC clients, as it uses the App Store, supports Notification Center, Retina displays, and is still being updated regularly (latest release as of this review was November 2012). Aug 24, 2017 XChat Azure (was XChat Aqua) is an OS X native front-end of XChat, an IRC chat program that is especially popular in the Linux world. It allows you to join multiple IRC channels (chat rooms) at the same time, talk publicly or in private one-on-one conversations, etc. Even file transfers are possible. We support 41+ locales and XChat 2.8 core.
Having this experience on a Mac is surprisingly hard. Chat and Facebook on the web are too deeply intertwined. And before you ask me, yes, I’ve tried IM apps. In the days of GTalk and Yahoo Messenger I used to be a big fan of IM clients. But they just don’t work with Facebook. First, I use Facebook chat on multiple devices. The iPhone and iPad being the prominent ones (the ones where Facebook Messenger does a great job). The thing with IM clients is that the chat history is limited to the app.
So if I’m using an IM client on Mac (Adium was my choice), and I switch to the iPhone for a while, the messages I typed on the iPhone won’t show up in Adium. When I switched to the Mac, I lacked context and for some reason this really annoyed me. I’ve tried a couple of Chrome extensions that try to bring Facebook chat out of Facebook but none of them really worked.
I’m glad to say that I’ve been successful in my pursuit of finding a good Facebook chat client for Mac. One where it’s just about the chat, without any other Facebook distractions. In fact, I found two solutions. One paid, one free (with ads). Read on to find out which might suit you best.
Current for Facebook
Current ($1.99) is not solely a Facebook chat app, even though that’s how I use it. It can run the Facebook’s web interface inside a window, just like any other browser. But it has features like pop-out windows for viewing photos and video, and device-level integration for notifications.
What I like most is its menu bar utility. When you click the menu bar icon for Current, it opens up a drop-down window that contains friend requests, messages, and notifications. Clicking a recent chat opens it in a new window. Each chat gets its own floating window that you can move anywhere on the screen.
I’ve turned off notifications for anything other than messages from Facebook and I don’t open the main window, which loads up the Facebook homepage (it shows Facebook ads and I’m not a big fan of ads on Facebook).
What I love about Current: It’s fast. And stable. After using so many sucky IM clients and hacks for enabling Facebook chat on desktop, I’m surprised how good Current is. I can have four concurrent chats and it doesn’t miss a beat. Clicking on a notification brings me to the chat window. There’s no lag anywhere. The app is totally worth the $2 asking price, and more.
ChatBook for Facebook
ChatBook is an app expressly built for chat. It’s free and ad supported (though you can pay $1.99 to remove these). While I’ve yet to see an ad, I have gotten annoying pop-ups for upgrading to a pro account. And this happens out of the blue, when you’re not even using the app. Very annoying.
The app replicates the sidebar from Facebook, including the ticker. Which is weird because it’s an app that’s just meant for chatting. But this problem is easy to solve. Just grab the divider between the ticker and friend list and drag it all the way up.
The way the app handles individual chats is also similar to Facebook’s website. They snap to a grid at the bottom of the screen. You can’t pop any windows out, and when a chat window is on screen, so is the friend list. There’s no way to separate them.
The app does have a handy stay-on-top feature. This is a feature I wish Current had. Browsing the web when you have a Facebook chat docked at the corner of the screen is incredibly useful. Although, with ChatBook, you’re looking at wasting about half your screen.
The Winner: Current for Facebook
Current costs $2 but I think it’s totally worth it. When it comes to a pure chatting experience that’s disengaged from the Facebook website but is integrated with the OS, Current is the best.
ChatBook is free but to use it for free you need to put up with annoying pop-ups that come out of nowhere. The Pro version of ChatBook costs $1.99, the same as Current.
Even looking at it from a purely economic perspective, it’s better to pay $2 up front for an app that offers a generally superior experience (along with full Facebook access if you’re interested in using it) than an app that puts you through annoying pop-ups.
How Do You Chat on Facebook?
How do you use Facebook chat on all your various devices? Let us know in the comments below.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#chat #facebook Did You Know
Facebook took 2 years to reach a market audience of 50 million people.
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Mac IRC clients are all grown up and have entered the new era of free cloud computing and the Mac App Store. Most apps in this list are free or just a few dollars. This is a radical change from just a few years ago, when the best apps were shareware worth $30 or more. All of these apps are stable and usable, and that reflects not only the multi-year track record of these particular programs, but the overall maturity of IRC itself.
Colloquy 2.4
Open source freeware, available for Mac OS X and iOS. Good for novices and advanced users alike. They’ve been around since 2004 or so, and have grown from a lightweight client into a stable, full-featured one that supports not just IRC but also SILC and ICB. This is more than most users will need, as you can transfer files, chat on multiple networks, plaster your screen with mIRC colors, and handle scripting via Applescript.
XChat Azure 1.13.4
Xcode version for el capitan. XChat Aqua/Azure is OS X native front-end of xchat2 written on Cocoa rather than GTK2. It is based on the Xchat 2 code base and therefore Open Source and Free Software.
Textual 2.1.1
Available from Mac App Store for $4 (trial version disconnects you every 2 hours). Textual is one of a few truly modern Mac IRC clients, as it uses the App Store, supports Notification Center, Retina displays, and is still being updated regularly (latest release as of this review was November 2012). Textual looks easy and simple, but implements a full array of chat features that are neatly tucked away just below the surface. As a result, the user interface feels “right” and everything makes sense. A new user would feel comfortable thanks to conversation tracking, address books, . On the other hand, an experienced user would be empowered with advanced features like op and oper actions, flood control, tracking of friends, ignoring of foes, logging, channel-specific input history, and scripting via not just Applescript but all the usual languages.
LimeChat 2.33Chat Apps For Pc
Free but donations are accepted. Unusually ambitious in being available for Mac OS X, iOS, and even Windows. Many people like the retro, minimalist look that harkens back to the old days (I’m talking 1990s) where multiple channels are streamed together into a single window, and people relied on typed or shortcut commands to do most things. Either you like that look or you don’t, be sure to look closely at some screen caps before you download. A true beginner would appreciate the built-in server list, which lets you get started quickly. However, once you get connected, the minimalist design means that it’s not as obvious to figure out what is going on. This is another of the fully modern Mac IRC clients, with App Store downloads and support for modern features like full screen mode, Notification Center, and Retina Display. Other 3rd party themes are available to change the look.
Best Irc Chat App For Macos PcSnak 5.3.4Best Irc Client For Mac
$29 shareware every 2 years that supports the charity kiva.org, or else quits after 15 minutes. The price seems out of place in the new App Store world, but remember that Snak dates way back to the 1990s. It used to set the standard for Mac IRC clients because it was streamlined, easy, and yet also supported all the usual features. Well, that was then and this is now. It is hard to recommend Snak now considering that active development ended years ago, and so many free/cheap modern alternatives are now available. For now, Snak still works with Mountain Lion, so we’ll continue to list it here, if nothing else than to serve as a foundation for comparing the newer programs. Snak is very easy to set up and configure. Everything for each channel is contained in one window, and docking windows will allow multiple channels to share a window to maximize limited screen space. Supports both the scripting language from classic ircII for *nix (UNIX, Linux, etc.), so you can tap into the wealth of existing ircII scripts, as well as Applescript scripts. There are also automated responses to events so that you can set up script-like actions without being a scripting expert. Supports multiple connections, and for each connection, uses ircII-style server lists which will automatically try the next server in a list until it succeeds. Guardian feature permits adult control.
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