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AOL updates AIM for Mac, first time in four years

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AOL has finally removed the ‘away’ message from its instant messaging clients for Mac computers.

After a four-year lull in development of AIM for Macs, AOL recently released a new test version. The AIM for Mac Beta program adds a laundry list of features to bring the software up to speed with its Windows counterpart.

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With a renewed attention to Apple computer users, AOL is hoping to add the long-ignored group to its buddy list. But the Internet company (a unit of media giant Time Warner) may have a difficult time rekindling that friendship, with the myriad of options that have taken its place since the software was last refreshed in February 2004. Mac users have taken to Web-based clients, such as Meebo and Gmail, and software that can connect to multiple instant messaging platforms at once, such as Adium and Apple’s own iChat, which comes bundled with every new Apple computer.

But AOL says it’s making the effort because Mac switchers -- recent converts to Apple computers who started on a PC and are used to the AIM brand and software -- are demanding an officially branded client. Apple’s steadily increasing share of the computer market — at 8% in September, according to Internet measurement firm Net Applications — can’t hurt either. ‘Given the growth of the Mac market and the movement of AIM-using PC owners to Macs, it made sense to update a product these users know and love from their PC days,’ AOL spokeswoman Erin Gifford said in an e-mail.

AIM for Mac sports a fresh look that blends the design of iChat with signature AIM icons and sound effects. (Mac users longing for the nostalgic sounds of creaking doors when friends sign on and offline needn’t wait any longer.) The new version catches up to iChat in many respects, barring video and audio chat, and even adds a few new tricks, including customizable backgrounds and sounds you can blast to friends.

Mac users have come to expect sleek, fully featured and ad-free instant messaging programs, so AIM’s software-embedded ads might turn some people off. Upon sign in, the client launches the AIM Zones website in your browser, a landing page boasting a number of AOL properties. (This can be turned off within the preferences menu.) The company is also monetizing the software with ads embedded in users’ profile pages and with display ads, similar to those in the Windows version.

Although the improvements may not be enough to rekindle the AIM program’s dominance over the Mac messaging market, it’s sure to please those who didn’t know their Apple computers came with an AIM-compatible client from the get-go. And hey, AIM is still the most popular messaging platform in the nation. That’s one market AOL shouldn’t have to worry about for now.

-- Mark Milian

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