Techiezine

Better MSN For Mac – 12 Alternative Web and Software Based Solutions

I’m sure all you Mac users out there that have tried MSN messenger will have noticed that Microsoft messenger:mac is basic and missing quite a few features that the version for Windows has. Thankfully there are enough people that have noticed this to put developers into overdrive and get them coming up with alternatives in two different forms, either downloadable software or online versions to use. I have compiled a thorough list of 12 different alternatives available here, I hope you find a better one that is suited to your needs.

Software Based Solutions

Emesene 1.6.3

Essentially this is just a clone of MSN messenger but it has all the features that the windows version has apart from video and voice chat, but it does have some extra added features and they are working to get the voice and video calls incorporated. If you want to have a try and test it out for a while you can get it the Emesene site.

Adium 1.3.10

This is great for those of you that use many different instant messaging services as it will connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more including my favorite Facebook chat. Just like Emesene it doesn’t support video chatting. You can get your own version of the software from Adium.

Mercury Messenger

Mercury is a Java based messenger client for MSN and it’s the one I personally find best for my needs and for usability. It’s key feature for me is that is supports video chatting and you can also customize the skins and add plugins. Users are also able to sign in to more than one MSN account using this software. Mercury messenger is available for download from here.

aMSN

This is another Java based client like Mercury but not only does it support video chatting but it also supports video conferencing. aMsn is available in about 40 different languages so if your English is not that good you can download it in your preferred language and just like Mercury you can sign in to more than one MSN account. You can do some customization with aMSN but not to the extent that you can with Adium and you get the benefit of tabbed windows for your conversations like Mercury. Get your version of aMSN from their site.

Pidgin 2.7.2

Pidgin was originally developed for Windows and Linux but with so many people porting it to Mac the developers Fink have released a Mac compatible version. With this you can chat with many of your friends on different chat networks using the one piece of software and it is like aMSN with a long list of different languages that are available.

Fire

Okay i tried this one but did not like it at all but every user goes about things a different way and may prefer the interface of Fire to the other options. With Fire you can access different chat networks at the same times.

Psi

Psi was developed for the use by the open-source Jabber network but they don’t want you to lose touch with your friends that have not yet made the leap across to Psi so you are still able to chat with your friends on other chat networks including MSN. Currently Psi is available in almost 20 languages and that will grow as their network grows.

Trillian

This is a cross platform piece of software that has been developed for Mac, as of yet it is not feature complete but they say it is usable but you should not yet rely upon it. This, like many of the above can be used to access many of your chat networks not only MSN. You can find out more and download the latest version they have from Cerulean studios.

Yoono

This program covers a lot more than just your chat networks and that is why I personally don’t like it as I like my chat and social networking kept separate but once again that is my preference but if you do like everything all rolled into one then this is the package for you. With Yoono you can sync all your statuses across your social networks. Most importantly it will work as an alternative msn for your mac.

Web Based Solutions

These solutions are ideal for anyone that is using a computer on a shared network that does not have any chat software available on it.

Meebo

Using Meebo you can connect with your friends on MSN, Yahoo, Facebook, AIM. You just go to the Meebo website and signin to your chosen service.

Imo.im

As with all these web services they are all pretty much the same but this one has more networks available than Meebo. Imo.im allows users to connect to MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Googletalk, MySpace, Skype and Facebook just by going to their website and signing in.

eBuddy

This is probably the best known web based chat client that allows you to connect to multiple chat networks, just sign yourself in by going to the eBuddy website.

Now I have shown you all these  alternatives for better Messenger for Mac I will let you in on a secret of mine, I loved using MSN messenger right up until the day I discovered Skype. I just find Skype so much nicer to use and it seems to be smoother too, also with the Skype software you can do group voice and video calls.