A New Aim For Macs

AOL has released a brand new version of AIM for Macs through its beta website. No, this is not Aim 4.7 that was released several years ago, this is a brand new 2008 version that follows behind Aim 6 for Windows. Though this has been released a while ago, the  lack of advertising has Mac users still complaining about Aim 4.7.

Feature List

• Customize Aim icons, Wallpapers, and Emoticons, and Sounds
• Tabbed IMs just like Aim 6
• Aim Groups, Aim Blast, Aim Chats
• Aim File Transfer even while buddy is away
• Friendly/Nickname support
• Full Offline IM support

Feedback & Bugs

While this product is in beta, expect some bugs to appear. Background color for text may not show up. Offline IMs may appear twice. Generally users have been very happy with this release, so Mac users should try it out too if you dislike iChat or Adium.

Download Aim For Mac

Download is available at AOL Beta.

Unable to unarchive “aim.bin”, Installing Aim For Mac Guide

About every few days, someone experiences a few problems with installing Aim 4.7 for Mac. This isn’t entirely your fault but its time to put Aim 4.7 into perspective as to why this happens and what you can do about it. The Error message they receive is:

Unable to unarchive “aim.bin” into “…”

(Error 45 – Operation not supported.)

Aim 4.7: Why you should not install it?

Aim 4.7 is currently the last GM release for Macs. Aim 4.7 was released on February 18th, 2004. Now take a moment to think about what year it is today… Great! Now that we got that squared away. Lets now look at the problems most people have with AIm 4.7

• Aim 4.7 for Mac randomly signs off
• Aim 4.7 for Mac randomly quits while Away.

Aim 4.7: How to Install it?

Well if you still don’t want to heed my warning about installing it, and you receive the message that you are unable to unarchive “aim.bin” or AIM opens the Firefox browser when you run the installer, you can fix this problem by downloading Stuffit Expander.

You can download Stuffit Expander and fill out the information on that site so that you may install Aim 4.7 For Mac that was released in 2004.

What are other ways to install Aim for Mac?

Well I’m glad you made it this far. Fortunately for you there are several programs out there that you can obtain for FREE that were updated in 2008. Here are some of them:

• Aim For Mac Beta: A brand new client for Macs
• iChat: You can also Video Conference
• Adium: The Best Aim Program for Macs

AOL develops another new AIM Client For Mac

This new client plays catch up to features already existing on Windows. It’s built with AIMCC SDK, and now allows support for plugins (previously a Windows exclusive feature). There seems to be a little discussion about why should AOL develop a new Mac client when iChat does everything. From all the people who post on message boards, there’s still quite a few people who did not know that iChat could use the AIM network. Others have been begging for AOL for years to develop a new Mac application. 

Some feel that AOL has abandoned Macs and left them outside in the cold to fend for themselves. It’s not that they didn’t have alternatives to choose from, there’s still Adium which has been serving the Mac community very well. However, with third party programs, you ultimately realize certain features will never be available to you and you’ll just have to live with it. So with all that in mind, pick the software you feel most comfortable with. You don’t need to worry about what so & so company is making. You can try it out by Downloading it here!