Well, it isn't something from the Romulans or even from Harry Potter, it's Sign in as Invisible. After we integrated Lifestream into AIM, our goal was to add in features that our users have requested and continue to work on improving the user interface.
As with our previous release, you can just go to AIM>Check For Updates... or click the download link on AOL Beta Central.

New Features & Changes in AIM for Mac 2.1 Beta 2: Fixed Issues: Update AIM for Mac today and leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Thanks,
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

We just released an update to AIM for Mac (version 2.0.229) which fixes various connection issues reported by our users.

• Fixed an issue that was signing out the user when an improperly formatted IM was received.
• Fixed an issue that was signing out the user when a linked screen name was not able to be authenticated.
• Fixed a few other minor issues.

Please stay tuned to the Mac@AOL Blog for information on future releases.

Larry Aasen
AOL Mac Team

Say you're out and about and you don't have your MacBook handy. You can still log into AIM Lifestream and check out what your social network is doing. You just need a web browser and you're all set. Lifestream is also integrated into AIM Express, the web version of AIM that will run nicely on your friend's Mac. While you're at it, ask your friend if they've upgraded to AIM for Mac and they can enjoy Lifestream too!


Head over to http://lifestream.aim.com and log in with your AIM screen name and password. From here, you can access your Lifestream, change your Lifestream Settings, leave feedback or view our Help page.

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

I'm guessing what you're thinking - "Didn't AOL release AIM for Mac 2.0 just last month?" We sure did, but we're not going to stop until we make AIM for Mac the IM leader on the Mac. Since we're done with Lifestream (well, we'll be working on new versions of Lifestream too!), we're going to focus on stability, bug fixes and features our users have asked for over the past year. Head over to AOL Beta Central to download AIM for Mac 2.1 Beta 1 today!

Here's what's new in AIM for Mac 2.1 Beta 1:

• Added "Email..." to the Buddy List contextual menu and "Gear" menu to allow for easy webmail message composition.

• Added Apple Menu Item under People > Send Email...
• Added Edit > Paste and Match Style to the Menu Items.
• Single-sign on for AIM to AOL Webmail.
• Camera icon has been added to the Buddy status on Buddy List if a photo has been published in Buddy status.
• Improved accessibility (VoiceOver) feature for Group Row Theme button (will now read button description).
• Various user interface improvements.

Fixed Issues in this release:

• Fixed issue where user is logged off and results in AIM rate limiting.
• Accessibility: Fixed various labeling bugs that resulted in ambiguous or empty text when using VoiceOver.
• Fixed issues with Away Message reporting to users on your Buddy List.
• Fixed issues that prevented opening AOL webmail.
• Fixed IM conversation window scrolling that made long conversations hard to read.
• Added Font Scale to IM conversation preference (under IM Preference pane).
• View Buddy Feed has been changed to View Lifestream.
• Various bug fixes and improvements.

Enjoy!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

AIM for Mac 2.0 is now available! We've spent months integrating Send messages to your friends and family instantly. We've gotten a lot of feedback from our AIM for Mac users wanting to get a better idea of what a "Lifestream" really is and how it can help you on a day-to-day basis. What's really cool, we launched AIM Lifestream across our entire product line, from Mac to Mobile (iPhone and Windows Mobile) and to Windows and AIM Express.
Lifestream helps you stay in touch with your AIM, Facebook, Twitter friends and more. This means that you can click once and view status from your favorite social networks without having to launch a browser. You can view up-to-date status messages, get a count of new social networking notifications right on the Lifestream tab and you can even post photos or comment directly under the Lifestream tab. While we were at it, we made AIM faster and lighter with an all-new Buddy status area.

You can also head over to AIM Lifestream (http://lifestream.aim.com) on the web to access your Lifestream, the settings page or post a comment.

Fit-and-Finish and Addressing User Feedback

We're now on our fourth Beta for AIM for Mac 2.0 and we're now working on fit-and-finish and addressing issues reported by our Beta testers. If you haven't set up your Lifestream, you can set up your social networks under the Lifestream tab (on AIM for Mac 2.0) or by visiting http://lifestream.aim.com. Please download and try AIM for Mac 2.0 (Beta 4) today.

Features Released in Previous AIM for Mac 2.0 Betas

• Consolidated mode selector. Just click the "Running Man" pull-down menu to select Available, Away, Invisible or Mobile. If you have created Away Messages in a previous version of AIM, you will see them as a sub-menu at the bottom of the pull-down menu.
• Away toggle, invisible toggle, group row color picker and Find Buddy have been moved to the new Search Toolbar in the Buddy List. You can open or close the new toolbar by selecting "Show Search Toolbar in Buddy List" or pressing Shift-Option-F.
• A new, streamlined AIM registration is now integrated with your AIM for Mac sign in window so you can create new screen names to be used with AIM or AIM Mail.
• Buddy List Builder has been added to AIM for Mac 2.0 to help new users find and add Buddies (even from Address Books on other services).
• Find out who calls you a buddy. But you'll need to open your Buddy List up too. "Buddy Lists I'm on" is now available on the Me tab, just click the number to see details. For your privacy, this feature is set to private ("Just Me") by default but will be available for you to manage in the next AIM for Mac beta (this feature is not yet available on iPhone). See privacy tab in AIM for Mac 2.0 preferences.

AIM for Mac 2.0 (Beta 4) New Features and Changes

• Enabled the dragging of text clippings, images, and links from the IM conversation history view.
• We are no longer going to close a sheet when a new IM conversation is started. Also, we will no longer change the tab selection when a sheet is displayed.
• Updated Buddy Icon sizing to accommodate additional sizes.
• Users can now open a window to display Buddy Lists I'm On.
• Added VoiceOver compatible text for IM window button bar.
• Improved support for languages (Japanese and other languages).
• General bug fixes and optimizations.

AIM for Mac 2.0 (Beta 4) Fixed Issues

• Users can use the auto-update engine if the Beta has been blocked for a mandatory upgrade.
• Fixed Growl button in preferences not working in certain version of Growl.
• Fixed an issue if the user resized the IM window to minimum size, the knock-knock window will be displayed.
• Fixed various memory leak issues that may lead to application crash.
• Fixed an issue if a Buddy Icon is not returned from the AIM network, which caused an issue with the Buddy Flyout.
• Fixed an issue that will always use the default location for application preferences.
• Pressing ESC from the keyboard will Cancel the sign-in process.
• Fixed an issue when the assigned Buddy Icon to a new AIM screen name is only 12 x 12 pixels.
• Fixed an issue when the Away Message was sent when the user was available.
• Fixed an issue where different font/size defaults were not uniform across all text input fields.
• Fixed an issue when your status was updated to say "Check out my photo!" even if the user cancels the upload.

As always, I appreciate your support and drop by the Mac@AOL blog to find out what's going on at AOL!

Thanks!
Lee GIvens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

If you cannot Sign In and you see this message, "Unconfirmed User Name", or "Unconfirmed Screen Name", or "Account Not Confirmed", it means that you registered your email address as a screen name, but have not clicked the confirmation link in the confirmation email. Before you can Sign In to AIM, you must first click on the confirmation link to confirm your account.

In the confirmation email sent you by AOL (Screen Name Service), you will see this link:
"Yes, I made this request and I want to reserve this email address as part of the AOL Screen Name Service". Click on that link to confirm your screen name. You will be asked to enter your password again to complete the confirmation process. That's it! Now you are ready to Sign In to AIM.

Larry Aasen
AOL Mac Team

We want to thank the thousands of AOL customers who have downloaded AIM for Mac 1.5! We are working very closely with our various teams to ensure that authentication/connectivity issues are being fixed. If you're having an issue with logging in, please download and try AIM for Mac 2.0 (Beta 2) to see if it fixes any of your connectivity issues. (You can rename your 1.5 version and AIM for Mac 2.0 (Beta 2) will co-exist nicely with the shipping version). Also, please leave a comment below if you're having connection issues and would like to help us dive deeper into your specific issue.

We're working as fast as we can to address user feedback and get any bugs or issues resolved in our Beta process. Please keep the comments and suggestions coming.

New Features:

• We've redesigned the Buddy List to make adding photos or status to your Lifestream easier than ever. You can click the Add Photo button (roll over the status field) and post your photo to your Lifestream.
• Buddy Status field has been expanded to 3 rows to allow you to give your Buddies the full scoop on what's going on.
• Buddy List Builder has been added to AIM for Mac 2.0 to help new users find and add Buddies (even from Address Books on other services).
• Hide AIM Expressions Wallpaper (Preference)

Fixed Issues:

• Improved connectivity for some AIM users who had issues logging in.
• Allow user to select their mode transition from to Cube, Flip, Slide or no transition.
• Added new menu items to support the new Lifestream features (add Photo to status, add status message, etc.)
• Users can delete status images by clicking the close button when hovering over the Lifestream status.
• Lifestream settings link is now available in the application preferences.
• Hyperlinks are now active in the Buddy flyout.

Known Issues:

• ICQ users may have issues logging in with the beta client.

As always, I appreciate your support and drop by the Mac@AOL blog to find out what's going on at AOL!

Thanks!
Lee GIvens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

We added support for Growl in AIM for Mac version 1.5 so users could get notifications when new IMs arrived, and when buddies went online and offline. There are a few other Growl events as well. To see these events and more, display the Growl settings where you can enable and disable each Growl event separately.

1. Run the System Preferences application.
2. In the Other section at the bottom of the System Preferences window, click on Growl.
3. On the Growl settings window, click on the Applications tab.
4. Click the AIM application in the list and then click the Configure... button at the bottom of the page.
5. Click the Notifications tab.
6. There you will see a Notification pop up button that is displaying Alerts. Click on that pop up button.
7. There you will see a list of all of the notification events that are supported by AIM.
8. Select the event you want to configure, like "Buddy Signed In".
9. You can click the check box next to Enabled to turn on that notification. The change takes place immediately.
   

We hope you enjoy the usefulness of Growl notifications. Take some time to get familiar with the other Growl settings to make your Growl experience more pleasing to you.

Larry Aasen
AOL Mac Team

The AOL Mac Team has been busy. AIM for Mac 1.5 was delivered at the end of June and today, we are pleased to announce AIM for Mac 2.0 Beta 1. Our next version of AIM for Mac builds on AIM for Mac 1.5 and adds AIM Lifestream. AIM Lifestream is a new view that allows you to keep tabs on what's going on with your Buddies. You can add Facebook or Twitter services so never miss an update!


On the Lifestream selector, you'll see the new Lifestream event badge, to let you know how many Lifestream updates are available since the last time you took a peek at the Lifestream view. The Me view will keep you posted on any comments or changes to your Lifestream.

Check out what's new in AIM for Mac 2.0:

• AIM Lifestream view is now available by clicking Lifestream on the view selector. Lifestream will display status updates, photos and comments posted by your friends and family in your lifestream. For more information, please visit http://lifestream.aim.com.
• AIM "Me" view, shows you your current Lifestream status along with any lifestream posts that are directly connected to you. You can see your "Me" view by clicking Me on the view selector.
• Away toggle, invisible toggle, group row color picker and Find Buddy have been moved to the new Search Toolbar in the Buddy List. You can open or close the new toolbar by selecting "Show Search Toolbar in Buddy List" or pressing Shift-Option-F.
• Consolidated mode selector. Just click the "Running Man" pull-down menu to select Available, Away, Invisible or Mobile. If you have created Away Messages in a previous version of AIM, you will see them as a sub-menu at the bottom of the pull-down menu.
• A new, streamlined AIM registration is now integrated with your AIM for Mac sign in window so you can create new screen names to be used with AIM or AIM Mail.

Other changes from 1.5:

• Improved AIM registration flow web site that is included on the AIM for Mac sign-in window.
• Added animation to the Edit Buddy Icon label.
• Fixed various bugs and improved performance.

You can view the Known Issues by clicking this link.

Since this is a significant update to AIM for Mac, we're hopefull that our users will leave their comments and impressions below. We hope you enjoy it!


Thanks,
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

For all the AIM for Mac 1.5 Beta 3 testers, you should start to receive your automatic update AppCast soon (if not, you can always use the "Check for Updates..." under the AIM menu item.


As we wrap up development for AIM for Mac 1.5, here's a list of features we delivered in the past 3 Beta releases:

• AIM conversation logging (saved AIM conversations) with Mac OS X Spotlight searching
• Growl notification support
• You can also see if your Buddies updated their social network status from a variety of social networks and RSS feeds
• Custom Buddy Icons from your iSight camera or a graphic file on your Mac
• AIM for Mac Welcome Window
• Custom Group Row colors

We've even optimized AIM for Mac's file size (it's now 30% smaller than AIM for Mac 1.1) and fixed a bunch of bugs and resolved connectivity issues. Please take a look at the Fixed Issues and Changes list (below) and please continue to send feedback.

Note for Beta 2 Users: Users testing Beta 3 will be able to use the automated upgrade system (AIM>Check for Updates...). Users moving up from Beta 2 will need to download AND install Beta 4 directly using the 'Download Beta 4' button above.

Bugs Fixed
• Fixed group renaming issue. You can now rename AIM Blast groups (http://blast.aim.com/).
• Fixed error message when encountering an issue during file transfer.
• Fixed occasional crash when inviting users to Buddy Chat.
• Fixed bug when displaying Buddy Icon image in AIM conversation logs.
• Various bug fixes and optimizations.

Other Changes
• Updated Welcome Window.
• Improved the Edit Buddy window user experience.
• The screen name, password, save in Keychain, and auto sign in fields are disabled during sign in.
• Inline group name editing was enabled.

Stay tuned for info on the next release of AIM for Mac!

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Hey, what's all the growling about? After many requests from AOL users (and a bunch of employees), we've added Growl support to AIM for Mac 1.5 (Beta 3).

Growl is a user-controlled (go to http://growl.info to download growl) notification system that works with a variety of great Mac apps. You can control the look and placement of your notifications for all apps that support Growl.


We've also added the ability to see what your Buddies are doing on some of the most popular social networks and RSS feeds (Twitter, MySpace, Delicious, YouTube, Flickr, etc). To use the new AIM Buddy Updates feature (replacing Buddy Info), all you have to do is go to Buddy Update and add your accounts. Now when you update your favorite social network, your Buddies will see a new icon next to your Screen Name on their Buddy List.

We've also heard from a number of users having issues with connection issues. We spoke to a bunch of our loyal beta testers and the connection issues are fixed.

Note to all users of AIM for Mac Beta 2: The AOL Mac team has made changes to the automatic update system we introduced in Beta 1. With the new changes, you may see the following error when using the "Check for Updates" in Beta 2: "Update Error! The update is improperly signed."

If you've encountered this issue, please download AND install Beta 3 directly using the 'Download Beta 3' button on the AIM for Mac beta site. The automatic update mechanism will work properly when upgrading from Beta 3 to the next version.

Wait, there's more! We've added a new AIM Welcome Window that will give users a quick snapshot of what's new in that version of AIM for Mac. Stop by AOL Beta Central and download AIM for Mac 1.5 Beta 3 today!

Here's our Fixed issues and change list:

Bugs Fixed
• Fixed various connection issues.
• Fixed various crashing issues reported by our Tiger users.
• The Offline Buddy group is now sorted alphabetically.
• Reduced and optimized overall application size by 30%.

Other Changes
• AIM for Mac now supports Growl notifications (built-in translucent notification window will be available if Growl is not installed)
• When your buddies have a new update from Twitter, Flickr, or AIM, we display an icon (favicon) next to their screen name on the Buddy List.
• Changed the name (title) of the Buddy List window to AIM.
• AIM for Mac Welcome Window will now launch at startup to promote new features and services (Welcome window can be disabled via checkbox)

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

If you're a regular visitor to the Mac@AOL Blog, you will notice that the AOL Mac Team spends a great deal of time reviewing comments and requests from our users. Today, I would like to be the first to announce that we have added one of our top requested features - Custom Buddy Icons to AIM for Mac 1.5 (Beta 2).

Just adding a feature to drop in a graphic would have been worked, but the AOL Mac team wanted more. Here's what you can do with the new Customer Buddy Icon Editor:

• Use the built-in iSight Camera (or a Mac OS X supported USB camera) to take a snapshot that will be converted into your new Buddy Icon.

• Upload an image from your Mac (JPEG and PNGs are nice).
• Stylize your Buddy Icon with any of the built-in special image effects.

Here's a list of Fixed Issues and other changes that are in AIM for Mac 1.5 (Beta 2):

• Fixed an issue where the Buddy List gets pushed too far to the right when a laptop closed, unplugged, then reopened.
• Fixed various connections issues.
• Fixed "Invalid Screen Name or Password" problem when entering the correct password.
• AIM log files are now saved in new location after being changed.
• Fixed an issue where the font size increases when copying and pasting text from the conversation.

Also changed in Beta 2:

• Improved log-in mechanism that allows for better authentication.

• Moved the Group Row Theme button from the top of the Buddy List to the Buddy List preference pane.
• Enabled the auto-saving of the Buddy Info window location.
• Added an "Edit Buddy" button to the Buddy Info window toolbar.

thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac & iPhone Product Lead

Everyday, I spend a good chunk of my morning or late afternoon reviewing comments and sending e-mails directly to our users. I have enlisted the entire team to participate and we are well aware of the issues and feature requests our users want.

Today, I am pleased to announce our next version of AIM for Mac - version 1.5 (Beta 1). As you can see from the screenshot below, you can customize your Buddy Group Row headers (I selected my favorite color combination - Go Terps!) by clicking the colorwheel.


You can now turn on AIM Conversation Logging (under AIM>Preferences...) and AIM for Mac 1.5 will save your IM conversations to your specified AIM Log location. You can view your IM logs using your default browser and you can use Mac OS X Spotlight for easy searching.


AIM for Mac 1.5 (Beta 1) features enhanced AIM-to-SMS, allowing you to store a Mobile number with each Buddy for easy texting. Feeling like purple today? You can now change the Buddy List Group Row colors to suit your mood.

Focus on Features - AIM for Mac

One of the nice features of the Buddy List® is placing your buddies into groups for better organization. The default set of groups include AIM Bots, Buddies, Family, Co-Workers, Recent Buddies, and Offline. You can also create new groups to better categorize your buddies.

The order of the groups in your Buddy List can also be changed. However, the Recent Buddies and Offline groups will always remain at the bottom of your Buddy List.

To move a group in the Buddy List, just drag the group row to a new position. You can do this by clicking on the group row and holding down the mouse button as you move the cursor. As you move the cursor below other groups in the list, you will see a blue line indicating a valid drop zone. The cursor must be moved over the triangle disclosure buttons in order for the blue line to appear. When the blue line is in the location where you want to place the group, release the mouse button. The group row will then be moved to the new location.

This may seem a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will find that moving groups is very easy.

Thanks for trying AIM for Mac!

Larry Aasen
AOL Mac Team

** Republished **