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 **

• ICQ accounts cannot sign in
• Added Notes field to the Edit Buddy window
• Signing in issue after installing application
• IMs from iPhone AIM are displayed with a very large font size
• Invisibility goes away when switching "screens"
• Overlapping buddy list rows
• Enhancements to Buddy List search

Please stay tuned for more information on the next version of AIM for Mac that will be available on AOL Beta Central.

Enjoy!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

We appreciate all the support from our AIM for Mac 1.0 users. Our goal for 2009 is to keep the progress going. We shipped the 1.0 version in December to build the foundation for a new AIM for Mac and we'll continue to build on that base. This week, we released AIM for Mac 1.1 Beta 1 to address some immediate issues reported by our users. In the coming months, we'll be adding new features requested by our users through the blog and AOL Beta Central.


Here's the list of fixed issues for Beta 1:

• ICQ accounts can now sign in
• Added Notes field to the Edit Buddy window
• Signing in issue after installing application
• IMs from iPhone AIM are displayed with a very large font size
• Invisibility goes away when switching "screens"
• Overlapping buddy list rows
• Enhancements to Buddy List search

Please continue to let us know what features you would like to see in AIM for Mac.

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

If you live in the Washington, DC area, you know WTOP is the #1 news & traffic station and now, you can stay in touch with Presidential Inauguration news by listening to WTOP using AOL's SHOUTcast Radio for iPhone and iPod touch. The efficient stream will run over EDGE, 3G and WiFi (remember, AT&T iPhone customers can access FREE WiFi at any Starbucks and DC has a lot of Starbucks locations).

First, download SHOUTcast for iPhone or iPod touch.


Second, use the Search feature in SHOUTcast Radio [App Store] and look for WTOP. Click the Favorite star in the upper right hand corner to make it a Favorite.

That's it! Make sure you tune in often to find out about street closings and other important news.

Now, you're downtown DC and need to get in touch with your friends and family? Combining AIM for iPhone [App Store] with AIM Blast, you can register all your Buddies then you can send one IM to multiple people at the same time. Found a table for lunch, send a mesasge to your AIM Blast group.


Finally, you're sitting in a Starbucks with your MacBook and you couldn't see the swearing in ceremony at the Capitol, you can watch it live on AOL News Inauguration section.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

Our pals from TUAW (a must read for all Mac users) stopped by the booth and I was able to talk about our new products at Macworld with Christina.


Thanks!

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Here are some more pictures from AOL's booth at Macworld Expo and our Macworld Blast party!


thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

• AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5
• AIM for Mac 1.0
• AOL Radio for Mac 2.0 beta
• AIM 2.0 for iPhone
• ICQ 1.0 for iPhone
• SHOUTcast Radio 1.0 for iPhone
• AOL Radio 1.2 for iPhone
• Truveo for iPhone
• Fortune Cookie for iPhone

The AOL Mac Team is joined by the Truveo and AOL Radio teams to meet, demo and find out what our users think of our new iPhone and Mac products. We've met with many long-time AOL users and users who profess their love and admiration for AOL Radio and AIM for iPhone. Reengaging with the Mac community was our theme for Macworld Expo 2008, but in 2009, our new theme is "Building on the Commitment" to the Mac community. On Tuesday night, AOL sponsored the Macworld Blast Party with 100 of our invited VIP guests to listen to DJ AM and try out our iPhone music apps – AOL Radio and SHOUTcast Radio.

The AOL Mac Team is also pleased to accept the "Best Schwag at Macworld Expo" on the first day of the show.

Stop by the AOL Booth (1438) or the Moscone meeting room (260)!

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Building on the Commitment: AOL Launches AIM for Mac 1.0

Communicate whenever you want, wherever you are, in whatever way that suits you best - on your Mac or on the go with your iPhone™.

The AOL Mac team is pleased to announce the release of AIM for Mac 1.0. As with AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5, AIM for Mac was built from the ground up by Mac users for Mac users. Highlights of the new software include:

• True AIM Experience: AIM for Mac will allow you to select your own Buddy sounds, wallpaper and animated Buddy Icons from the AIM Expressions library.
• Fast, reliable File Transfers: This is the Real AIM, not just an AIM-compatible IM client so file transfers are fast and efficient. Send files, folders and pictures to all your Buddies.
• Tabbed IMs for Tiger Users: AIM for Mac works with Both Tiger and Leopard - Mac OS X 10.4.8 (and above) and Mac OS X 10.5.3 (and above). Same features, same great user interface.
• Accessible: AIM for Mac was designed to work with Apple's VoiceOver on both Tiger and Leopard. You can navigate, review IM conversations and get your Buddy's status. On Mac OS X Leopard, we support the new natural-sounding voice – Alex.

AIM for Mac 1.0 is a great complement to our AIM for iPhone. Send and receive messages over WiFi, EDGE, or 3G networks while connecting to anyone on the AIM network worldwide, whether they're on AOL®, AIM®, ICQ®, .Mac or MobileMe. You can even send IMs and SMS text messages – even from an iPod touch (iPod touch only supports WiFi, SMS text messaging not available in all countries).


AIM is a registered trademark of AOL LLC. .Mac, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch, Leopard, Mac, Macintosh, MobileMe, and Tiger are trademarks of Apple, Inc.

We had a great Macworld Expo and WWDC in 2008 and we're all looking forward to Macworld Expo 2009. We will be in Booth 1438 (PDF) along with all the other winners of 2008 Apple Design Awards. Stop by and you can meet with the actual AOL employees behind our iPhone and Mac apps. AOL is also hosting a meeting room (Room 260) on the 2nd floor of Moscone, directly over the South Hall on the West Mezzanine. It's kind of tricky to find the right elevator, but stop by and check out AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5 or AIM for Mac 1.0 along with our new iPhone apps.

Also, AOL is sponsoring the Macworld Blast party this year. We'll be giving away tickets to the Blast where you can grab a drink and chat with the AOL Mac/iPhone Team. More information on the ticket giveaway will be posted in the near future.

If you're planning on visiting Macworld Expo this year, you can click here and get a FREE exhibit hall pass. There's a limited number of free passes, so it's first-come, first-served.


Hope to see you there!

thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

The AOL Mac Team is pleased to announce the newest update to our beta program for AIM for Mac 1.0. You can get AIM for Mac 1.0 Beta 6 from AOL Beta Central. After you download and install AIM for Mac, please make sure you head back to AOL Beta Central to leave your feedback and bug reports. This is our only way to get a very wide sampling of issues our users are experiencing so we can get them fixed before we release the software.

Here's what's fixed in Beta 6:

• Fixed various contextual issues when user has multiple IM sessions grouped in one conversation window
• Fixed auto-complete of IM Blasts on compose IM form
• Fixed switching screen name issue when password is saved in Mac OS X Keychain
• Fixed various accessibility issues with VoiceOver when announcing interface elements
• Fixed issue when updating AIM blocked user list
• Fixed Buddy Chat window hang if Buddy rejects the chat invitation by closing Chat window
• If the Buddy Info window is open, changing to other screen names on the Buddy List will update the Buddy Info window accordingly
• Fixed issue when some phone numbers were not properly formatted for IM to SMS messaging
• Fixed issue where AIM away message title was not editable

Did you know that the same AIM for Mac 1.0 is built into AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5 beta?

We're making sure that all the new features and fixes are found in both apps. If you like AIM for Mac, drop by the AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5 beta program to see what's going on with our new AOL all-in-one software.

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

I dropped a small hint in my previous post :) The AOL Mac Team has been busy working on new beta updates for our AOL Mac apps. You can now get your hands on AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5 beta 7 at AOL Beta Central. As with previous builds, you'll find the updated AIM (same as the standalone version) and these fixes:

• AOL Parental Controls Assistant has fixed some minor UI issues and has been added to AOL Desktop for Mac Help
• Improved VoiceOver accessibility with respect to navigation, button labels and user experience
• Added the ability to report IM abuse to AOL - if a user gets an IM, they will have the ability to send a report to AOL and block sender
• Fixed issue when users with multiple monitors losing the display of their Buddy List
• Fixed "Set as Default" when editing or managing away messages in Preferences
• Fixed attachment size display issue
• Fixed attachments that are in mail drafts folder under specific conditions
• Fixed mail editing issue when trying to split a line of text for outgoing mail message
• Clicking on Report IM Spam for a Block screen name unblocks the screen name
• General stability and performance optimizations

Please keep the feedback coming and report any bugs you may have encountered.

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac/iPhone Product Lead

Wow, can't believe it's December already. Well, right before Thanksgiving, the AOL Mac Team has revved two of our most popular applications - AIM for Mac 1.0 Beta 5 and AOL Desktop for Mac 1.5 Beta 7.

Fixed issues for AIM for Mac Beta 5:

• Improved VoiceOver accessibility with respect to navigation, button labels and user experience
• Added the ability to report IM abuse to AOL – if a user gets an IM, they will have the ability to send a report to AOL and block sender
• Updated AIM Start Page to point to AIM Dashboard
• Fixed issue when users with multiple monitors losing the display of their Buddy List
• CMD + F will now open the Buddy List Search box
• General stability and performance optimizations

AIM for Mac is built into AOL Desktop for Mac so you can get the same great features and ease-of-use. Drop by AOL Beta Central to download the new beta!

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

You're running late for a meeting and you almost forgot to set your Away message for AIM. Just click the "sticky note" icon and AIM for Mac will automatically set your status and away message.


When the Quick Away Toggle is activated, you'll see that the icon changes to the depressed state and your status and away message are automatically set for you. Right next to the Quick Away Toggle is the Invisibility toggle. Why would you want to be invisible? Say you need to focus on a project, you can click the Invisible toggle and you will "appear" offline to all your Buddies, but you can still see what they're up to. Both toggles are right there, under your Buddy Icon.

If you have any requests for features, please drop me a comment below! Get AIM for Mac Beta 4 today...

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead (and iPhone too!)

The AOL Mac Team has released the fourth beta for AIM for Mac 1.0. We've fixed a bunch of bugs and working toward our general release in the near future. If you have any comments or suggestions, please use the comment system below.

For those behind corporate firewalls, we added a new connections tab to the Preferences. We've also worked to streamline the authentication process so it's faster and more reliable.






Here's a list of items fixed for Beta 4:

• Added Connection Tab to AIM for Mac Preferences to allow users to specify AIM Server and port when behind firewalls
• Fixed Quick Away toggle icon when Quick Away message is set
• Updated Installer to enforce minimum system requirements for Mac OS X (10.5.2 or higher)
• Fixed issue with My Buddy Info window when user is offline
• Updated default AIM Server and port to kdc.uas.aol.com on port 443
• Fixed issue with font selection for IM conversations (when setting new default font)
• Updated default emoticon set to a smoother and more modern emoticons

Please download and check it out. Make sure you don't have any previous versions of the installer mounted! Click the Eject icon to the right of the mounted DMG name.

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead