Mac users have now had a full day to mess around with the newly released Messages beta that lets them send iMessages from the desktop. (We shared our thoughts on the beta software yesterday and highlighted a number of things that could use improvement before Messages' final release.) We've received a number of follow-up questions from readers, so we thought we'd do a quick followup with some of the points that people have been sending in.
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First things first: Messages may have been released as a beta for OS X 10.7 (Lion) users, but a site named Consomac has posted its discovery that Messages will be limited to 10.8 (Mountain Lion) when the OS is released sometime this summer. A string of text found inside the app's resources states: "Thank you for participating in the Messages Beta program. With the inclusion of Messages in OS X Mountain Lion, the Messages Beta program has ended. To continue using Messages, please visit the Mac App Store and purchase OS X Mountain Lion."
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Secondly, it appears as if high-resolution graphics were included in the Messages Beta. According to MacRumors, Messages contains several graphics that come in standard and double-resolution versions. This, in addition to the discoveries made earlier this month when 10.7.3 was released, adds fuel to the fire when it comes to those pesky "retina" display MacBook rumors.
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Those who are in love with the previous version of iChat should use caution when installing the Messages beta, too. Ars contributor Iljitsch van Beijnum noted that the installation of Messages removes the previous version of iChat from the system, leaving you only with Messages after the fact. We're not exactly sure how that will work for Lion users who want to continue using iChat once the Messages beta expires and it becomes Mountain Lion-only, but if you haven't installed Messages yet, you may want to make a backup copy of your iChat app first.
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A number of readers e-mailed after yesterday's article to ask about Messages' video capabilities. The first was whether Messages had integrated FaceTime support, and the answer to that question is "sort of." Messages does offer you an easy way to strike up a FaceTime conversation with whomever you're messaging at the moment from the main window (the button is in the upper right-hand corner), but clicking this button only launches the separate FaceTime app.
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The second part to that question was whether Messages' FaceTime "support" replaced iChat's built-in video chat abilities, and the answer to that is "no." If you're using the old iChat buddy list for AIM, GTalk, or Jabber, however, you can still click on the video icon next to the user's name, which will then bring up the same built-in video chat functionality that iChat had previously. "Since FaceTime has the way better video protocol, this is a bummer I think," one reader wrote via e-mail.
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Others asked if the Messages app can still receive messages when the app isn't running. We tested this ourselves and discovered that yes, even when you quit Messages, its icon will show a red number badge in your dock if you have received any messages without the app being open. This can be helpful to those who don't want to keep the app running all the time, but want to see when they have new messages. It will also undoubtedly make badge haters (myself included) crazy if there's no way to turn it off.
Keep the questions and tips coming! What else have we missed that you want to know about?
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