[Gatorzx2]

Originally posted by phillryu:
I am using Adium 2 right now, and the new tabs are cool.

I was playing around with Aduim 2.0 yesterday. I think the tabed windows are the best solution, as I really do not like drawer in Proteus. Are you using 2.0 all the time?

[gorickey]

Originally posted by Gatorzx2:
I was playing around with Aduim 2.0 yesterday. I think the tabed windows are the best solution, as I really do not like drawer in Proteus. Are you using 2.0 all the time?

I take it the only way of getting 2.0 is still through compiling the source yourself, right?
(Sourceforge?)

Thanks.

[Gatorzx2]

Originally posted by gorickey:
I take it the only way of getting 2.0 is still through compiling the source yourself, right?
(Sourceforge?)

Thanks.

Thats exactly right, just load it in ProjectBuilder and hit build.

*http://sourceforge.net/projects/adium/

[OAW]

Drainyoo and Pepi,

I really like the mockups you guys did. The single window interface that uses the buddy list as "tabs" is very simple, functional, and intuitive. Furthermore, it "fits" with the GUI design of the other iApps so we can add consistency to the list. Please send it as feedback for the next version of iChat!

Great ideas!

OAW

[phillryu]

About the plugins, almost everything is a plugin, (contact list, dual window, sounds, etc.) and 3rd parties are developing plugins already, such as the set idle plugin, contact list preferences plugin, etc. However, as of yet there is nothing in Adium itself that lets you organize these.

I forgot to post my thoughts about Proteus.

I think that Proteus, as someone else mentioned, has become eye candy. It is still useful for those who use multiple chat services, but for single users like me, (I use AIM), Proteus is nothing but sluggish nagware. Proteus' interface looks slick, but some of the thoughts behind it are not very good. For an example, each message in a window takes up at least two lines, with the person who said the message and the timestamp taking up the first... Adium's new method is a lot more space saving and it looks more elgant IMO. Also, Proteus' "tabs" look pretty, but are also sluggish compared to Adium's. Switching back and forth between them have a split second pause, which ruined the user experience for me.

Adium 2 is progressing well, and I'm guessing that it'll be released in maybe 3, 4 months. That's just a guess of course. As of today, Adium 2 needs tab notifications and selectable/copyable messages. The selectable messages should be coming in a few days... development goes very fast.

Rickey, if you want a built version of Adium 2, message me on AIM on phillryu, and I can send you it.

[Homer1946]

Originally posted by Moose:
Probably not. The more interactive an application is, the less useful tabs are.

Tabs do not work so well in applications where the content in tabs not being displayed is likely to change.

Althoug this seems to make sense, In my experience I have found that it is simply not true. A helpful as tabs are in web browsing, I have found them to be even more helpful in chat programs. Also, the deficiences tabs have in browsers are really not important in chats. Huge number of chats are much less likely than huge number of web pages, screen names are on average much shorter than web page titles, so truncation is rarely an issue, and since the content being displayed in chats is so similar from one window to another, the problem of a set window size not working for all web content is not a problem in chat programs.

In my experience, tiling windows for chats doesn't work well at all. You cannot read any but the top title, so you either have to hunt and peck to bring the right window to the front, or use the Window menu. Either way it is often difficult to tell which window someone just talked in, especially in iChat which terminates the conversation on sleep and makes you create a new window. The result is often multiple windows with the same name.

In iChat, with each new chat window I have to resize it to whatever size I think is big enough to actually use, without covering other windows I want to remain visible, possible having to resize other windows to account for this new window (and move them around) or decide what window I want to cover up.

Lots of management that I don't need to be doing and exactly the sort of thing program developers should be thinking about doing for me.

With Adium, I set the window to the perfect size for chatting based on how much of the conversation I think I need to see at once without scrolling, position the windows where I want it, and then everything is automatic and constrained by my initial decision.

Although I am often chatting with more than one person at a time, I am only actually reading the replies to one person at a time.

For me, tabbing in Chat applications is great, and a no brainer, but the advantages or only evident when the number of chats exceeds four. For four or less it is more efficient to divide the screen into quadrants, and have a chat window in each.

But thats me,

-R

[undotwa]

Unfortunately, that brush metal mockup is only good for people who have relatively few contacts. My idea is that if a contact is in an active conversation it gets grouped at the top, then goes active users without conversation, then idlers. iChat with a single window interface will justify it's metal window (metal windows IMHO only look good on apps which have a single window interface).

[moggy]

Alright, so here we are with the Public Beta of iChat AV and I don't see anything about tabbed chatting. I know this thread is going back and forth on whether or not it is a good idea, but hell, Safari gives you the option, so why not give the option in iChat AV?

Personally, I feel tabbed chatting would be an excellent addition because frequently I have 5 or 6 chat windows open along with 5 other applications and it's hard to keep them all organized. That's even with a 19'' monitor. I can't imagine being on 1024x768.

So when Panther gets released, I suppose that means we won't see tabs in iChat, am I right?

[moggy]

Alright, so iChat AV has been released and where are the tabs? Honestly, I think tabs would make a great feature to iChat because I typically have between 3-6 windows open at one time.

If anything, make it a feature that you can turn off if you don't like it.

So you think we won't see tabs when it hits final release?

[Appleman]

It's like the discussions we had about tabs in Safari.
It's an option, you don't have to use it.
I like the idea to have it in iChat.
Nice mock-ups by the way

[Amorya]

Originally posted by zazou:
My solution?

For chats, a single dynamic window that recalls a certain number of lines in a chat, if desired, when opened / reopened is a better solution. A single New Session Request & Number of Unread Reply markers next to the 'buddy' in the Buddy List is all you need. The Active chat buddy is also 'highlighted' in the Buddy List.

When you click that buddy again the last, lets say 20 lines, of a chat is recalled. If you want more, there can be a 'back-track' to add more lines as desired. Chats are kept in DB and can be flushed after a period set by the user at after a set time.

So, you want the old style ICQ program? Where each message would popup separately, with a 'history', and you had to reply to it or close the window?

Amorya

[Gee4orce]

Originally posted by moggy:
Alright, so iChat AV has been released and where are the tabs? Honestly, I think tabs would make a great feature to iChat because I typically have between 3-6 windows open at one time.

If anything, make it a feature that you can turn off if you don't like it.

So you think we won't see tabs when it hits final release?

Er - did you miss the whole Expose thing ?

[krove]

Yeah, I'll take Expos� over tabs any day of the week.

Give me expos�!

[spitty27]

Originally posted by Pepi Picklefoot:
Posted at AppleInsider...this is my half-baked solution that haunts my mind night and day now.

A solution at the window manager level.
Somekind of 'minimize-in-place'-looking icon. Attached to an edge of the window. All tabbed windows would be stacked on that icon.

When the mouse is hovered over it, the stack of iconic windows seperate vertically (in a fluid animation) to show all windows. They'd also act like the Dock icons. Hovering over a specific window would display the name of the window. When the mouse is elsewhere, they return into the stacked icon.

Somewhat like a mini-dock made only for windows attached to a window that has decided to be used as 'single-window' mode (kinda bringing back a concept from the DP3 days).

Dragging the windows out of this mini-dock would unattach the window from the grouped 'single-window' mode. In reverse, they could be put back into 'single-window' mode at the click of a widget or simply dragging it back onto the stacked window icon.

The Dock should be left to only handle favorite apps and launched apps.

that sounds a lot like "Piles", which was said to be released in Panther, but apparently not.