Mac Messenger Review

As previously posted by absorbation, Messenger for Mac version 6.02 has been released. I have been waiting to do a MFM review for ages now, but only when some news popped up or an update was made - so it didn't seem too random. MFM features a clean and easy to use interface, chat logging, spell checking of messages, the ability to talk to your Yahoo! Messenger contacts, and more.

Messenger for Mac and Windows Live Messenger differ in many ways (see side-by-side comparison). One major difference is the ability to be signed into two different accounts at the same time, one account for personal use and the other for corporate use. Another is how conversation history is saved. MFM logs are much nicer looking and easier to read compared to WLM.

One disadvantage when using Messenger for Mac is the limited in-chat features. There are no games, MFM does not support handwritten messages or voice clips and worst of all there is no Video Call support whatsoever. Hopefully some of these features are on the "to be added and not abandoned" list.

Much of the stuff you are probably used to by now in Windows Live Messenger is in Messenger for Mac. The emoticons are the same as in WLM; custom emoticons, display pictures , and file transfers all work too.

No program is perfect and just like any other program, Messenger for Mac has a couple of bugs that I have noticed. When moving a contact from one group to another, dragging and dropping, it can take up to several seconds for the contact to move. A user might try moving the contact 2 or 3 times if he is not aware of this bug.

I also noticed there is no way of viewing a contact's full personal message other than expanding the contact list width wise and reading it like that (this can be very annoying). Personal messages do not show up in a conversation window like in WLM nor do they show up when you try to right-clicking/ctrl+clicking and then selecting "get info" on the contact in question.

My personal opinion is that I prefer Windows Live Messenger to Messenger for Mac. WLM looks better in my opinion but MFM is not that bad itself. The lack of features is one of the main reasons, but I am sure I can live without video calls until the team finally adds it in.

I hope this little review answered some of the questions you may have had about Messenger for Mac.

>> View a screenshot of Messenger for Mac