For all of you out there who is using a Mac, and then Adium as the instant messaging client, here’s probably some of the best add-ons ever made for the tool, further advancing its reputation as the universal Macintosh IM client.
Since yesterday, Adium supports Audio and Video conferencing. The support is supplied by MeBeam, who have developed the plug-in. So far, it is not native, it creates a link, leading to a MeBeam page with a Flash tool for video conferencing. This in essence defeats all the different protocols. Okay, granted, it’s not a native solution yet – but word on the street is that this is being worked on, now that first support has been supplied to the tool.
During all our work on integrating audio and video into Adium, it seems that a company called MeBeam was way ahead of us. They implemented a cross-platform, protocol-agnostic videochat solution using Flash. The best of all: They allowed us to integrate with their service!
What this means is that starting today, Adium has support for videochat!
MeBeam has very compelling features:
Cross-platform
Cross-service
No installation necessary on the invitee side, except for some IM client, a web browser and the Flash plugin
Up to 15 people in a multiuser-videochat, not required to use the same IM network
Fewer issues with firewalls than other solutionsWhat do you have to do to make use of it? First, you need a webcam obviously, and a headset is recommended. Then, download the plugin and double-click it, so Adium can place it into the right location. Relaunch Adium, and you’re good to go.
When you want to videochat with someone, ctrl-click (or right-click) them and choose “Initiate MeBeam Videochat”. That’s all!
AdiumXtras: MeBeam Audio/Video Conferencing Plugin for AdiumX
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