I like the idea of Messages for Mac, and I’m a fan of many of its parts. And even after the OS X 10.8.4 update (which introduced a bug fix for messages displayed out of order), Messages.app still suffers from serious performance issues, especially when used extensively with group chats and search. a message from “yesterday” is displayed after a message from “today” in the chat window) it starts eating CPU resources and requires a force quit it remains stuck on an old “view” of a group thread, requiring a force quit of the Messages.app and imagent processes it beachballs whenever search is accidentally triggered in the main window, causing the app to go look for a text string in its log archive, which, for some, spans several months. Just to name a few: the app often fails to send iMessages in spite of the iMessage service working from an iPhone or iPad it displays messages out of order (e.g. But that’s the problem: when it works.įor all the people who can attest their usage of Messages for Mac has never lead to issues or frustrations, there are thousands of users who, like me and my fellow MacStories teammates, have been struggling to cope with Messages’ problems and discrepancies over the past year. I have tried various messaging services in the past year, and – when it works – Apple’s iMessage through Messages for Mac is a pleasant, Mac-like experience. In my opinion, Messages for Mac gets several things right: for instance, iMessage is one of the few modern messaging services to offer a fully native Mac app, which is reflected in the way Messages supports features like Quick Look for inline attachments, Finder integration for drag & drop, or contact matching with the Contacts app. Today, with the release of Chatology, Flexibits aims at supercharging a tough and infamous subject: Messages for Mac.įirst released as a beta for OS X Lion users last year and then bundled into Mountain Lion as an app comprising the AIM and iMessage protocols, Messages has long been criticized for its technical flaws, instability, and poor performance with group threads and search. With the Fantastical brand, Flexibits has established itself as capable of building apps that use existing Apple technologies to create new, enjoyable experiences that are equally efficient, reliable, and rich in detail.

Last November, they brought everything they had learned on the Mac to the iPhone with the release of Fantastical for iOS, a fantastic Calendar replacement with native iOS integration, a gorgeous Day Ticker interface, and advanced features such as a URL scheme and multiple alarms. Fantastical is the only calendar interface that I interact with on my Mac, as it can send events to configured accounts directly – in the background – without needing Apple’s Calendar. With Fantastical for Mac, released almost two years ago, they removed friction from event creation on OS X through a simple yet powerful menubar app that leveraged natural language processing. I only couldn’t buy it because the Store wasn’t available during the beta.įlexibits, run by Michael Simmons and Kent Sutherland, makes two of my favorite apps.

Private chatology text with my name