Excite’s latest version of Excite Messenger sports some features not included in the Windows version.
Excite is an online messenger that offers instant messaging, a buddy list, the ability to personalize its windows content (with news headlines, stock quotes, local weather reports, sports scores of your favorite teams, radio and TV listings. etc.), and the option of being notified about new e-mail messages without having to open a browser. It requires Mac OS 7.6.1 through Mac OS 9.x (sorry, but Mac OS X isn’t supported yet), a Power Mac, QuickTime 3.0 or better (QuickTime 4 or better for the Tune In module), and either Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or higher. The Tune In Module lets you listen to Internet radio stations that provide streaming audio.
The latest version adds a Quicklist, a small window that allows the user to see who is online without using the main Messenger window, that isn’t available yet for Windows users. Other Mac only features include: Idle Message (a preference to display an idle message to users who try to instant message you when you’re not using your Mac); Speech (your computer can speak to alert you of new e-mail, incoming messages, and new Buddy Card information); and Horoscope (rotating buttons in the Horoscope module that link to “fun pages” such as celebrity compatibility and fortune cookies).
Check it out at the Excite Messenger Web site. (Thanks to MacCentral reader, Steve Smyth, for the heads-up on this.)