UPDATE: April fool. ;)

We're pleased to announce, jointly with the ChatKit project and Apple, that Adium (powered by ChatKit) will replace iChat in Leopard.

A future version of Adium, with ChatKit installed, is now running and working in prerelease builds of Mac OS X 10.5. These builds are currently only available to the Adium and ChatKit development teams. Here are some screenshots:

That's right — iChat's video support has been merged into ChatKit, and Adium can thereby use it. It's the best of all three worlds!

Other features of the merged Adium-ChatKit-iChat experience:

  • Buzz support, integrates with your iPod (now you can be BUZZed on the go!)
  • External Buzz: Adium can knock on your friends' doors to let them know they have messages waiting (requires external hardware, not included)
  • Security feature: contact list moves away from your mouse cursor, making it impossible for unauthorized users to double-click on your contacts
  • Pink Adiumy
  • Boredom meter measures time since last message; can be configured to ring when the conversation is getting too boring
  • Intel Core Duo
  • Smart contact list groups with iTunes integration
  • Wireless integration with iPod's games: Play games like Brick and Music Quiz over IM
  • .Mac synchronization
  • Live graphics
  • Close widgets have been freshly polished
  • Click wheel
  • Built-in disc-burning support — IM on the go!
  • Support for IM over RFC 1149 transports (with the Duck-Pigeon Adapter)
  • Even more tasty sandwiches

Some features are still in development, and will come in a future (post-Leopard) release:

  • Electroshock buzz (requires external power supply and plug-in)
  • Popcorn
  • IM over Blu-Ray (requires that both you and your contact be downhill from each other)
  • Interplanetary IM