Communication Instant Messenger

iChat - Instant Messaging for Mac Users

iChat AV is an Instant Messaging program for Mac users bundled with Mac OS X that Uses a Jabber like protocol and Bonjour for user discovery. In addition to text chat, iChat has support for both audio and video conferencing via an iSight for video or any audio source for audio conferencing.

iChat AV is an Instant Messaging program for Mac users bundled with Mac OS X that Uses a Jabber like protocol and Bonjour for user discovery. In addition to text chat, iChat has support for both audio and video conferencing via an iSight for video or any audio source for audio conferencing.

IChat for Mac computers is based on the AOL model, and allows fulltime, four-way video conferencing (from Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger), up to 10-way voice chat, and the ability to actually send pictures as part of the chat - rather than a separate file download.

iChat not only offers connection to Aim Messenger (AOL Instant Messaging), but also includes Bonjour messaging (Rendezvous in Panther and Jaguar). This allows iChat to automatically find other users with iChat Bonjour messaging enabled on your local network. iChat 3, included with Tiger, also added support for the Jabber protocol for connecting to Jabber services such as the new Google Talk.

Mac OS X Server 10.4 allows you to run your own Jabber server for your network or the internet. It uses Open Directory for user management and authentication, so your Mac OS X account name is the same as your email address (if it is configured as a mail server) which can be used as your Jabber account name in iChat.

The Mac OS X 10.2 or later automatically installs iChat in your Applications folder. The first time you open iChat, a setup assistant will help you make some basic settings. After that, you're ready to chat!

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