Techsurvivors

Archives => 2007 => Topic started by: () on February 20, 2007, 01:44:21 PM

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: () on February 20, 2007, 01:44:21 PM

How does iChat work, and is there a fee for it?

I have never used it, and am curious to know whether or not I really want to fork out any cash in order to use iChat.

 

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: RNKIII on February 20, 2007, 02:18:00 PM

FREE!!! (if you computer has the iSight camera built in)...

Bob K.   rnkiii

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: dolphin on February 20, 2007, 03:13:24 PM

Free as Bob says. You just open yourself an AOL Instant Messenger account (also free) and your ready to go. Enjoy!

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: () on February 20, 2007, 03:22:08 PM

THANX guys and gals...

I'll try it!

 

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: () on February 20, 2007, 04:06:06 PM

UPDATE on using AIM on the Mac.

Didn't like it at all.  Went to some chat rooms and all people seem to do is talk about sex, sex, and more sex.

I thought AIM/AOL put a stop to this stuff on their chat lines.  I guess not!

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: Xairbusdriver on February 20, 2007, 05:58:41 PM

You don't need any camera at all for iChat. But it really helps with iChat AV. The real hard part is finding someone with a Mac to Chat with.

And iChat is not really made for use in "Chat Rooms" ( nor is AIM, AFAIK ), it's for talking with other iChat/AIM users one-on-one ( although there may be large groups that use it for "Rooms" ). iChat AV is limited to 4 people, I think, and the fastest computer should initiate the contacts. I think RHP, HighMac and a few others have made around-the-world conference calls with iChat AV.

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: tacit on February 20, 2007, 06:00:45 PM

QUOTE(Nutterbutter @ Feb 20 2007, 10:06 PM) [snapback]119628[/snapback]

UPDATE on using AIM on the Mac.

Didn't like it at all.  Went to some chat rooms and all people seem to do is talk about sex, sex, and more sex.

I thought AIM/AOL put a stop to this stuff on their chat lines.  I guess not!

AOL would never put a stop to sex chat in their forums; it's arguable that that is what made AOL so popular to begin with.

Just as porn is what drove the nail in the coffin of Betamax (Sony, which licensed Betamax technology, refused to license duplication services for porn, and as a result all the commercially available porn was VHS-only, which is one of the key factors that made VHS more popular than Beta), sex talk is what made online chat into the killer app of the Internet. Any online service that attempted to regulate or censor sex talk in chat rooms would quickly shrivel and die, and possibly expose the service owners to litigation.

Remember Prodigy? Prodigy was set up to compete with AOL. It failed because Prodigy was very strict about what you could and could not say on their service. This backfired spectacularly, when Prodigy found itself the victim of a lawsuit.

You see, as long as an Internet service allows anyone to say anything they want, the Internet service is a "common carrier." A common carrier is not legally liable for the information that goes over it. If you and I talk on the telephone about a plot to kill the President, the telephone company can not be held legally responsible; if we send mail about it, the US Post Office can not be held responsible. They simply carry the conversation; they do not participate in it.

But as soon as an ISP starts regulating what people can say, the ISP is not a common carrier any more. That means the ISP is now legally responsible for everything that goes over their service; if you and I are talking on the service about something illegal, the owners of the service can be held legally responsible, and can be arrested. Prodigy found itself the target of a lawsuit alleging that its owners were legally responsible when one user used the service to slander another user.

Anyway, a service that tried to monitor and censor what its users said in a chat room would quite likely be stripped of its common carrier status, and would quickly find all its users abandoning it. When you allow people a forum to talk about anything they like, you quickly discover that a great many people like to talk about sex.

There are AIM chat rooms that are not about sex. I don't use AIM chat rooms, so I can't give you any pointers; I use iChat and Yahoo Instant Messenger, but only to chat with people I already know, not in chat rooms. (I'm "tacitr" on iChat/AIM and "franklinveaux" on Yahoo IM, in case anyone's interested.)

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: jcarter on February 20, 2007, 08:03:44 PM

Thats interesting, as on the new iMac I got for my husband today, there is an iSight camera.  We made silly faces but have no plans to use it for communication purposes, though perhaps our grandkids might like to see us?  
Ive never used iChat or any of those either.  I think between our regular phones, Skype, and the cell phone, and email, thats probably quite enough.
Ive never used AOL either.
Never used a chat room either except for the Turbo Tax one for info on upgrading the state tax software and ordering stuff from LandsEnd and those when I forget something in my order.
Jane

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: RNKIII on February 20, 2007, 08:28:15 PM

Jane,  
If you have friends with webcams and running Skype beta vs. 2 and above you can iChat with them.  George and I 'managed' a connection that way some time ago...although we both agreed that it was not as steady or clear nor as 'easy'  as using iChat but it can be accomplished.
If your kids have macs w/iSight cameras I will bet you a goodly portion of your woodpile that you will become a constant user once you've tried it with success.

It's kind of a 'rush' talking to RHP in HI and George in the UK at the same time.


Bob K   rnkiii

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: jcarter on February 20, 2007, 08:35:30 PM

That sounds like it would be fun!  Do you set up a time to communicate ahead of time?
I sort of dislike to be 'summoned' by the ringing phone, or tied to a time when I have to be communicating, like the old days when we didnt have answering machines.
But if we did set up times, that might be fun, specially with the kids and grandkids.
Might give it a whirl,
Thanks for the info,
Jane

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: RNKIII on February 20, 2007, 08:44:35 PM

Jane,

In iChat, you can set a 'status', i.e. "Away", "Supper's on" or "Available", etc., etc...
so if you don't want to be 'bothered' you won't be...
Yes, you can 'schedule calls' but generally, the group that I, Richard and George, etc. communicate together observe the 'status' of our fellow iChatters....
Just like any other form of communication.... you can just 'ignore' the call/email/ iChat...  OR just don't fire the app up and you won't have to worry at all...

Bob K.   rnkiii

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: jcarter on February 20, 2007, 08:49:41 PM

Wow, there are so many ways of communication now that it might get rather time comsuming just to sort it all out!
But I will give it a try on some cold or snowy day,,,,,,,
Right now I must sign off, as its getting late on the East coast, and I find I do less reading, now that the computer age is here and when I am taking classes.  And Ive got a good book on the edge of the bed.  Seabiscuit, my husband just finished it and said it was quite a fun read.
jane

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: dolphin on February 20, 2007, 10:44:05 PM

NutterButter...I don't use iChat all that often. I have iChatted with Dick (RHPConsult) and Dick Miller. I do not go into AIM chat rooms...only iChat. As Bob and a few others have said...you just watch for the status of your iChat friends.

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: Frances144 on February 21, 2007, 03:44:01 AM

Well.... I have never used iChat and am a beginner at Skype.

I looked at my iChat and it said I had to either have an AIM account or .Mac one.  I refuse to  use AOL and do not have or want to pay for a .Mac account, so I reckon that is me out.

Skype is ok but wobbly and the echo and reverb makes me so annoyed that I usually give up and phone the person!!!

Fx

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: jcarter on February 21, 2007, 07:05:06 AM

I had a lot of echo with SkypeOut when I first started to use it, but its just about perfect now.  I dont know how, why, or when that echo went away, but the only thing that I did differently was to buy an iMic and use a better set of headphones.  Thats the only change I made, it also could have been coincedence.  I havent been to the Skype forum recently, but last time I looked, there was much less talk about the echo problem.
Might take a look at them to see if there has been any recent echo-talk.
Jane

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: RHPConsult on February 21, 2007, 11:13:12 AM

Frances:
AOL/AIM account registration is free . . . and permanent. Meaning, be sure that when you do register you record exactly the name you wish because it will be yours in whatever counts as perpetuit,y in the internet age. I got my AOL/AIM sometime in the 90s, but hardly used it until iChat came along . . . yet there it was "waiting" for me. It's only "registration", that's all.

Jane:
Here's the evidence of a quite ordinary/regular chat w/some of the guys this morning, from CA, MN, and OH (2 ea). The only thing missing were the coffee cups . . . maybe that will be a feature in Leopard!  
[attachment=141:attachment] It's a piece o'cake to initiate. Simply . . .

1. See who's on-line in the BuddyList window
2. See who's "available" - their name will have a legend to say so
3. "Ring" them up with an invitation to join the party

 With your new Mac you'll be able to "invite" multiple participants. The total time this morning for me to effect all invitations, < 10 seconds

There's only one downside we've all encountered after months of these chats: the more people added (irrespective of their location on the surface of the planet) the greater the decline in clarity of picture. It's probably a bandwidth issue with so many participants,

Yet, even that clarity will vary somewhat (under "normal" conditions) but the Rule is pretty standard: the last guy to be invited into a multi-chat will be the "fuzziest". Especially in a 4-way conversation. As RNKiii mentioned, however, he and I have had 3-way chats when I was in a hotel in HI, he in the Midwest and George in England with quite clear pics. Simply amazing. Total cost is also quite attractive: $0.00

Compared to the alternative, whatever that might be, it's magic. I am simply dazzled.

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: jcarter on February 21, 2007, 11:57:56 AM

Wow, That IS rather neat!   Its like being on TV for your phone calls.  It would be fun with family, I will see if our kids are interested.
Jane

Title: Hows does iChat work?
Post by: Xairbusdriver on February 21, 2007, 04:35:16 PM

I don't know, it may not have been a "sex" chat room, but it still looked like a bunch of dirty old men! Good to see that you're keeping your desktop clean, though, Richard, can't help but notice the reflection of the images on it.