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 . . .
- See who's on-line in the BuddyList window
- See who's "available" - their name will have a legend to say so
- "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.
