| iChat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developers | Apple AOL (partial) |
| Initial release | 24 August 2002; 23 years ago (2002-08-24) |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Successor | Messages FaceTime |
| Type | Instant messaging |
| License | Proprietary |
iChat (previouslyiChat AV) is a discontinuedinstant messagingsoftware application developed byApple for use on itsMac OS Xoperating system. It supported instant text messaging overXMPP/Jingle orOSCAR (AIM) protocol, audio and video calling, and screen-sharing capabilities. It also allowed for local network discussion with users discovered throughBonjour protocols.
InOS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, iChat was replaced byMessages for chat andFaceTime for video calling.
iChat was first released in August 2002 as part ofMac OS X 10.2. It featured integration with the Address Book and Mail applications and was the first officially supported AIM client that was native to Mac OS X (the first-party AIM application at the time was still running in Classic emulation).[1]
One episode of the first season of theHBO dramedy seriesEntourage had Eric Murphy having an iChat conversation withAri Gold, marking the first time that this application was used on a television series.
iChat incorporated Apple'sAqua interface and usedspeech bubbles and pictures to personify the online chatting experience. With iChat, green (available), yellow (idle), and red (away) icons could be displayed next to the name of each connected user on the buddy list. For color-blind users, this could be altered to show different shapes, circle (available), triangle (idle), and squares (away), to illustrate status with shape rather than color.
In June 2003, Apple announced iChat AV, the second major version of iChat. It addedvideo andaudio conferencing capabilities based on the industry-standardSession Initiation Protocol (SIP). The final version of the software was shipped withMac OS X 10.3 and became available separately on the same day forMac OS X 10.2.[2]
In February 2004,AOL introducedAOL Instant Messenger (AIM) version 5.5 for Windows users, which enabled video, but not audio, chats over the AIM protocol and was compatible with Apple's iChat AV. On the same day, Apple released a public beta of iChat AV 2.1 to allow Mac OS X users to video conference with AIM 5.5 users.
In June 2004,Steve Jobs announced that the next version of iChat AV would be included withMac OS X 10.4. iChat AV 3 provided additional support to allow up to four people in a single video conference and ten people in an audio conference. Additionally, the new version of iChat used theH.264/AVC codec, which offered superior quality video compared to the olderH.263 codec used in previous versions. This release supported the XMPP protocol, which could be directly used to connect toGoogle Talk and indirectly be used to connect to users of services includingFacebook Chat, andYahoo! Messenger.[3] However, support was limited as it did not support several common XMPP features such as account creation,service discovery and full multi-user chat support. iChat 3 included theBonjour protocol (previously called Rendezvous[4]) which allowed iChat to automatically find other users with iChat Bonjour messaging enabled on the local network.[5]
In October 2005, iChat received support for encrypted communications, but only for paid subscribers of.Mac (laterMobileMe and currentlyiCloud) service. These features were part of iChat 3.1, released as part of the Mac OS X v10.4.3 update. This version also added support for XMPP multi-user chat.
In March 2007, Apple released the Mac OS X v10.4.9 update, which allowedUSB video device class (UVC) cameras to be used with iChat, rather than FireWire cameras only. This allowed a wider range of cameras to be used with iChat AV.
iChat 4, the first version release under iChat's current name, was introduced as a part ofMac OS X 10.5 and received new features including: iChat Theater (inspired by ChatFX[6] a product from Plum Amazing), Backdrops, and Screen Sharing. iChat Theater allowed users to share any file supported byQuick Look, including photos, Keynote presentations, and movies, over a video chat session.[7] Backdrops allowed users to insert movies or photos as a backdrop in video chats. Screen Sharing allowed two users of Mac OS X Leopard to have control of the same desktop and work collaboratively. Minor features in the new release included multiple logins, animated icons, use ofPhoto Booth effects in live video chat, and tabbed chats.
iChat 5.0, released withMac OS X Snow Leopard, converted iChat to a64-bit application,[8] reduced the bandwidth required for 640×480 video chats, and upgraded iChat Theater to the same resolution.[9][10]
iChat 6.0, released withMac OS X 10.7, added support for Yahoo Messenger account and allowed iChat users to have text, voice and video chats using their Yahoo Mail accounts. It also supported third-party plugins, eventually allowing other protocols to be compatible with the software.[11] iChat 6 was the last iChat version; inOS X Mountain Lion, it was replaced by Messages. The final release, iChat 6.0.1, was published on February 1, 2012.
As part of the OS X Mountain Lion preview, Apple announced on February 16, 2012, that itsOS X messaging client would beMessages,[12] and that it would support theiMessage protocol, making it compatible with the iOS client. Messages also incorporatesFaceTime support. Apple made Messages immediately available as a downloadable beta version for use on Mac OS X 10.7.
iChat's AIM support was fully endorsed byAOL, and used their official implementation of the AIMOSCAR protocol. Using a XMPP transport,[13] iChat could serve as aclient forAOL Instant Messenger,Yahoo Messenger,MobileMe,ICQ andXMPP. iChat could also integrateGoogle Talk contacts into the XMPP pane.
