iChat - a popular instant messaging application to stay in touch with online friends near and far.

What is iChat

iChat (formerly iChat AV) is an instant messaging software application by Apple Inc. for their Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging.

iChat can serve as a client for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MobileMe, ICQ and XMPP. Using a Jabber transport, iChat users may also integrate their MSN, Yahoo! and Google Talk contacts into the Jabber pane.

Why choose iChat

1. iChat make sending a quick message fun and easy.

iChat makes simple text chats feel like natural conversations, with icons and thought bubbles that make it easy to see who’s saying what.

You can transmit any kind of file — from a web address to a photo — by simply dragging it into your chat.

Pictures display right in the message window, web links open in a browser with a click.

2. Take care of different users

With iChat, green (available), yellow (idle), and red (away) dots can be seen next to the name of each connected user on the buddy list. To cater for color-blind users, this can be altered to show different shapes to illustrate status rather than color.

With iChat at home, you can enforce your “no talking to strangers” rule using parental controls that allow you to decide who your children can chat with online.

3. Easy-to-use interface

With its intuitive interface, iChat shows you when your buddies are available for a chat. Bright icons indicate their online status and whether they’re capable of a video chat or just audio.

To start a chat, click the camera or phone icon to send an invitation. To add more people, click the icons for the meeting attendees on your buddy list and each colleague steps into your virtual office.