Poll: Do you use iChat AV?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: Do you use iChat AV? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=392)

[Savage Henry]

It's 100% NO !!!!!


Mind you, I was only the second person to vote. :)

[wordmunger]

No, but then again I don't use any chat software.

[javabear90]

I would video and Voice chat if there were others to chat with...

[Trowaman]

I need a yes for voice, video, and text box to mark. Besides that, Rendezvous rules. B/c of that we were actually able to organize people and make and Apple club at my college.

[Snowy_River]

I text chat. I'd voice chat if there was someone I knew who had it. I can't video chat, though, as I don't have an iSight or a FireWire video camera...

[macridah]

i use it all the time. the one thing i wished ichat did is display only the online buddies (not just grey out buddy's not online), and display buddie's by group, not alphabetic order. When i logon with my AIM screen name, the usually display the online buddie's by chicks, dudes, family, co-workers, but ichat just has all of them in alpha order. If this could done, and I just don't know about it ... please let me know.

[Snowy_River]

I need a yes for voice, video, and text box to mark. Besides that, Rendezvous rules. B/c of that we were actually able to organize people and make and Apple club at my college.

I like the idea of Rendezvous, too, but no one here at Univ. of Arizona Physics Dept seems to turn on their Rendezvous...

[wdlove]

It's great to see a new poll, thank you arn. I voted with the majority on this, don't use iChat.

[ExoticFish]

i use iChat for text primarily but i do use voice chat now and then and i have used video a couple times...iChat rocks!

[jhar257]

My girlfriend and I moved over to CA from the UK last october but unfortunately we live about 100 miles apart. She didn't have a computer and was going to buy a PC. I bought her a 12-inch powerbook (she didn't like macs but i switched her :) ) and an iSight so we could use iChat AV to keep in touch. We are both very pleased with it and use it several times a day. Now that it is compatible with AIM on the PC we are using iChat Av to keep in touch with friends and family back home. I just wish they had macs so it would be easier for them.

[wuntrikpony]

screw iChat

Adium 2 rules!!!!!

[macridah]

all messenger users of all kind ( yahoo, aim, and msn) on a PC with a webcam will agree the iChat video is the best hands down. Shoppers at the Apple store that use iChat for the video are impressed and their jaw practically drops.

Even tech reviews agree ... but again, the only negative is that it's mac only, which is not a negative for me =)

probably when broadband becomes standard, video will become more widely used. So again, apple is just ahead of the industry :D

But i agree, besides the video, ichat is only OK

[zkmusa]

screw iChat

Adium 2 rules!!!!!

Yeah, iChat stinks.. Adium 2 is the only thing I use. I've been using it for the past 6 months, and it has made a lot of progress! It has so many features you'd expect out of an IM client that iChat just doesn't have.

[wrldwzrd89]

I use iChat only for text messaging; actually, I've only used it ONCE, and that was a chat with another Mac Rumors member. I also use AIM, YIM, and MSNM. I don't use Adium, Fire, or similar programs; I don't think I ever will use them.

[jkojima]

I use iChat only to speak with my girlfriend. It's where we can go to hide from everybody else on MSN if we need to work, while still maintaining an open link between the two of us.

Right now it's just text, but we're about to become a long-distance couple, so we're going to try to leverage it for audio too.

[markjones05]

Yeah, iChat stinks.. Adium 2 is the only thing I use. I've been using it for the past 6 months, and it has made a lot of progress! It has so many features you'd expect out of an IM client that iChat just doesn't have.

Like what? I have, ichat, adium, and aim and i prefer icha tover the other two.

[Sonofhaig]

My girlfriend and I moved over to CA from the UK last october but unfortunately we live about 100 miles apart. She didn't have a computer and was going to buy a PC. I bought her a 12-inch powerbook (she didn't like macs but i switched her :) ) and an iSight so we could use iChat AV to keep in touch. We are both very pleased with it and use it several times a day. Now that it is compatible with AIM on the PC we are using iChat Av to keep in touch with friends and family back home. I just wish they had macs so it would be easier for them.

I have still yet to get ichat AV to work with PC friends! Very upset by this..
I'm either doing something wrong or it's not as user friendly as I had hoped!

[johnnyjibbs]

I ticked the text box, but I would be using audio (and someday video) if I knew someone who had a Mac. Can't get audio only to work with AIM 5.5. My sister and possibly brother will be getting iBooks though and therefore switching, so my useage will increase once that happens. Still need broadband at home and cameras before we can use video though...

[macwill]

Yes. I use iChat in my office, and it's useful (text, voice and video). And I use it in home to chat with a friend who's living in Chicago. I'm from Barcelona, Spain. The cost of "calling" with DSL is 0 €.

Large life to iChat.

[Oirectine]

I've been having a problem with iChat AV, and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced it:

Every once in a while (once or twice a day, maybe), iChat AV will suddenly peg the CPU usage, and take up all the free cycles. I have to restart iChat and it goes away. It seems to be random. I couldn't find anything at support.apple. I think next I'm going to try deleting and reinstalling it.

Does anyone else have this problem?

[wowser]

i use it, but only as an AIM replacement. Not for the video / speech stuff.

[mc68k]

too slow for me i use adium when i can

[markjones05]

I've been having a problem with iChat AV, and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced it:

Every once in a while (once or twice a day, maybe), iChat AV will suddenly peg the CPU usage, and take up all the free cycles. I have to restart iChat and it goes away. It seems to be random. I couldn't find anything at support.apple. I think next I'm going to try deleting and reinstalling it.

Does anyone else have this problem?

My friend is constantly complaining about this. He always asks why ichat does this and i never know what to say to him because it never happens to me. He uses a G4 quicksilver.

[DStaal]

I use it, text only, inside the house only. Works great between floors...

I've used the voice feature once or twice, but currently my voice recorder/mic is on other duties.

[parrothead]

I use it all the time to text chat. I would love to use it as a video chat if I could afford the isight.

[gerror]

There is only 1 person I know who uses it. We are chatting every few weeks. At work I use MSN to talk to 1 friend and a collegue who works on a different floor.
So yes I use it, but not much.

[pimentoLoaf]

I have it and use it rarely (no one talks to me :( ). Prefer Yahoo Messenger, but only 'cause I've had it longer.

[davecuse]

i use it all the time. the one thing i wished ichat did is display only the online buddies (not just grey out buddy's not online), and display buddie's by group, not alphabetic order. When i logon with my AIM screen name, the usually display the online buddie's by chicks, dudes, family, co-workers, but ichat just has all of them in alpha order. If this could done, and I just don't know about it ... please let me know.

Download the update, I believe, although I'm not on my powerbook at the moment... that you can just click on View>Offline Buddies, then View>By Groups

I could be wrong about the groups, but I know you can turn off seeing Offline buddies.


I think iChat AV is the greatest thing since sliced brea, all my friends have AIM, hopefully they'll be getting 5.5 soon. The fact that I can associate bizarre pictures with their names always gives me a chuckle. I use iSight to keep in touch with the family, now that I've converted them all over from the dark side. I can't think of one bad thing to say about my experience with Apple so far, it's really been an around pleasure from the hardware to the iApps, it's all first rate.

[MacFan25]

I use it occasionally for text chatting with friends, but never for audio or video.

[shamino]

I prefer to use AIM. If I ever get around to buying A/V input (my QuickSilver Mac doesn't even have a microphone-input jack :( ) I'll reconsider iChat.

Right now, AIM gives me several advantages that I don't get from iChat:


The buddy-list window is much smaller. Large fonts and icons look cute, but I don't want this list consuming screen real-estate that could be better used for other stuff.
The chat window is much more compact. While the colored balloons of iChat are nice eye-candy, they waste a lot of space. I don't think these can be turned off. I can pack much more text into an AIM window than an iChat window.
Away messages. With AIM, I can provide paragraphs of text, complete with formatting, as an away message. With iChat, it has to be one line, and I don't think I can apply formatting.
I also can't create an away message without also adding it to the global list of messages - meaning I have to explicitly delete messages that were meant to be used only once.

[nubero]

…actually, I've only used it ONCE, and that was a chat with another Mac Rumors member…

And who was that? :D

--- --- --- --- ---
My free Desktop Pictures!
http://homepage.mac.com/nuber

[TheArchpadre]

I use iChat for text only. I tried audio chat with a friend in another dorm and was impressed, but there's no point in doing that when we can just pick up the phone. I don't have a camera, so video-conferencing is completely out.

Some of the other chat programs have some nice features, but they aren't enough to get me to switch. iChat fulfills its primary function flawlessly and with style. It has some quirks and shortcomings that bug me slightly (no profiles, no way to just show online buddies, zooming the window makes it so narrow that the tail end of my name gets cut off), but these are all minor and rarely come up.

[redAPPLE]

I use iChat only to speak with my girlfriend. It's where we can go to hide from everybody else on MSN if we need to work, while still maintaining an open link between the two of us.

Right now it's just text, but we're about to become a long-distance couple, so we're going to try to leverage it for audio too.

audio chat between iChat users work? how? *ignorantme* :(

[Nermal]

No. Only one of my friends has a Mac, so I have to use MSN to talk to everyone else.

[MrMacMan]

screw iChat

Adium 2 rules!!!!!

I have to say that Adium itself rules...

Though I haven't had a great experience with Version 2.0 and its infinite beta realeases... :rolleyes:

[realityisterror]

I also can't create an away message without also adding it to the global list of messages - meaning I have to explicitly delete messages that were meant to be used only once.


in your buddy list, click the "available" "away" whatever menu. then choose "edit status menu" un-tick the box for "remember custom away messages". then just use the "custom..." away message thing to make a one-timer.

actually, i submitted this poll in quite a while ago. pretty cool to think that so many people answered it...

(when'd we get new smilies? some of them are new and look weird... :rolleyes: )

reality

[mnkeybsness]

I have to say that Adium itself rules...

Though I haven't had a great experience with Version 2.0 and its infinite beta realeases... :rolleyes:

They aren't betas, they are alphas...

Adium 2.0 is still in the early stages of its development and can be quite confusing for users who have not been following and will continue to follow its development and changes. When Adium is closer to a final release, I have a feeling that a LOT of Mac users will start using it.

[Koodauw]

I think iChat is great. I prefer it much more than AIM for mac. Good things all my buddies use AIM, otherwise I would be SOL. I do wish I could set up a profile though :rolleyes: Maybe in some distant update. Buddy groups can be set up, its fairly simple to do. Just go into preferencesand check the "Use groups in buddy list" box

[michaelrjohnson]

I prefer to use AIM. If I ever get around to buying A/V input (my QuickSilver Mac doesn't even have a microphone-input jack :( ) I'll reconsider iChat.

Right now, AIM gives me several advantages that I don't get from iChat:


The buddy-list window is much smaller. Large fonts and icons look cute, but I don't want this list consuming screen real-estate that could be better used for other stuff.

That can be turned off easily by deselecting the option in a menu.

The chat window is much more compact. While the colored balloons of iChat are nice eye-candy, they waste a lot of space. I don't think these can be turned off. I can pack much more text into an AIM window than an iChat window.

That can be turned off easily using a panel in iChat's preferences.

Away messages. With AIM, I can provide paragraphs of text, complete with formatting, as an away message. With iChat, it has to be one line, and I don't think I can apply formatting.

No formatting, but type as much as you'd like.

I also can't create an away message without also adding it to the global list of messages - meaning I have to explicitly delete messages that were meant to be used only once.

Already answered.

[michaelrjohnson]

so i'm actually curious. what is it about ichat that many people hate so much? it's just as responsive on my iBook 800 as it was on my iMac 400 G3. I've never had any trouble with it. It's interface is much cleaner than AIM, plus I have a status menu which shows away messages and available buddies.

so what is it that people DON"T like about the program? (that actually has something to do with the program, not just "because")

[Oirectine]

so i'm actually curious. what is it about ichat that many people hate so much?
...
so what is it that people DON"T like about the program? (that actually has something to do with the program, not just "because")

I use iChat, but I concede that it does have flaws. Here's what I personally don't like about iChat:

1) no profile support

2) Can't format away messages or put links in away messages

3) Can't click on links in other people's away messages without sending a message to them

4) A slight bug that VERY occasionally causes an IM window to disappear

I can't think of anything else at the moment...

[iLilana]

iChat works fine for me. I have MSN but don't like to have it on... until the male it as good as the windows version. Adium.. seems unecessary.

[GeeYouEye]

I would use it, but on my home network (AirPort), every time I open it, my DHCP lease dies, and everyone else's connection to the Internet (PPPoE over AirPort) dies as well. The ABS then needs to be reset. Only happens with iChat open, though it's happened on every version of iChat except 1.0 and AV Beta. Tried EVERYTHING to fix it: Reinstalled iChat, deleted preferences, deleted iChat and preferences before reinstalling... no luck at all. Forced to use AIM, which I hate. :(

[AngryLawnGnome]

I do, but only for the menu item. It needs profile support and cross platform voice chat.

[d-fi]

Hi there

i have a new 12" powerbook and i was wondering if i have to sign up for the .mac account or can i just use a AIM account to talk to other mac (and pc) users?

My friend has a fairly new iMac with a iSight and i have the powerbooks built in microphone. But when we connect we can only text chat. Were trying to get a audio chat going but the audio box is greyed out

Were both signed up with AIM, didn' want to mess around with signing up for .mac just to get a number for iChat

any ideas of what the problem might be?

[GeeYouEye]

Hi there

i have a new 12" powerbook and i was wondering if i have to sign up for the .mac account or can i just use a AIM account to talk to other mac (and pc) users?

My friend has a fairly new iMac with a iSight and i have the powerbooks built in microphone. But when we connect we can only text chat. Were trying to get a audio chat going but the audio box is greyed out

Were both signed up with AIM, didn' want to mess around with signing up for .mac just to get a number for iChat

any ideas of what the problem might be?

No, you can use your AIM screen name just fine.

[Trekkie]

My wife uses it to talk to me at work on a PC all the time. I wish it'd let you send video even if the other person can't send though. Her mom lives in Arkansas and being able to see the kids would be a big plus.

[ExoticFish]

My wife uses it to talk to me at work on a PC all the time. I wish it'd let you send video even if the other person can't send though. Her mom lives in Arkansas and being able to see the kids would be a big plus.

you can, you have to like hold down a key and then click on the person or something like that, i'm forgetting at the moment. anyone remember what it is?

[djjon]

I would use iChat except that it doesn't support MSN. I use Proteus right now and love it. The upcoming version looks alot like the iChat interface.

[Nermal]

so what is it that people DON"T like about the program? (that actually has something to do with the program, not just "because")

I like the app itself, but I don't use it because I only know one other person who has it.

[Dahl]

Best little piece of software in a long time.
I use it all the time with my brother in Denmark.

[patmcfar8]

I don't use chatting software much, but the little that I have used iChat has been great. I use an iSight at work with my manager and it works better than any other video software I've ever seen. I see a very bright future if Apple continues to develop it.

[shamino]

(Several comments about options that didn't get automatically quoted because he stuck his comments in the middle of his quote of my message)

Where did all these options (disable baloons, collapse the buddy-list view, etc.) come from? Are these new in 2.1? I was all over the preferences of 2.0 and couldn't figure out how to do this.

[gopher]

all messenger users of all kind ( yahoo, aim, and msn) on a PC with a webcam will agree the iChat video is the best hands down. Shoppers at the Apple store that use iChat for the video are impressed and their jaw practically drops.

Even tech reviews agree ... but again, the only negative is that it's mac only, which is not a negative for me =)

probably when broadband becomes standard, video will become more widely used. So again, apple is just ahead of the industry :D

But i agree, besides the video, ichat is only OK

Mac only? iChat AV 2.1 is compatible with AIM 5.5 to use videochat. What do you mean Mac only?

[Arkillion]

I use ichat as a means to send files as adium 2 doesn't yet support it(kinda sorta supports recieving files). Once it does, iChat is gone.

[shamino]

Where did all these options (disable baloons, collapse the buddy-list view, etc.) come from? Are these new in 2.1? I was all over the preferences of 2.0 and couldn't figure out how to do this.
OK. I found them. Menu-bar checkboxes (that enable/disable depending on which window is focussed) and not in the preferences dialog.

Talk about UI design. If you're going to have a universal preferences system in the OS, applications (especially those shipped with the OS) should use it. It's very wrong to scatter options all around the UI.

But I'm still sticking with AIM. After playing with iChat a bit more, I ran into two more annoying problems, and these don't have quick configuration fixes:

Can't create an AIM profile, even though I can read other people's profiles.
Can't insert newlines in IM-lines

[areyouwishing]

I still prefer AIM over iChat, its more developed.

Apple needs to centralize its settings in the preferences window, there are a lot of options that you have to go search out when they could just be in preferences like a normal program.

iChat saves each conversation as its own file, not a single file for one contact, this makes it hard to search for something in your chats.

The profile thing has been mentioned, and I think the way they implement the away messages could be greatly improved. I don't like how it displays the away message of a person in the buddy window, it just takes up space and it is ALWAYS longer than the window, so there is no purpose.

Support for MSN would be a great improvement, but probably won't ever happen.

Those are my main problems with iChat.

[theipodgod16]

i notice that we have only had eight polls since march 2nd. This has been one slow month for macpolls...

[jsw]

I use iChat to talk to one brother (also iChat), my other brother (AIM), and my parents (AIM). I think it's great - but I agree with the issues others mention.

Also, I very much wish it'd let you muck with video settings, esp. brightness. The iSight is a cool thing, but it's often too dark. And it isn't a limitation of the camera - other video apps let you make it brighter.

[wdlove]

I use iChat to talk to one brother (also iChat), my other brother (AIM), and my parents (AIM). I think it's great - but I agree with the issues others mention.

Also, I very much wish it'd let you muck with video settings, esp. brightness. The iSight is a cool thing, but it's often too dark. And it isn't a limitation of the camera - other video apps let you make it brighter.

I didn't realize that there was a brightness problem. Are there any applications that will allow the needed changes for the iSight?

[dontmakemehurtu]

:(

[mms]

I use both Adium and iChat, depending on what I feel like. I don't use audio or video chat at all, only text.

[markjones05]

I was gonna start a new thread full of my own opinion(s). My opinion on iChatAV included, but since this already here....

I downgraded back to Jaguar 10.2.8 and only use the original iChat. Just text chat since none of my friends are either on a Mac or use Windows AIM 5.5. I only had 2 on MSN and 1 on Yahoo and all three also had AIM so I ditched the two extra accounts.

I don't know if I'll stick with just this review on iChat. I might just post a new thread. Look for it in the next couple of days.

It'll be entitled: "Give me a good reason to upgrade to Panther."

Because I downgraded back to Jaguar and don't miss anything. ANYTHING


errr expose for one. its invaluable to me and i think most users of panther.

[minstryoffunk]

i use iChat for text only because a) i dont have iSight or a microphone and b) everyone i know seems to have dell inspiron 600m's

[jeffbistrong]

nahh not really
i use ichat 24/7, i dont have a web cam or isight, and they should be able to cross chat and talk with windows netmeeting, and microsoft should integrate msn messenger, with netmeeting and make or more of an ichat like client where you could log on to AIM and that kinda thing

[dontmakemehurtu]

:(

[puggsly]

But I'm still sticking with AIM. After playing with iChat a bit more, I ran into two more annoying problems, and these don't have quick configuration fixes:

Can't create an AIM profile, even though I can read other people's profiles.
Can't insert newlines in IM-lines


Well I wish someone would tell me why I should care about the lack of profiles with iChat because I don't understand their value (if you really want one I understand you can log into iChat then start up AIM and login and shut it down and presto you have a profile)

But I can help you with the returns in IM's by simply using option return. This is similar to how you directly send a message (instead of using the mouse) in AIM except AIM uses CMD return not option. Personally I prefer it to send on return but it should be a preference.

Lastly, I'm ok with the searching the transcripts too. Just drop to the finder and press cmd F. Select "specific places" and setup the iChat folder in your documents folder as one of you common search locations. Then change to search by content. You can limit the search with user names or by date if you like but I like the relevance indicator.

I hope Apple keeps moving forward with iChat but in my book it is the one to beat.

[native00]

i use iChat at home and at work. iChat video is like the jetson's...filesharing through the text-window is about 5-star. To repeat, i also wish i could get the video working with pc friends.

[Amani]

I've been trying to use iChat (text only) for the last month or so, but I haven't found it to be a very good tool for meeting people. I have met one nice woman in Japan. We talk from time to time and plan to do a voice chat sometimes soon. But for me AOL chat rooms are the only way to go. It's just I can't stand AOL and I was wasting too much time there.

But I'm wondering, does iChat AV work with 10.2.8? I can't upgrade to Panther on my iBook G3 because I don't have enough space (I'm down to 4gb). But it's the computer I use most. My G5 is mostly for work.

[mac15]

everyday , I leave it running 24/7 most of the time.

[Nermal]

But I'm wondering, does iChat AV work with 10.2.8?

Yes, but it's $30.

[FuzzyBallz]

Yes, but not the video feature. Wish somebody else I know has a Mac w/ iSight though. I'm the only person I know who runs both Macs and PCs at home.

[markjones05]

I use icaht 24/7. I originally used aim and started using ichat because it looked prettier. But now I use it because its the easiest to use and it does everything aim does. The only annoying thing to do in ichat is switch users or add new buddies.

[o1b2]

yes it works great, it needed to have an upgrad for video chat with muti users, nice to see Apple is adding that to Tiger. It works good for my clients after I ftp them proofs we can talk about projects in the studio rather than run accross town or fly out just to talk about work. it is a nice app. saves alot of time and money.