isight queries... : )

Unfortunately I think iChat can only video chat with AIM users on the Windows side and even then, judging from reports, it seems to be a very hit and miss affair. I don't know of any third party app that suports video chats. It's a shame really, hopefully Tiger can address this and Window's clients will become more interested in playing nice with the Mac - yes I'm talking about you MSN Messenger!

 

hi
New to forums so bare with me
Got a similar query to MacKat. I've recently bought a G5 and iSight. Just got round to trying out iChat and I assume that from mac to mac (iChat to iChat/cam to cam) there will be no problem in video chatting to my mates.
Problem is that they're mostly on PCs and it seems that I won't be able to chat with them if they use MSN or Yahoo and although I'd read that I would be able to chat to them via AIM, am I right in thinking that this is only if they have an iSight as well?
Does this leave my iSight pretty much redundant?
Have read a lot on these forums increasingly confusing and contradictory.
Can someone please clarify the picture for me in laymans terms and tell me what i need, to be able to video chat to my mates on MSN/Yahoo/AIM and that have a cam that isn't an iSight.
Confused of Nottm
Ta

 

Welcome dasmac!

It is possible to video chat with AIM users on Windows systems via iChat. They need AIM 5.5 or above and Windows XP - they do not need an iSight. AIM user names are free, so even if your mates are on MSN/Yahoo they could sign up and download AIM at no additional cost for the sake of video chatting. It must be said that reports suggest video chats can be a little sketchy at times, although hopefully the latest versions of AIM has improved this.

iVisit also claim to provide video conferencing between PC's and Mac's, you might want to check them out but personally I would give the iChat/AIM route a go first.

If it's audio chats you're looking for then I would strongly suggest checking out Skype. It's a free service between Skpe users and is compatible with both PC's and Mac's and is very easy to use.

Enjoy your new computer!

 

Just to add to that, you can do the webcam thing between a Mac and a PC if you're both using Yahoo messenger. It's video only, no audio, so you have to type, but it's pretty straightforward (if a little rough on quality).