IChat
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|
| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
6.0.1 (1002) (February 1, 2012)
|
| Development status | Discontinued (succeeded by Messages and FaceTime) |
| Operating system | Mac OS X |
| Type | Instant messaging |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Apple - iChat |
iChat (previously iChat AV) is a discontinued instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for use on its Mac OS X operating system. It supported instant text messaging over / or (AIM) protocol, audio and video calling, and screen-sharing capabilities. It also allowed for local network discussion with users discovered through protocols.
In OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" and later releases, iChat has been replaced by Messages.
iChat was first released in August 2002 as part of Mac 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).
One episode of the first season of the HBO dramedy series Entourage had Eric Murphy having an iChat conversation with Ari Gold, marking the very first time that this application was used on a television series.
iChat incorporated Apple's Aqua interface and used speech 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 added video and audio conferencing capabilities based on the industry-standard (SIP). The final version of the software was shipped with Mac OS X 10.3 and became available separately on the same day for Mac OS X 10.2.
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