Confusion

The MacBook continues to attract new converts to the Mac, and everyday I receive the usual pleas for help or questions on some specific feature. (Incidentally, the queries seem to start with the presumption that something cannot be done, to which I invariably reply, “Ah, but you can!”) There is no doubt that users new to Mac OS X cannot understand it all at once, but little by little, though, they begin to see and praise its sheer strengths (clean UI paradigms, print to PDF, great set of included applications that are immediately useful, free of spyware and viruses, Spotlight, etc).

iChat is an unsung gem in Apple’s stash of applications. Most power users lament it’s lack of tabbed windows, compact views, customizability, or interoperability with [insert some non-AIM, non-Jabber network here] and thus write it off, forgetting to give users the option. What it lacks for power users, however, is wholly made up for its AV capabilities, namely video conferencing. For at least 9 months, all Macs excluding the Mac Pros and Mac minis, come with built-in iSight cameras. Most users are initially uncomfortable with the camera, but once you get past the shyness, video chatting becomes second-hand and will quickly become the preferred medium of communication with friends and family (given you can convince them to get a Mac, too).

Given the power of iChat, it stands to reason that Apple would want to remove any impediments for users to get up and running. Yet, user after user comes to me remarking, “But I don’t want to pay for .Mac to use iChat, so I never use it!” Uh oh. Apple, in all its wisdom, must be doing something wrong, and on closer inspection, it is.

When iChat is first launched, users go through a setup wizard. The first screen, shown below, is a welcome statement, praising the features of iChat. The second screen is where the problem lies. Simply put, Apple defaults account creation to a .Mac account regardless of whether the user has even setup an account. To top things off, a large “Get an iChat Account” button appears at the bottom, which takes you to a .Mac signup page. Back in the day, it was pretty easy to get a free .Mac screen name, which works like any other AOL Instant Messaging screen name on the AIM network. Now, however, you have to sign up for a free trial of .Mac and hand over your credit card number. Most users do no want to do this, and assume that iChat is a no-go.

What many new Mac users do not realize is that iChat is simply an AIM client: it works with AIM screen names too! If you have one, use the pop-up menu titled “Account Type” to switch to AIM screen name and then enter your information. If you do not have an AIM screen name, go to AOL Instant Messaging and click on “Get a screen name.” It’s that simple.

Here is a step-by-step intro for users:

Step 1. Launch iChat by clicking its icon in the Dock once. Click continue.

Step 2. Enter your name. If you have an AOL screen name, click the pop-up menu for “Account Type” and change it to “AIM account.” Enter your screen name and password. (If you do not have an AOL screen name, go to AOL Instant Messaging to sign up for free by clicking “Get a screen name.” Click continue in the iChat setup window once you have entered all appropriate info.

Step 3. If you have a Gmail account, you can setup Jabber to automatically chat with anybody you know with Gmail accounts. Click the check box, and enter your Gmail address and password. Click continue.

Step 4. Enable Bonjour networking if you want to be able to see and chat to people on your local network (wired or wireless). Click continue.

Step 5. OK past the rest of the setup screens.

Step 6. If you enabled Jabber/Gmail chatting by entering your Gmail address, a few more steps are required to get it running. Find the Jabber List window, click the “Connecting…” pop-up menu and select “Offline.”

Step 7. Now go up to the iChat menu at the top of screen, and go to “Preferences…” Click Accounts, then click on your Gmail account below. Finally, click on the “Server Settings” tab.

Step 8. Change server from gmail.com to talk.google.com, and close the window.

Step 9. Go back to the Jabber List window and set your status to available. Use the + button at the bottom of these windows to add new buddies (either gmail.com addresses in the Jabber window or AOL screen names/.Mac addresses in the Buddy List window).

That’s all I will say about iChat for now. Next time, we’ll cover the basics of Address Book, another fine application many users fail to use.