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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > iChat fail- what would it need to be successful

iChat fail- what would it need to be successful
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Ado
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Mar 22, 2009, 11:57 PM
 
I think ichat has failed to be used by more people.
Seriously I will never commit to it because the majority of my friends use msn.
I use Adium as it does everyone.

I think ichat needs to be a multi client app using msn, yahoo, facebook etc...(AOL is a joke)
Also needs to be released on pc.

If apple wanted marketshare they could incorporate itunes playlist sharing over the net or iphoto intergration etc..iworks needs pc support too for this.
     
Hg2491
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Mar 23, 2009, 12:18 AM
 
There's actually a way for getting MSN on iChat. It's something with Jabber and GTalk. I did it once, but got tired of it.

Before expanding their target audience, they should fix all the little bugs that iChat currently has. For instance, I can't get video running with certain people and have to use Skype. Now that Skype has screen sharing and other services similar to those that once were iChat only, I'll be sticking to Skype.
     
Ado  (op)
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Mar 23, 2009, 04:00 AM
 
Agreed...
Apple chose the AOL network... Probably the least used ever.

Apples strength is that it has iphoto and itunes. Maybe they can do something with the but they wold all need to be PC as well.

Video chat..never use...

Always feel I have to say something when the video is on.
     
analogika
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Mar 23, 2009, 06:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by Ado View Post
Agreed...
Apple chose the AOL network... Probably the least used ever.
What? How long have you been around?

AOL bought up ICQ, which was king in Europe before that steaming crappile MSN drove everything else into the ground.

In absolute numbers WORLDWIDE, AIM still leads marketshare AFAIK, but the last numbers I could find in a quick no-effort search were from 2006:

AOL: 53 million
MSN: 27 million
Yahoo: 22 million
Google: 866,000

And iChat's been around quite a bit longer than 2006.

Edit: Not to mention that the video capabilities of MSN are *embarrassingly* bad.
( Last edited by analogika; Mar 23, 2009 at 07:28 AM. )
     
Hg2491
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Mar 23, 2009, 06:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by analogika View Post
AOL bought up ICQ, which was king in Europe before that steaming crappile MSN drove everything else into the ground.

In absolute numbers WORLDWIDE, AIM still leads marketshare AFAIK, but the last numbers I could find in a quick no-effort search were from 2006:

AOL: 53 million
MSN: 27 million
Yahoo: 22 million
Google: 866,000

And iChat's been around quite a bit longer than 2006.
It really doesn't matter if AOL has 100 trillion users. Point is that not everyone uses AIM. About 5 of my friends got an AIM account. 4 registered just to try iChat.
     
analogika
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Mar 23, 2009, 07:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by Hg2491 View Post
It really doesn't matter if AOL has 100 trillion users. Point is that not everyone uses AIM. About 5 of my friends got an AIM account. 4 registered just to try iChat.
Um. Do you ever stop to think that the world is full of OTHER people?

Put bluntly: Who cares what matters to you?
     
JKT
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Mar 23, 2009, 08:53 AM
 
Surely that is their point - the world is full of other people and a substantial number of those other people do not use an AIM client. iChat is crippleware as a one-stop messaging and video chat solution as long as it sticks to using only AIM (Jabber is an absolutely awful solution for adding support for other protocols). Sad, but true.

Of course, the one true solution to this would be for the fricking idiots running these different protocols to put their asinine differences behind them and do something good for their customers for once. That is, create and use a single, open protocol for everything.
     
Ado  (op)
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Mar 23, 2009, 09:01 AM
 
Funny how some people here stick up for ICQ/AOL yet i dont know anyone anymore who uses icq.
Ahh maybe because you are American and AOL stands for America Online?

In Australia and Europe noone cares for this garbage. People use Skype and MSN, thats it.
Not even Gtalk is used much that its become a must have app.
     
SSharon
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Mar 23, 2009, 11:07 AM
 
I use AIM and ICQ and don't care if ichat adds support for other networks because I use adium 99% of the time. I won't use ichat until video chat works reliably. I'm not even asking for it to work 100% of the time, but right now it is so hit or miss that it is a pain to use. I have yet to get 3 way video chat to work.

Like every other piece of software it needs to be reliable and work as advertised to be successful. ichat is none of those things.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
bballe336
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Mar 25, 2009, 11:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by Ado View Post
Funny how some people here stick up for ICQ/AOL yet i dont know anyone anymore who uses icq.
Ahh maybe because you are American and AOL stands for America Online?

In Australia and Europe noone cares for this garbage. People use Skype and MSN, thats it.
Not even Gtalk is used much that its become a must have app.
MSN is terrible, the file sharing is slow, the video chat is awful, I don't think I know anyone who uses it.

AFAIK America has the largest online presence, and since the majority of not only Americans but the world uses AIM, it makes sense to tailor the client around AIM.
     
Ado  (op)
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Mar 26, 2009, 10:15 AM
 
There are two worlds on Earth, America and the rest of the world.
In the rest of the world I don't know a soul who uses AIM, they use MSN or Skype.
     
Person Man
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Mar 26, 2009, 12:30 PM
 
Originally Posted by Ado View Post
There are two worlds on Earth, America and the rest of the world.
In the rest of the world I don't know a soul who uses AIM, they use MSN or Skype.
While your explanation is probably the most correct, there remains another explanation as well. iChat offers voice and video chat in addition to text chat. MSN does too. However, MSN is Microsoft, and Microsoft doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to cross-platform compatibility.

Their OWN currently available client for the Mac does not even support audio or video unless you're on a private company network. And even if Apple wanted to license support for MSN from Microsoft, they may not be able to, because why should Microsoft help their most direct competitor?*

Ok, so just "hack it in," like many other third party clients. Unless Apple can bring the complete experience (text, voice, and video chat) like with AIM and MobileMe, they won't bother because then it doesn't "just work," like most people expect things on Macs to work.

*Granted, the EU may be able to be more successful in forcing Microsoft to do something like this because our government didn't have the balls to do what should have been done in the first place when Microsoft was convicted as a monopoly.
     
0157988944
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Mar 26, 2009, 05:24 PM
 
Britain is the only place I know of that uses MSN almost 100%. AIM is ubiquitous in the US, which is where Apple is based.
     
hayesk
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Apr 1, 2009, 04:45 PM
 
I use iChat and AIM because the video works quite well.

The question is, why are you joining MSN to talk to a friend who has MSN? Why not ask your friend to join AIM to talk to you? In other words, if two people are on different systems, why does MSN have to win?

Here's what I tell my friends: "I'm on AIM. Join if you want to talk to me."
     
Spheric Harlot
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Apr 1, 2009, 05:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by hayesk View Post
I use iChat and AIM because the video works quite well.

The question is, why are you joining MSN to talk to a friend who has MSN? Why not ask your friend to join AIM to talk to you? In other words, if two people are on different systems, why does MSN have to win?

Here's what I tell my friends: "I'm on AIM. Join if you want to talk to me."
Most people I talk to here (in Germany) that are under 25, it's not two people on different systems, it's the ENTIRE ADDRESS BOOK that's on MSN and you're the guy telling everybody to switch if they want to talk to you.

Is it really so difficult for people to imagine that instant messaging has completely replaced e-mail for an entire generation, and you either partake or YOU ARE UNREACHABLE?

Yes, MSN is complete ****. Yes, AIM is a far superior protocol with *much* better video support.

Unfortunately, nobody outside of the U.S. seems to use it.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Apr 1, 2009, 05:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by adamfishercox View Post
Britain is the only place I know of that uses MSN almost 100%. AIM is ubiquitous in the US, which is where Apple is based.
Add the rest of Europe to that list, and South America.

Don't know about Australasia, but I'd be surprised if that were any different.
     
   
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