Easy iSight/iChat question

gobble gobblegobble gobble
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Both my mother-in-law and I have macs with iSight. I have a .mac account, she does not. Can we use iSight and iChat to videoconference, or do we both need .mac or AOL accounts in order to make this work?





And has anyone mentioned a Windows version of iChat? My father-in-law refuses to give up his PC.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gobble gobble

    Both my mother-in-law and I have macs with iSight. I have a .mac account, she does not. Can we use iSight and iChat to videoconference, or do we both need .mac or AOL accounts in order to make this work?





    And has anyone mentioned a Windows version of iChat? My father-in-law refuses to give up his PC.



    Both users need to be on AIM (either via .mac or AIM direct) - or be on the same subnet (read in the same house and on the same network) and then you can use rendezvous.



    Dave
  • Reply 2 of 16
    gobble gobblegobble gobble Posts: 615member
    Thanks. And crap. Now I need to get them a .mac account. Guess I'll go with the 60-day trial to see if they think video conferencing is worth it. I wish you didn't need a .mac account (or AOL) to make this thing work.



    I would really like a windows version of iChat as well.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gobble gobble

    Thanks. And crap. Now I need to get them a .mac account. Guess I'll go with the 60-day trial to see if they think video conferencing is worth it. I wish you didn't need a .mac account (or AOL) to make this thing work.



    I would really like a windows version of iChat as well.



    You don't need AOL or .Mac for iChat to work, just a free AIM account would do. So, if you have .Mac, just get your in-law signed up on a free AIM account and iChat away.

  • Reply 4 of 16
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Let me get this straight...you can't video chat with someone if one has a .mac account and the other has an AIM account? That's ridiculous.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    mac writemac write Posts: 289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    Let me get this straight...you can't video chat with someone if one has a .mac account and the other has an AIM account? That's ridiculous.



    This isn't correct. if you have an AIM account and the other person has a .mac account you can chat with them as they are interchangeable. signup for the 60 .mac trial and once it expires, you can continue to use the .mac username for iChatAV and AIM.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    What the hell is going on here? iChat and AIM use the same underlying technology, hence all one needs to chat is either a .mac screen name or a FREE AIM screen name. Windows users can chat with iChat users with the FREE AIM for Windows.



    All of this information is available from Apple.com/ichat, Apple.com/isight, or Apple support.
  • Reply 7 of 16
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac Write

    This isn't correct. if you have an AIM account and the other person has a .mac account you can chat with them as they are interchangeable. signup for the 60 .mac trial and once it expires, you can continue to use the .mac username for iChatAV and AIM.



    Thank god!
  • Reply 8 of 16
    gobble gobblegobble gobble Posts: 615member
    Okay. I found the AIM website and forwarded it on to my father in-law. Hopefully that will work.



    Having never used AIM or AOL, I had no idea AIM was a free download. I thought it required an AOL account. Apple's site doesn't highlight that on their iChat page.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gobble gobble

    Okay. I found the AIM website and forwarded it on to my father in-law. Hopefully that will work.



    Having never used AIM or AOL, I had no idea AIM was a free download. I thought it required an AOL account. Apple's site doesn't highlight that on their iChat page.



    yeah, my wife was in england for six weeks before i realized that she and i could at least talk long distance with an AIM and our .mac account. of course, i only realized this three days before she was due to return.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    Let me get this straight...you can't video chat with someone if one has a .mac account and the other has an AIM account? That's ridiculous.



    Didn't I say: Both users need to be on AIM (either via .mac or AIM direct)
  • Reply 11 of 16
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DaveGee

    Didn't I say: Both users need to be on AIM (either via .mac or AIM direct)



    Yeah, but then Bill and gobble gobble put some confusion into the whole discussion. So I started wondering what you really meant by 'either'.
  • Reply 12 of 16
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    To do video conferencing both users need broadband. A regular dialup connection only provides enough bandwidth for audio chats.



    I want to start video conferencing with my Dad, but once I thought about this issue, I realized I need to ask him what kind of connection he has.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    gobble gobblegobble gobble Posts: 615member
    I started this thread in the first place because I was confused. Don't look to me for any clarity..at least on this issue. I think I'm less confused now though. Thanks all.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    Let me get this straight...you can't video chat with someone if one has a .mac account and the other has an AIM account? That's ridiculous....<snip>Yeah, but then Bill and gobble gobble put some confusion into the whole discussion.<snip>....



    KKS, read my post again, including the quoted text from gobble gobble. Now, read it all over again. If you are still confused, than I apologize for not making myself clear. Otherwise I would advise you read threads carefully before blasting away and making out of context remarks.

    Peace. 8)
  • Reply 15 of 16
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bill M

    KKS, read my post again, including the quoted text from gobble gobble. Now, read it all over again. If you are still confused, than I apologize for not making myself clear. Otherwise I would advise you read threads carefully before blasting away and making out of context remarks.

    Peace. 8)



    I read them carefully. But when people like you and others aren't clear, it's hard to follow. If something like this was said:



    "If you have iChat and an iSight, you can video-conference with anyone else that has iChat and an iSight regardless of the account that is being used."



    ...then there would be no confusion. Thinking before typing is always a good thing.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    ...Thinking before typing is always a good thing.



    Enough said. 8)

    Gobble gobble, let us know if you were able to get iChat working with your in-laws.
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