How can my PC friends see me with iChat AV?

**Hydroglow** · August 8th, 2003, 08:23 PM

I don't know anyone else with a mac and I want to talk to my friends back home but they own a PC. How do I go about doing this?

**Arden** · August 9th, 2003, 01:33 AM

Wait a year or so for PC-based chat services to catch up, as iChat AV is only available to people with Macs right now. No one else has anything like this; AIM has audio chat, but not video chat.

**bobw** · August 9th, 2003, 09:18 AM

You would need a program available both for Macs and PCs, like ISPQ

Works fairly well, but not nearly as good as iChatAV.

Apple may port iChatAV to windows when the final version is released. Keep everything crossed

**AlanBDahl** · August 9th, 2003, 01:09 PM

iVisit and Yahoo! messenger will also let you video chat with your PC buddies. Neither works anywhere near as well as iChat AV though.

I suspect at some point AIM will add video chat capability but unless your buddies have a FireWire webcam it won't look as nice anyway.

**Hydroglow** · August 9th, 2003, 05:34 PM

Thanks

**Arden** · August 9th, 2003, 06:54 PM

Your friends could always come over, then you could show off iChat... they would see you with it in that case.

**Ripcord** · August 10th, 2003, 12:11 PM

I think the point is that we were promised interoperability because iChat uses "standard, open protocols". Is there currently any interoperability, and what protocols does it use? H.323? Some kind of streaming MPEG? What?