The new version of iChat in Leopard (or as I like to call it, iChat v.AWESOME) is stuffed to the brim with features that make regular instant messaging seem like an afterthought. Hell, I had to check Apple’s Leopard iChat preview page to make sure IMing was still actually included in the communication connoisseur. (Don’t worry, it is.)
Apple’s full Leopard feature page details *24* new features of iChat, including Backdrop effects, tabbed chatting, iChat Theater, an awesome common-sense addition called “Watch for My Name…”, and my personal favorite, Screen Sharing. iChat v.AWESOME incorporates everything I — and most anyone else — could’ve possibly asked for in a chat app (obviously sans a few exceptions that I’m sure someone will point out in the comments).
But such beauty comes with a cost — and no, I don’t mean the $129, or $119, or $116, or $70, or $10 Leopard price. I mean a far, far higher cost: system requirements, ments, ments, ments. (It’s really hard to get an echo across through writing.)
Dan Numero Uno pointed me to a new page on Apple’s support site, detailing all the hardware, software, and bandwidth requirements (both initiator and receiver) for iChat’s new goodies, feature-by-feature. You’ve got your Good, Better, and Best requirements for 1-to-4-way video conferencing, as well as the minimum necessities for Photoboth Effects, Backdrop, Screen Sharing, AV Recording, and iChat Theater.
Photobooth Effects and Backdrop require Intel Macs, while the rest of the features can get by with 1GHz G4s (aside from 1-to-1 audio and video conferencing, Screen Sharing, and AV Recording, which have no specific hardware requirements).
Check the full page for the nitty-gritty (translation: specific details) to make sure you’re fully prepped for one of Leopard’s awesomest new features. And if you’re not…well, you know what to do.
iChat still lacks the multi-protocol support that Adium has. One program for all my IM needs, and I can group all of a buddy's screen names in one entry. That's the missing killer feature for me. Until then I'll save iChat for when I need AV functionality.
Dan,
you have a typo.
photobooth does not require intel, BUT using the backdrop effects DOES.
ie; 2nd gen imac G5s
Sorry if I was a little vague, I thought it was implied: I mean the Photobooth Effects *in* iChat, which, according to the support site, DO require an Intel Mac:
"Minimum requirements for Photobooth Effects:
Intel Core Duo processor or faster."
@Ward - Thank you.