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Setting Up an iChat Account

iChat works with either your MobileMe username or an America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) screen name. If you don’t have either, get a AIM screen name—it’s free. The steps below walk you through getting a screen name and then entering your name and password in iChat so you can get online and start chatting.

If you need to get an AIM screen name, go to the AIM website (www.aim.com). Click the Get a Username link under Use AIM Express.

Enter the screen name and password that you want to use and click Next.

Enter the rest of the requested information and click Next again.

Enter the words you see and click Sign Up.

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Tip: Chat This

iChat’s not just for chatting—you can use iChat to transfer files as well. Click a person in your buddy list and choose Buddies, Send File to open a dialog box where you can choose the file.

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Note: What’s in a Name?

When choosing a screen name, think about how you want to appear. If you’ll be using iChat with clients and colleagues, you probably don’t want to choose “FluffyBunny.” And if you’ll be chatting mainly with friends, “AcmeInc” isn’t the best choice.

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Double-click the iChat icon in your Applications folder.

Choose iChat, Preferences.

Click the Accounts button, and then click the Add button.

Choose AIM, and then enter your AIM screen name and password. Click Done to save your changes.

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Tip: Chatting on the Menu

Choose iChat, Preferences and click the General button to enter global iChat settings. The most useful one is Show status in menu bar, which enables you to start a chat with an online member of your buddy list without even starting up iChat first.

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Note: First Time for Everything

If it’s the first time iChat has been started on your Mac, you’ll see a series of dialog boxes in which you can enter your screen name and password.

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Using Ichat with Other Services

Naturally, iChat works with your Apple ID, whether you obtained it through iTunes, an old MobileMe account, or some other way. And iChat also works with your AIM account. But did you know that you can also configure iChat to log into your Jabber, Google, and Yahoo! accounts?

Double-click the iChat icon in your Applications folder (or click the iChat icon in your Dock, if it’s there).

Choose iChat, Preferences.

Click the Accounts button, and then click the Add button.

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Tip: Where’s My iChat Dock Icon?

If you’ve made changes to your Dock, the iChat icon may no longer be there. No worries! Just open your Applications folder and drag iChat right to the Dock to put it back.

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Choose Jabber from the Account Type pop-up menu, and then enter your Jabber screen name and password.

Choose Google Talk from the Account Type pop-up menu, and then enter your Google screen name and password.

Choose Yahoo! from the Account Type pop-up menu, and then enter your Yahoo! screen name and password.

Click Done to save your changes.

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Note: What’s That You Say?

There are scads of free messaging services around, and I find it’s convenient to set up accounts with a bunch of them so I can keep in touch with my friends no matter which service they prefer. To set up a Jabber account, go to register.jabber.org. To set up a Google account, go to www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount?service=talk. And to set up a free Yahoo! account, go to edit.yahoo.com/registration.

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Editing Your iChat Buddy List

If iChat finds your buddies’ screen names in your Address Book, it can attach their real names to them and display those in the Buddy List window. The most convenient thing you can do with the buddy list is set it to show only buddies who are online at the moment.

Choose Window, iChat Buddies.

To add a buddy, click the + button.

To create a new listing, enter the contact’s name and screen name and click Add.

If the person is already in your Address Book, click the reveal