CyberNotes: iChat vs. Windows Live Messenger

Jun 02

CyberNotes: iChat vs. Windows Live Messenger

Microsoft/Mac Monday

Remember ICQ, some of you may still use it today but back in the mid 90’s it was one of the first instant messengers to really take-off and become popular. Shortly after, AOL’s Instant Messenger became a hit followed by others developed by Microsoft and Yahoo. Eventually we saw clients introduced that supported multiple protocols like Pidgin, Trillian, Digsby, and Adium.

Over the years we’ve seen messengers develop from simple clients used just to send text back and forth to clients that support video conferencing, desktop sharing, file sharing, and more. We’ve also seen instant messaging come to mobile devices, and social networks. It’s amazing just how much it has spread and developed over the years.

Today we’ll be taking a look at two different Instant Messenger clients, iChat and Windows Live Messenger to see how they compare and point out some of their features.

About Windows Live Messenger (link)

This is one of those things that I probably don’t have to explain, but just in case, we’ll go over what Windows Live Messenger is. It’s Microsoft’s instant messaging client and it was released back in December of 2005. Prior to that, Microsoft’s instant messaging client was MSN Messenger. Features include:

PC-to-PC Calling
Full-screen video conversations
Sharing of folders
Send text messages to your friends
Receive Windows live alerts right in messenger - traffic, sports scores, etc.
Send messages to contacts that are offline
Play games

What’s nice with Windows Live Messenger is that back in 2005, Yahoo and Microsoft decided to introduce interoperability between their messengers so now those using Microsoft’s messenger and those using Yahoo’s messenger can talk to contacts from both.

Another great thing which we’ve mentioned before is the “i’m” initiative which allows users to give-back without needing to do a thing.

About iChat (link)

iChat is Apple’s instant messaging client but what’s nice about it is that it works with AIM, .MAC, ICQ, and is also an XMPP client. Using Jabber, iChat users can also use the service for talking with friends on Google Talk.