iChat, Facetime and now iMessages

[moveright]

I'm new and just got my first Mac, an MBA13.

I'm curious about the different video chat options and when I search google, its like an explosion of opinions. So, I've taken my question here where I know I'll get a solid answer.

What is the end-all be-all video chat app? Is Facetime really a waste?

Also, am I correct that when mountain lion comes out, iChat will be no more?

one last thing, sort of a side note but, when mountain lion is released, I CAN upgrade my MBA to that right?

thanks!

 

[Feed Me]

There is no end all video chat app, it depends on what people you want to chat to use. Skype is very popular. I also don't see any problem using FaceTime to talk to people on other iOS devices and Macs.

As far as I can tell, iChat will just be renamed Messages and will retain all previous iChat capabilities, along with also being able to handle iMessages to and from other Macs and iOS devices.

Yes of course you can upgrade your MBA to Mountain Lion. It'll be many, many years before you won't be able to upgrade because your Mac is too slow, old, etc. Our iMac from 2007 is eligible for Mountain Lion, 5 years after purchase.

 

[aristobrat]

I prefer FaceTime, when it's an option, as it seems to use less CPU on my MBA (esp. compared to Skype).

After 5-10 minutes of video chatting with Skype, my Air gets so hot that the fan really starts to spin.

 

[moveright]

thank you both. I'm going to have a look at iChat as it seems like it does mostly everything.