iChat Gets Smarter!

iChat is an AIM, ICQ, .Mac and Jabber client for Mac OS X that also allows LAN communication using a Jabber-like protocol and Bonjour for user discovery. This program's AIM support is fully endorsed by AOL, using their official implementation of the AIM OSCAR protocol. The good part doesn't end here, because even MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo contacts can be integrated into the Jabber pane, so you won't need another instant messaging program for your Mac!

iChat's last version was released back in June, but the new Beta release of Apple's coming operating system, bearing the code name "Leopard", includes an iChat version with some interesting features.

Two days ago, Apple released the 9A321 build of Leopard to its testers, and people were able to notice a feature that wasn't described by the Cupertino-based company as a new feature for Mac OS X 10.5's iChat. So... what should you expect?

The Answering tab from the Preferences window allows the program's user to record a video greeting for later use as an automatic answering message for those times when that user is away from his desk. Obviously, the called person may leave a message after viewing the recorded video greeting. Anyway, this feature doesn't work perfectly, and the reason is obvious: we're talking about Beta releases here, remember?

This ability to record video clips to use as greeting messages has been previously suggested as a link between the iPhone's "call ahead" feature and the iChat.
"A "call ahead" feature would allow users of the phone to pre-record a video clip that could then be transmitted to the mobile phone at the receiving end, where it would play before the call was answered", this is what the "call ahead" feature of the iPhone was described to be like, and iChat seems to be pretty close to it, don't you think?