Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: iChat 6 adds Yahoo IM, account integration, web page sharing
The next version of Mac OS X will deliver an updated version of iChat capable of logging into Yahoo IM accounts, providing an improved experience when using multiple accounts, and adding web page sharing in iChat Theater.
Context & Ripple Effects
The iChat 6 preview slots into a Lion cycle that has already been framed around shared computing: earlier this year AppleInsider's sister outlet reported that 10.7 enables multi-user remote computing, and iChat Theater's new web page sharing extends the same screen-broadcasting idea into chat sessions.
The move also closes a gap Skype exploited years ago — its January 2009 Mac beta made screen sharing a headline feature — while pulling Yahoo's large AIM-era IM network onto the desktop client Apple ships with every Mac. The confirmed details are Yahoo account logins, improved multi-account handling, and web page sharing inside iChat Theater.
First-order effects
- Yahoo Messenger users on the Mac gain a first-party client path through iChat rather than Yahoo's own software or web interface, and people juggling several IM accounts get one consolidated login surface.
- iChat Theater gains parity with the shared-desktop capability that Skype for Mac has advertised since its 2009 beta, removing a reason for Mac users to keep a second client installed for demos and collaboration.
Second-order effects
- Yahoo gets distribution for its IM network at effectively zero cost by riding Apple's bundled client — the same trade-off third-party services face when the OS vendor absorbs their features.
- Skype and other cross-platform IM vendors are pushed to differentiate on what the OS doesn't bundle — video quality, cross-platform reach, paid calls — since plain text chat and screen sharing are increasingly free with the operating system.
Third-order effects
- Messaging keeps migrating from standalone applications toward OS-level infrastructure, where the platform owner decides which external networks interoperate — a structural advantage for whoever controls the default client.
- If each OS release absorbs another third-party feature, independent IM developers face a shrinking set of defensible features, pushing the market toward services anchored in accounts and ecosystems rather than client software.
The trend: Desktop instant messaging is being absorbed into the operating system, with the default client's choice of which rival networks to support becoming a competitive weapon.