Last night I tried iChat, the critically acclaimed software that comes free with every new Mac.

It connects with the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) network, though it tells me ICQ, .Mac, Google Talk and Jabber are also supported.

First Impression: iChat is lousy.

By comparison, Skype video worked far, far better. And it works Mac to PC.

Neither service is perfect. But I’ll stick to Skype for now.