Apple has released iChat Update 1.0 which “renews the .Mac certificate required by iChat for encrypting text, audio, and video conferences.”
According to Apple’s documentation, “This document will be updated as more information becomes available.”
Or, in other words, after Steve Jobs’s Macworld Expo keynote – hint, hint. Quick, somebody start digging through the code! 
iChat Update 1.0 is available via Software Update and also as standalone installers:
More info and download link for iChat Update 1.0 (PPC) – (2.3MB) here.
More info and download link for iChat Update 1.0 (Universal) – (3.9MB) here.
Related articles:
Analyst: Apple working on second ‘iChat mobile’ cell phone – November 20, 2006
Cringely: Apple’s iTV strategy is iChat on steroids – September 22, 2006
what the mcgillicutty
Why do such minor things require a restart? The OS should just relaunch the dependent services and continue. Works that way on linux boxes… it’s not like the kernel of the OS is being updated…
iPhone I can hear it now!
Joe . . . bitch, bitch, bitch, gripe, gripe, gripe, whine, whine, whine, pout, pout, pout.
FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, GET OVER IT! Is your world so damned small that a restart makes a blip on your radar?
Gawd . . .
While I definitely agree that too many things require restarting the OS, I have a feeling this is more than a minor update. Why would they be afraid to post details of something as dull as updating a certificate? This must add the framework necessary for some sort of hardware or additional software (or both) bein introduced really soon!
Not the iPhone.
The iChat Mobile.
they arent afraid. Apple doesnt know what this update does , so when they find out, they will tell us.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
@cynic: LOL
I’m with Joe. I’ve had it with the constant restarts in OS X. I want the classic Mac OS back for its stability and uptime. You never had to restart the classic Mac OS.
What a step backward. Nice going, Apple.
cynic, that was cute!
;P
whoever thought an update to the mac os would be a step backwards. I dont remember the last update that i had to restart with, but its no big deal, you technically dont have to restart. just hide the restart window until you are ready.
MDN word: Hard. As in “Is it really that hard to restart?”
Damacles:
FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, GET OVER IT! Is your world so damned small that a restart makes a blip on your radar?
Well imagine if an update to TextEdit required a restart, or if Mail.app updates required a restart? When will seemingly app-isolated update + restart get you annoyed? Heck, updates to Apache on my Mac require a restart yet I don’t even run the webserver, so I know for sure there is no framework involved.
If your car required you to get out and crank a handle a dozen times for it to start, would you be irritated? The reason this is irritating is cause Apple has to at some point make such updates seamless. Why should I stop my workflow? Just because some other OSs require restarts for little things?
soooo why release this now?
oh…. to whet the appetites of bloggers…?
Because they could have released it next week, without a hitch…
Buzz..
Also, the gadget review guys need the software to be working so they can play w the stuff before the rest of us get it
Hmmmm… Maybe they are going to release their Skype killer. Think updated iChat and also a free Windows version of iChat so we can finally start really using it…
???????
Wild Rumor Monger, there are NO OTHER Mac apps I would ever like to see on Windows, but iChat is one of them. I’m so sick of trying to make video chats with my Windows using friends, only to never connect with them. It’s frustrating.
I don’t think it’s probable though.
4.5mb update for just a certificate?
as for the poster that bitched about a restart for just a app update. how do you know it’s just a simple update that shouldn’t require a restart?
obviously it’s updating something pretty major or it wouldn’t require a restart…
Restarts are required for any software that is currently in use by the operating system so that all subsystems can use the new code.
You had to do this back with the Multi-Finder for simply installing a new font.
Brian Allen
I’d be more impressed if an iChat update came out so iChat would work with external USB webcams, not require multiple open ports (eg. Skype doesn’t!) or at least work consistently if you did open the ports, and didn’t have fairly arbitrary limits on bandwidth and processing speed for multiple audio and/or video conferences.
Why did you restart whiners even install the update?! You don’t even know what it does? So you’re complaining that you installed mystery software and the OS told you to reboot? So you did? So you could do what? Nothing. So why do you even bother to post?
If I could use iChat with any decent webcam to video chat with Windows users I might actually get to do video chat. iSight is gone. iChat is now updated. This pretty much concretes the idea of an “iPhone” do-hickey-ma-bob.
To me:
Check out iChatUSBCam for connecting any generic USB Cam to your Mac. Works beautyfully on my 1 GHz G4 PowerBook. Shareware but definately worth the money.
HEY, WHY CAN’T APPLE STREAM THE CONFERENCE PRESENTATION LIVE TO ALL .MAC ACCOUNT HOLDERS via a GLOBAL iCHAT.
That would make the subscriptions worth the money alone!!
I agree with “me” about restart issues. To those of you who are getting irritated about restarting and “interrupting your workflow” — Grow up! Get a life! Chill out! Don’t install the update until you’re ready to power down or do it at the end of your “workflow!” Or, alternatively, go back to using OS 9 if you think it was so great.
I see it the opposite – I think how few updates require a restart. I switched a couple years ago, and still use windows at work and help my parents and sisters with theirs (haven’t been able to convince them to get a mac). And every little thing requires an update.
It’s very very annoying, and every time I go home and work on my mac, I am thankful.
Yeah, I agree with kaekae. Those people whinging about restarts need to go play with Windows for a while. You’d find that you have to restart every time:
– you download a security patch (and there’s lots of those!)
– you update a program
– outlook decides to freeze
– you lose your network connection
– your desktop dissapears for no reason
– etc
I suppose at least windows users can play with their zunes whilst they’re rebooting…