RIP iChat: The End Of An Era

The end of the iChat era has finally arrived. As Apple prepares to launch their newest version of OS X, Mountain Lion, the standard messaging application will be replaced with Messages. Though the appearance and functionality resemble an iPhone conversation, the new app will also allow users to sync up with gchat, which has arguably been the most widely-used instant message client since its release in 2005. Though we'll miss the days spent chatting it up in iChat's bubbly interface, we've downloaded the beta version of Message (open to Lion users until Mountain Lion hits this summer) and are slowly coming to terms with its sharpened features (like the tabbed conversations in Lion's version of iChat) and auto-logged message history.