Jabber is now a part of iChat starting with Mac OS X Tiger. The great thing is that you don't need to download anything. Millions of people will have Jabber support built right into their computer. All you have to do is follow these simple instructions and you will be jabbering in no time. First we'll create an account at jabber.org.au then we'll show you how to get iChat set up for Jabber.

Step 1: Signing up

Signing up with the binaryfreedom jabber server is easy. To do so, go to the front page signup form. Choose a username and fill in all the details. Check that there are no mistakes.

Step 2: Setting up iChat to Jabber

If you are running iChat for the first time you will be presented with a wizard. On the first screen, fill in your name and leave the .mac/AIM fields blank. The next screen is where you set up Jabber. Under account name, you'll need to enter your full Jabber ID (JID). All JIDs are similar in appearance to email addresses. Your JID will be the username that you choose before followed by "@binaryfreedom.info" (see below). Then of course you'll finally enter your password and click Continue.

Complete the wizard and voila, you'll be logged into Jabber for the first time!

Existing iChat users

If on the other hand, you've already set up iChat for .mac/AIM or Bonjour/Rendezvous, then you can add your Jabber account in the iChat preferences. Just click the Add button. Select Jabber in the Account Type dropdown. Enter your JID, your password and if you like, enter a description. Then, of course, you'll want to click Add.

Last of all, you'll need to set your iChat status to Available and that's it!

Step 3: Adding your friends

If this is the very first time you've used Jabber then your Jabber list, known as your roster, will be empty. Though don't despair, we'll show you how to add your friends. On your roster you'll see an Add button . Click it then select Add Buddy and you'll be presented with your Address Book. Here you can select a friend then click Select Buddy and if you already have their Jabber ID listed in your Address Book they'll be added right away (pending their authorisation of course). If not, you'll simply be prompted for it. Otherwise, if your friend isn't in your address book at all then click New Person and you'll be presented with a window as below where you can enter all their details.

Gateways and Transports

Until further notice, Gateways/Transports will not available on the binaryfreedom.info server since we are in Beta.

Conclusion

This covers just the basics. There's one other thing that should be mentioned. If you have the same person added multiple times, iChat can combine all of these JIDs into the one contact. To do this, open up your Address Book and add each JID (make sure you select the Jabber type) to the one address card for that person.

You should now be well on your way to discovering the benefits of Jabber. It's great how Jabber will now be supported by every Mac, though perhaps you'll find iChat to be overly basic at times. In case you want to try some other Jabber clients available for Mac OS X, here are some suggestions: