Install a personal server for iChat to MSN/Yahoo gateway
Nov 12, '07 07:30:09AM
Contributed by: thetechnobear
As many have noted, you can link to a Jabber server to connect iChat to MSN/Yahoo. However, I couldnt find a public Jabber server that supported Yahoo. A bit of searching found that it was very easy to install and configure your own (Openfire), which will automatically run in the background.
A summary of the steps I used:
- Download and install OpenFire; make sure you use an embedded database when asked.
- Add a user to the system. Use a simple name, e.g. mark.
- Go to the Admin page, select Plug-ins, and install the IM Gateway plug-in. (In the Plug-ins tab, there is an available Plug-ins tab, which auto-downloads and installs!)
- On the Main menu, select Gateway -> Settings, and enable Yahoo/MSN and others you need. (This also allows you to test.)
- Register your user with the gateway. (i.e. associate your Jabber ID with your MSN user ID.) This can be done by either using the Gateway » Registrations tab, or by using psi or other similar Jabber client.
- In iChat, add a Jabber account, using username@hostname.local, i.e. mark@technobear.local. Note that you need the full name here, unlike in OpenFire.
Thats it! To change settings at any time go to this page; to start/stop the server, there is a control panel in system config. Note that I tested this on 10.5, and it seems to work fine.
[robg adds: I haven't tested this one.]
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