Skype 1.5 (beta) with video is easier to set up than iChat ? Please help

Question

Hi,
I have a MacBook with Tiger and iChat v.3.1.5 and my wife has a PowerBook G4 with Panther and iChat 2.1.
On the MacBook there is this video camera and it seems to be working properly. On the PowerBook there is a DV Sony camera attached via Firewire. Both cameras are working and we are able to see and hear each other with Skype 1.5 beta (downloaded on both computers) The image is at times a bit jerky but is usable ( I guess this is because of our internet speed, I think some 512 MB/s).
I have been trying to get iChat to work but somehow I did not understand how to set it up. There is a wizard ofering either a .Mac account or some AIM (what is this?). I do not want to use the .Mac account (my wife does not have one and mine is only a trial) and do not know what this AIM is. I tried to put my email data into it but it does not work. There is also this bonjour protocol which the computer keeps asking if I would like to use?.
Right now I am at home and have access to both computers. Can you please explain how I can get iChat to work?
PS. How do I put myself into my wife´s buddy list and viceversa?
Thank you so much.

Answer 1

Hi Gregory!
I got some help from Apple support and here I paste for you some details that might be helpful.
Ports to open for Mac OS X firewall 
When using the built-in Mac OS X firewall, you only need to open these ports: 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384 through 16403

Tip: If you don't want to bother, a simple workaround is to temporarily turn off the firewall on each computer.
To chat with the Mac OS X Firewall active, follow these steps to add the necessary ports:
• 1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences. 
• 2. From the View, choose Sharing. 
• 3. Click the Firewall tab. 
• 4. Click New. 
• 5. From the Port Name pop-up menu, choose Other. 
• 6. In the Port Number, Range or Series field, type in: 
• 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403
• 7. In the Description field type in: iChat AV 
• 8. Click OK.
Ports to open for third-party firewalls
A "simple" firewall only allows you to open or close ports, without any additional criteria. If you have one of these, then you should open these ports:
5060, 5190, 5220, 5222, 5298, 5353, 5678, and 16384 through 16403.
If that does not work, try opening all ports from 1024 to 65535.
Note:
• 1. All iChat AV traffic is UDP except for ports 5190 and 5298, which need to be open for both TCP and UDP; and 5220 and 5222, which need to be open for TCP only.
• 2. Ports 5297, 5298, and 5353 are used only for local traffic. Opening these ports may be necessary for firewall software that runs on a computer, rather than on a router. These ports do not need to be open at your uplink to the Internet.
• 3. The Mac OS X firewall found in the Sharing preference pane filters only TCP packets. For this reason, most of the ports listed here do not need to be opened at the Mac OS X firewall.
• 4. Some router-specific features or configurations may interfere with iChat AV. This includes port mapping on either end, SIP rewriting, SIP dropping, or dynamic opening of media ports.
• 5. This document lists all ports used by iChat AV, not just those used by audiovisual content. A list of individual port functions can be found in technical document 106439, "'Well Known'TCP and UDP Ports Used By Apple Software Products".
• 6. For firewall issues specific to file transfer, see technical document 107476, "iChat: Cannot Send or Receive a File When Firewall Is Active".
All the best,
D.M.