OS X Yosemite: The Missing Manual

FaceTime

If you have a Mac laptop or iMac, then it’s got a built-in microphone and camera. And that means it’s equipped to make free, very high-quality audio and video calls to other Apple computers, phones, and tablets (Figure 11-12).

There’s very little delay, and it works the first time and every time. Now Grandma can see the baby, or you can help someone shop from afar, or you can supervise brain surgery from thousands of miles away (some medical training recommended).

From your Mac, you’ll probably make FaceTime calls over a WiFi network. But your callees, using iPhones or cellular iPads, can even conduct video chats over the cellular airwaves, when they’re out and about.

Placing a Call

Ironically, the FaceTime experience often begins with a more old-fashioned communication—a phone call or a text message, for example. (“Want to FaceTime now?”)

UP TO SPEED: The Apple (iCloud) ID

Once you become a member of the Apple cult, the key that unlocks all Apple doors is your Apple ID. The same email address and password gets you into iCloud, the iTunes Store, the Apple Store, the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, and almost any other Apple service that requires you to log in. In the unlikely event that you don’t yet have an Apple ID, you can get one by opening System Preferences→iCloud and clicking “Create new Apple ID.”

In any case, FaceTime couldn’t be easier to fire up—in many different ways:

• From Contacts. If you’re in the Contacts app, and you’ve recorded the iPhone number or Apple ID of someone ...