HI,
Your Pics.
System Preferences > Accounts (or Users and Groups) > your account.
This Pic is either one of the default Apple Pics or a Snap shot your took whilst setting upi the account. (or anything you have changed it to since.
Address Book (Contacts in Lion and Mountain Lion) > My Card (Head and Shoulders icon) will, in the first run set upn of the account default to the Login Pic above although it can be changed.
Leading on to iChat (Or Messages) and the Buddy pic shown top right of the Buddy list (And/or in Chats) which will take the Address Book > My Card pic by default (although clicking on the pic access the change option)
Depending how you set up your Address Book/Contacts app and the info for Buddy in that card - coupled with the account type in iChat will depend on which Pic gets saved for them.
For Instance.
If you add a Buddy in an AIM Buddy list your type their Screen Name in first.
If you only type this in their pic comes from them via the server.
If you Add First Name, LAst Name to create and Address Book entry then that pic "becomes' the pic linked when you look them up in the Address Book.
However.
If you have someone in your Address Book and add their Screen Name to their Card then any pic linked to thre card will tend to override the AIM Server pic. (There can still be differences between the Buddy List (sever pic) and the Info Panel pic (Highlight Buddy and then CMD + i keys together - Get Info and look at the Address Card.
If an AIM Buddy changes a pic the result can be fairly instant at your end. (Checking their Profile can be a bit longer as this is from the server)
Jabber Buddies tend to only change when the buddy changes it and that change has made it to the server.
(you almost always get th pic from ther server)
People logging in to Google's web pages may also alter the pic you see if they use a different pic at Google.
Facebook (another Jabber server option) also can have this double login, different pics situation.
Buddy Lists and Chats.
Highlight a Buddy List to make it the "Front" window.
Go to the View Menu > Show Buddy PIcs to show pics in the Buddy list
With Chat Windows "Front" also go to the View Menu > Messages > Show (options)
One of these options is to display Name and Pics and another is for just Names.
Names.
Also in the View menu is Buddy Names.
This changes if you view the Full name, Short Name (Nickname or First name) or Handle.
Obviously full name is both First and Last Name.
In the info card you can add Nickname and this will display in the Address Book card (it can be a field turned on in the Address Book.
If there is no Nickname and you chose this option in iChat it will default to the first name.
Handle is the Screen Name or in this case the cell numbers
Mobile Forwarding and SMS
You can add Cell numbers (if in the United States and on a suitable carrier) to the AIM Buddy list as if they were a Buddy.
Example format +1234567890 (+1 being the country code although it has never been rolled out wider)
You could link that info to the Address Card
Highlight a Buddy and do a Get Info (CMD + i keys together)
If they are a Number Only Buddy (same as a Screen Name only Buddy) you can chose to link it to an existing Address Card or you can Add First Name, Last name and create and Address Book entry.
The Cell phone/SMS is unlikely to return a Buddy Pic from the servers.
iChat should either pick the last pic linked to the Buddy's whole info - if the Buddy has an AIM name and a cell number then iChat will pic the Buddy pic first (rather than any Address Book pic) as they are also stored on your Mac.
9:24 PM Friday; November 23, 2012
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
Mac OS X (10.6.8),
Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images." No, Seriously
