In February of last year, Apple launched an application Messages Beta for OS X Lion, combining the functionality of iChat with that of iMessage and FaceTime, the application being later integrated into OS X Mountain Lion. Apple has not published a final version of Messages for OS X Lion, and now it has announced that users will have to install OS X Mountain Lion to use the application after December 14, when the beta program will be officially closed.
In practice, Apple forces users to return to iChat or to buy OS X Mountain Lion, the Messages Beta application will theoretically stop working at all from that date.
