FaceTime has been one of the most highlighted and successful feature of both the iPhone 4 and recently released iPod touch. And, today Mac4ever is reporting that Apple will bring FaceTime to Mac via iChat and to Windows via a new application. We have also heard from our sources that Apple is working with other companies to bring FaceTime to other devices.

Apple has already said that they will make FaceTime protocol open source allowing other software makers and hardware makers to use the protocol for their video chat client and connect with iOS devices.

Video calls and video chats on computers or mobile devices haven’t been very successful because these systems aren’t seamless. Most chat clients don’t work with clients from other services and most video calls require specific hardware or carrier setup.

If Apple’s open source FaceTime can make both hardware and software irrelevant, meaning I can make a video call from any device to any other device on a totally different platform without worrying about what software I am using or what software or hardware the other side is using, video calling for the first time can become truly useful not just a gimmick. Apple is moving in the right direction and I hope other software and hardware companies follow them.