Chatango is a flash-based chat site. As such, it is browser-dependent. It is different than java chats (which don't work very well) and looks a bit like the early browser-based IRC chat rooms (such as used by MSN back when there were MSN Groups). But it is based on Flash, a video-compression format owned by Adobe, Inc. YouTube and Hulu use Flash to compress their video content.
Chatango may be convenient as a social networking tool, but it is insufficient as a robust chat environment. We have yet to discover a chat environment that surpasses IRC (Internet Relay Chat) in features, controls, flexibility and security. IRC is available to any computer operating system that supports TCP/IP networking; i.e., every currently popular OS: Windows, OSX, Linux.
#AbsoluteWrite is an IRC chat channel WE created on the StarChat.net servers to enable real-time communication between Absolute Write members, to hold interviews with prominent personalities, and to host regular discussion groups.
As Lauretta says, it is simple to create a chat channel in IRC for personal or small group use. In fact, there are several such in StarChat right now. You can register your channel and it will remain there as long as it is used at least once a month. But you can create a channel for temporary use, as well, by entering one line of simple code: type
/join [channel name] and you will be installed as the operator of that channel. If you do not register it, once the room is empty of chatters, it ceases to exist. I can't think of anything with fewer hassles than that.