Communications Clients

~terry Wed, Jul 24, 1996 (09:17) seed

Communications Clients This selection of apps includes a wide variety of text and voice comm clients. In fact, clients that allow everything from one-to-one text-based communication to the electronic version of those little yellow sticky notes to two-way voice-based communication can be found here. The most interesting apps in this section are those that emulate normal phones, allowing long-distance phone calls to be made over the 'net at the cost of a local call in most cases. While currently not available as real-time apps, the best of these phone clients is currently on the verge of releasing a full-duplex version that could very likely become the next killer app on the 'net. There are also apps that allow you to carry on a one-to-one text-based conversation -- the best of these clients even allows you take virtual cruises through the 'web. Finally, for quick notes and reminders to friends, there is even an app that allows you to send the electronic version of those little sticky notes! Previously included in the Communications Clients category of apps were IRC apps, which were recently moved to their own distinct section of The CWS Apps List. The following are brief descriptions of each application featured on the Communications Clients Page. Reviewer: Forrest Stroud

~terryd Sat, Oct 26, 1996 (14:50) #1

Hi Terry, I just wanted to reccomend that CWSA do a review of IRISphone. I don't work for them but I like the product. Check it out. T.D.

~terry Sun, Oct 27, 1996 (12:18) #2

What's their website? And what do you know about it?

~terryd Sun, Oct 27, 1996 (14:35) #3

www.irisphone.com I've been using the demo for a couple of weeks now and it has as good a sound quality as the other phones I've tried and a voice mail feature that is fairly dependable. U get photos. with the phone book listings, and they only want $19.95 to register it. It's pretty easy to use also.

~terry Sun, Oct 27, 1996 (15:55) #4

Thanks, I'll check out their website.

~terry Sun, Jan 25, 1998 (19:13) #5

Important news for all users of communications clients: Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 12:41:06 -0500 (EST) From: Jeff Pulver To: Free-World-Dialup Subject: [Free World Dialup]: Internet Telephony SHOULD NOT Be Regulated Sender: owner-free-world-dialup@Pulver.COM >From the January 22, 1998 issue of: The Pulver Report -------------------------------------------------------- Internet Telephony Should not be Regulated - The EU made the right Decision. The European Union recently announced that they felt that Internet Telephony should not be regulated. This is good news. However due to the continued hype and hysteria by some in the media about the potential harm to certain PTTs - Internet Telephony has become illegal in countries like India and something should be done about this. On the open Internet - the majority of Internet Telephony use remains in the hands of hobbyists. These users pose no threat to anybody and should continue to be allowed to use PC to PC telephony. If there are some people operating Telecom businesses where they are terminating with data circuits instead of voice circuits just to avoid paying the access charges in a certain country - one word of advice - make as much money as you can now - since this loophole will be closed in the near future. I first heard about India attempting to regulate the IP Voice market a few months ago when the Indian marketplace was deregulated. These days ISPs in India do not have the ability to connect PSTN/IP Gateways. Friends of mine have reported that actual PC based Internet Telephony usage in India is also illegal. This I feel is a decision that was made in part by somebody in the Indian Government who clearly did not know about all of the issues and technologies surrounding IP Voice. In 1996 when I founded the Voice on the Net Coalition we were able to find a common ground to work with both ACTA and the FCC. While the ACTA Petition has yet to be acted upon, there are now open lines of communication between all parties and I hope that with continued pressure nobody in Washington, D.C. will be making UNinformed decisions. The same can not be said about the possibilities of International Regulation of Internet Telephony. Now is the time for the VON Coalition to go Global. If there are companies which have a vested interest in this space who can make a commitment to help establish open dialogs with Government Agencies around the world please let me know. I'm willing to spend some of my time meeting with other Government Agencies - but we need to be able to scale. Now is NOT the time for the industry to sit idle - doing so will threaten the future use for the International Internet Community to use IP Voice products. Best Regards, ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Pulver Tel. 516.753.2640 Publisher Fax. 516.293.3996 The Pulver Report http://pulver.com Conference: Video on the Net '98 http://pulver.com/video98 Conference: Spring '98 Voice on the Net http://pulver.com/von98

~terry Fri, Aug 21, 1998 (11:47) #6

Here are, in general, the best apps for communicating over the net (not just videoconferencing in some cases) in order of effectiveness and overall quality: Iphone 5.01 ftp://ftp.vocaltec.com/pub/iphone/iphone50.exe WebPhone ftp://ftp.netspeak.com/pub/wpsetup.exe VDOPhone ftp://ftp.vdo.net/vdptrial.exe NetMeeting http://mssjus3.www.conxion.com/msdownload/netmeeting/Nm21.exe OnLive! Traveler http://www.onlive.com/cgi-bin/travreg.cgi PowWow32 ftp://ftp.powwow.com/powwow36.exe PhoneFerret ftp://ferret.aitcom.net/pub/ferret/PFT111.exe Virtual Places http://download.vplaces.com/clients/VP32r21.exe Active Worlds http://aw.mpl.net/downloads/awb.exe Speak Freely http://www.fourmilab.ch/speakfree/windows/speakfb.zip WinTalk ftp://ftp.elf.com/pub/wintalk/wtalk127.zip VoxPhone ftp://papa.indstate.edu/winsock-l/Windows95/tx32v20.exe

~MarciaH Sat, Aug 28, 1999 (14:38) #7

My son and I communicate with WebPhone, and I recommend it highly. It also has the feature of a notepad if you are having trouble on one end which the other end is not aware of...pop up your note pad and tell them you are having a mic problem or you cannot hear them...whatever.

~terry Thu, Sep 2, 1999 (09:05) #8

Have you tried any other of these communication apps?

~terry Thu, Sep 2, 1999 (10:44) #9

Like, for example, NetMeeting. That's what I'm trying to get my sister to use.

~MarciaH Mon, Sep 6, 1999 (20:37) #10

I have not simply because he had this setup in place. I am not aware of anyone using NerMeeting, butI will ask David if he know anything about .

~MarciaH Mon, Sep 6, 1999 (20:43) #11

...make that NetMeeting...shall ask about it.

~MarciaH Tue, Sep 7, 1999 (17:31) #12

Asked my son David about NetMeeting. His response: "NetMeeting works pretty well. I tried it with a couple people and it is the standard conferencing tool for IT Corp. I just happen to like Webphone better and I already paid for it. " IT Corp is the company he works for.

~terry Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (00:17) #13

That's what I have. I've had a few good exchanges with it, but it's been a while. Too bad these programs can't talk to each other. It's a polyglot world when it comes to comm programs, isn't it?

~MarciaH Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (00:48) #14

Most unfortuantely, I think it is "buy mine and talk only to me." Otherwise we could actually hear each other! THAT would be really cool!

~terry Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (08:32) #15

Tres cool. What's your contact information in your communicaitons program? You know, like your icq id or whatever.

~MarciaH Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (15:02) #16

I use Instant Messages for Non-AOL users and my WebPhone uses my email address for my contact number. I had an ICQ # but it was so poorly explained I never did use it. Will send you for information by email as there are those I do not need to have it right now...

~terry Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (15:33) #17

Understand.

~MarciaH Thu, Sep 9, 1999 (15:52) #18

Anyone desiring to download or information on Instant Messages for non-Aol users http://www.aim.aol.com/netscape/whatis.html

~MarciaH Fri, Dec 17, 1999 (23:31) #19

Terry did I ever send you the information on ICQ you requested? I cannot remember doing so, and If I did not, I shall if you are still interested. I believe it was about my ICQ number...

~terry Mon, Dec 20, 1999 (08:11) #20

Sure, we also have a topic somewhere for posting your icq number, maybe we should open one in inner. A topic like "Contact information, icq number etc."

~MarciaH Mon, Dec 20, 1999 (12:51) #21

That is probably a better place to reveal such information than out here on the public topics. The only one I have at present other than my own is Nan's, so I can put that there, as well.

~MarciaH Mon, Dec 20, 1999 (12:55) #22

I also have an Instant Messaging program for which I do not wish the public to know my screen name. That would also fit into your parameters. I think that would really be a good idea to have all of the ways to communicate with each other in times of need. When You have time, of course, or I could do so...?!

~terry Tue, Dec 21, 1999 (08:48) #23

Of course you could.

~MarciaH Tue, Dec 21, 1999 (13:07) #24

Did *grin*

~MarciaH Sun, Feb 13, 2000 (00:44) #25

I know you have been terribly busy of late, but did you ever set your sister up with a communications application? If so, which one did you choose?

~sprin5 Sun, Feb 13, 2000 (08:11) #26

Not yet, she's got a new computer and I'd like to see her get set up with NetMeeting. ou know, sometimes, I just turn on the webcam live in my office and talk to folks that way. They get on icq and I get on the webcam with audio. I've got my notebook working as a mobile webcam now, using Roadrunner in my office.

~MarciaH Sun, Feb 13, 2000 (12:17) #27

You must do that when I am not around. I'd love to do that...! But, first, I'd have to learn to use my ICQ program. When you wrote this, it was 3AM here.