NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Whiteboard
From: Marcel Tschudin
Date: 2005 Sep 1, 15:18 +0300
All these messengers are not
useful for sharing larger files. For files up to 50MB, I use Rapidshare. I get
the German Web page, may be you are able to receive the English version, just
check with Google.
From: Marcel Tschudin
Date: 2005 Sep 1, 15:18 +0300
Peter wrote
> Well, unfortunately for my pipe dreams and
fortunately for the Nav List, I think it has been.
> They even pinched my great name for it
Whiteboard. It exists (I think) as part of
> Windows Messenger.
Thank you Peter for your dreams. Yes, there are several
type of these messangers allowing to exchange instant messages, files, voice
(also Voip) even with the live picture from your webcam. These messangers
have all there advantages and disadvantages.
For instant messaging a standard connection to the
Internet is suficient. For voice a DSL connection with at least 128kbps is
necessary (with 64kbps it is also possible, but only with
difficulties). For using voice and webcam one should have more bandwidth, e.g.
256kbps.
As far as I remember (may be other members of the list
know more on this):
Windows Messengar and the very simmilar MSN Messanger:
If you have your computer protected with a firewall, it is neccessary to
open numerous ports to make them work. They are not so good for voice
and webcam.
Skype: It is sofar the best for voice communication from
PC to PC. It does not require to open additional ports and works through all(?)
firewalls. It alows also instant messaging and file-sharing. There is now also a
new add-on to Skype, called vSkype, allowing conversation with
webcam.
SghtSpeed: Is probably the best program for voice and
webcam, it needs only one additional port to be opened in the firewall. If
I remember right, it has also features for instant messaging and for
file-sharing.
Eyeball Chat: Simmilar as SightSpeed, not so good and
requires to open numerous ports of the firewall.
... and there are probably many others. Note that
all the programs mentioned are freeware.
To learn more about the problems of the different softwares it is useful to
look in their forums.
For the contacts with my sons in UK, I use
Skype.
That is as far as the "whiteboard" is concerned.
The "blackboard" that I mentioned during a discussion with George is still
waiting to be invented.
Marcel