Online Conferencing
Here's what you can do with Microsoft Chat
Whether you chat in Text mode or Comics mode, take advantage of Microsoft Chat's fun, convenient, and innovative features to enhance your chats.
Automation rules. The same way you create inbox rules in Microsoft Outlook, this new feature lets you define responses for any event. For example, if someone whispers to you, you can make a rule that automatically returns a message or plays a sound. ("Whispers" are messages you send to specific people instead of an entire chat room.) New Comics mode art format. With our newly condensed file format, not only can you create your own characters and backgrounds, you can also place the files on a Web server for everyone in your chat room to download. Private sounds and actions. Privately send sounds and actions via the whisper box to a specific person instead of the entire chat room. Server networks. Start Microsoft Chat and the software now automatically locates and connects you to the first available network server. Login notifications. As you're chatting, get instant notification when friends log on and off your server. Room member lists. Find out who's in a chat room before you join. IRC commands. Now advanced users can employ all IRC and extended commands and view server responses using our new status window. Command history. Hit the up-arrow key to retrieve and send previously sent messages. MIDI. Create and play sound files in MIDI format. Powerful macros. Send complex actions, sounds, and multiple commands in a macro. Improved accessibility. Access the emotion wheel, member lists, and more right from the keyboard.
Dive into the Features of Microsoft V-Chat 2.0
Microsoft V-Chat delivers engaging 3-D features and chat rooms which combine into a new experience that can build communities between users.
V-Chat Features tried and true...
If you've been using V-Chat, you already know that it takes you to a whole new level of chatting via these features:
Avatars - Represent yourself in any 3D world as animated character called an
avatar. Choose from a selection of 21 common avatars that are included with V-Chat; or you can design your own avatar using the Microsoft Avatar Wizard. After designing your avatar, you can either publish it to a public server, or host it on your personal Web server. 3D Worlds - V-Chat worlds are true 3D graphical rooms featuring an array of background sound effects. Thanks to Microsoft DirectX technology, specifically DirectDraw and Direct3D, V-Chat can also generate and display 3D graphics. Enhanced Chat Functionality - V-Chat is easy to use. With just a mouse click, you can "say" your message, "whisper" to one or more users, "think" a message, and even "emote" an action to another user. Content Advisor - V-Chat lets you restrict the type of chat rooms that your computer can access on the Internet. This feature is similar to the Content Advisor site restriction feature used in Internet Explorer.
Internet video conferencing
With NetMeeting 2.1, you can send real-time visual images to or receive them from another conference participant using any video for Windows-compatible equipment. You can share ideas and information face-to-face, and use the camera to instantly view items, such as hardware or devices, that you choose to display in front of the lens. Combined with the audio and data capabilities of NetMeeting 2.1, you can both see and hear the other person, as well as share information and applications.
NetMeeting 2.1 video conferencing includes the following features:
Ability to change the size of the video window. You can dynamically change the size of the video window to reduce or enlarge the image being sent to another person. You can also choose whether to transmit video immediately when a call starts. Compatibility with existing video capture hardware. NetMeeting 2.1 supports video capture cards and cameras that are compatible with Video for Windows drivers. This includes most commonly available video hardware. High-quality video, even over low-bandwidth connections. NetMeeting 2.1 produces high-quality, real-time video images using a standard 28.8 kbps modem Internet connection, IP over ISDN connection, or local area network (LAN) connection. Ability to receive images without video hardware. Even if you do not have a video capture card or camera for sending video, you can still receive video images sent by other users. Dockable video windows. To simplify video capabilities during a NetMeeting call, the Current Call window integrates the My Video and Remote Video windows. You can either view the docked video windows from the Current Call window or you can undock the video windows and drag them to another location on your desktop. Also, you can pause or resume sending video images by pressing a button on the video window. Switchable audio and video. Have you participated in a meeting with many people and wanted to switch who you were seeing and talking to? Now you can. Simply right-click on the person's name listed in the Current Call window, and click
Send Audio and Video. You can share a conversation with one person, and then decide to switch your audio and video to another person in the current call. This feature makes it easy for you to communicate with different people using audio and video. Ability to copy video images to the clipboard. Copying video images into another application is simple. You can right-click on either the local or remote video window, place a copy of the video image on the clipboard, and then paste the video image into another application, such as a whiteboard. Ability to adjust video quality. To remotely adjust video, click the Tools menu, click Options, click the Video tab, and then use the Video Quality slidebar. Based on what you see, you can adjust for higher quality or higher performance, depending on your preference. Interoperable with other H.323 products and services. NetMeeting 2.1 supports the H.323 standard for audio and video conferencing, which includes the H.263 video codec. H.323 allows NetMeeting to interoperate with other compatible video phone clients, such as the Intel Internet Video Phone. Also, several leading industry vendors are currently developing H.323 conference servers and gateways that will enable NetMeeting users to participate in a call with multiple audio and video connections. The first of these products is expected to be available during the second half of 1997. Support for Intel MMX Technology. If you have an Intel MMX-enabled computer, specialized NetMeeting codecs for MMX provide enhanced performance for video compression and decompression. You will benefit from lower CPU utilization and improved video quality during a call.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is one of the most popular and most interactive services on the Internet. Sure, the Web is nice for finding info and E-mail beats snailmail hands down, but when you've been wondering 'where the others are?', then IRC is what you're looking for.
IRC is the net's equivalent of CB radio. But unlike CB, Internet Relay Chat lets people all over the world participate in real-time conversations. IRC is where the Net comes alive!
Meeting people. IRC is great fun and you'll sure meet lots of interesting people and find nice spots to hang out! But, IRC is not something that you should just jump into without first reading up on it. You could feel very lost if you do not know some basic commands before you enter IRC, and you might not even know how to get out of IRC after that :o) So, we suggest you read some documentation (help files, readmes, FAQs etc) before you get connected to an IRC server, or it can be very frustrating for you when you get stuck. No worries, all info you need is available on mIRC's web pages and... mIRC makes things really simple!
The free PowWow client already provides more than three million worldwide users with features such as the only instant voice messaging and integrated voice chat capabilities available, as well as instant messaging, buddy lists, and real-time point-to-multi-point communications and telephony. PowWow users can utilize a collaborative white board, conduct Web tours, and share files, URLs and sounds. Now, PowWow 3.6's highly scalable distributed community server (DCS) architecture will enable PowWow users to quickly and easily create and oversee their own communities with nothing more than a PC and an Internet connection.
Because it is their own "tribe," PowWow hosts can decide when the community is available, who can join and what the membership rules are. With new remote administration and moderation they can host their community wherever they wish, run it the way they want, and invite guest moderators to participate regardless of their location. For example, Professor Randy Vaughn of Baylor University plans on using remote moderation to have high-tech luminaries guest-lecture at his university without incurring the travel expense or logistical headaches typically associated with speaker visits.
"With the latest version of PowWow, I can invite industry leaders to teach my classes without asking them to travel all the way to our remote Texas campus," Vaughn said. "I've already had a positive experience having guests from Netscape use PowWow to interact with my students. All involved found PowWow to be a highly productive, not to mention fun, way to share ideas."
HOW IVISIT WORKS
iVisit is the first true multi-party video chat software that does not require a reflector, central server or other special hardware. Using an intuitive design focusing on familiar concepts of communication and collaboration, iVisit makes the user's computer desktop a virtual living room, conference room, pub or cafe -- bringing together live faces and voices for all types of meetings and conversations.
FEATURES
Video data flows independently through direct peer-to-peer connectivity Produces 4-bit grayscale at twice the frame-rate of similar products Conference Directory Server accomodates thousands of contacts and manages dozens of simultaneous conferences Personal security is easy to set up and maintain, and conferences are password-protected Provides organized, unique user identities through bookmarks Real-time conference availability announcement Highest possible video frame rates on 28.8 kbps using unique and efficient compression algorithms Supports multiple video window sizes, selected by source and scaleable by recipient Controlled video quality based on number of connections Continuous feedback checks so transmission rates are scaled to fit current network capacity High quality audio using Lucent Technologies Elemedia™ group codecs Streamlined text messaging
COMPATIBILITY
Works with all ISPs Macintosh and Windows 95/NT No reflectors or servers needed Compatible with most video cards
