At 11:56 AM 6/21/99 -0700, Diane wrote: > If we want to talk on a chat line with other technicians, don't we have to >have the same software? Brian in South Africa has started a chat on >Fridays on ICQ. If we use another software, can we still chat with him? No... ICQ is a very specific "pager" program, although it has other functions. It's one of the most versatile and common of its type. Another that is similar, is Yahoo Messenger, which includes voice chat. You can run them simultaneously, but they don't communicate between each other. >If we do need the same software for internet phone chat line, maybe we >should do some research on which program is best and then everyone sign up >for that one. (They all seem to be free) It's hard to say what is "best" in a voice chat program, and research is on-going. MediaRing is good, but I don't like programs that take that much control over my computer, even if you can turn some of those off. I-Chat is very simple and quite good, but it only runs on Intel platforms (Windows) and only on Pentiums. Microsoft Netmeeting is also quite good if it's set up right. Voice chat takes a lot of computing power and a fast modem though, so even if everyone has the same program they may find their performance may not be good. Even with the same equipment you're left with the internet, which can be slow, unstable, unreliable and generally frustrating even at the best of times. All that being said, the most compatible chat is text chat on IRC in the #Pianotech channel on Starlink that I publicize each week. It's been running weekly now for over 3 years. There are dozens of different programs that will access IRC from any kind of computer. Talk is limited to typing rather than voice, but it's still quite fun once you get into the swing of it, and there is always the chance to chat with interesting people about (usually) interesting piano-related things. We have had technicians participate from every continent on the planet, which has given us the opportunity to hear experiences that may be far removed from our daily lives. I hope you (and anyone with an interest in it) will join us Tuesdays and most Thursdays on #Pianotech! John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada Registered Piano Technician http://www.musselwhite.com email: john@musselwhite.com - blues@musselwhite.com
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