Keeping in touch:

The best chat and video conferencing software

So you're in college now, but you want to keep in touch with your high school friends. You know all about e-mail, but you want to be able to communicate more directly, without the cost of long-distance phone calls. That's where Internet chat and videoconferencing software comes in.

Chat Software

These programs tell you when your friends are online and let you text chat with them. You usually set up a list of friends and their e-mail addresses in the program, then every time you launch the program, it checks to see which of them are online and using the same program. This makes it important for all of your friends to be using the same program. All of the programs I tested, except for AOL Instant Messenger, allow more than two people to chat at one time, allowing your whole group of friends to get together online. PeopleLink and Excite PAL both use the same easy to use Virtual Places software, but PeopleLink fills your chat window with large annoying advertisements. AOL Instant Messenger is unique in that it allows you to find friends on AOL, without them having to install any additional software. You can send instant messages and use a Buddy List like regular AOL members. Unless you need to chat with AOL members, the best chat program for you and your friends is ichat. It has a very slick interface and pager metaphor, and is a good choice for college students looking for an easy way to keep in touch with friends. While ICQ has many followers in the PC realm, it has only recently released a Mac version and its interface is highly confusing, especially for those new to the world of online chat. Update(4/20/98)-In light of continued reports of problems with ichat, macstudents has changed its recommendations. ICQ has put out a reasonably functional version of its mac client and by far has the largest user base, making it the choice of the masses(although it still has a terrible interface). AOL Instant Messenger is a good alternative, especially if you have friends on AOL. ichat-free Excite PAL-free AOL Instant Messenger-free PeopleLink-free ICQ-free

ichat-pretty, but problematic ICQ has by far the most confusing interface

macstudents choice: none-ICQ has the most users but the worst interface and AOL has a reasonably clean interface but no more than 2 chat participants at a time, a fatal flaw. Until one of the companies resolves these problems, macstudents cannot wholeheartedly recommend either.

Videoconferencing

There's nothing like seeing and talking to a friend who is going to college on the opposite coast. To do so, you need videoconferencing software. Currently the standard for videoconferencing is CU-SeeMe, available free from Cornell University. It supports grayscale video and can be used as an Internet phone application if you don't have a camera. The Connectix QuickCam(grayscale or color) works great with CU-SeeMe. Enhanced CU-SeeMe, from White Pine, supports color videoconferencing, but is a commercial product that you have to buy. There is a preview version available for download that expires October 31. iVisit, from Boxtop, is another videoconferencing program currently in beta-it offers videoconferencing of more than two people without needing a reflector(dedicated server). It looks promising(it's written by the guy that programmed CU-SeeMe), but it will be commercial software. For starving students, CU-SeeMe is the obvious choice. It offers decent audio and video for the best price of all: free.

macstudents choice: CU-SeeMe-free

macstudents choice: Connectix QuickCam

White Pine Enhanced CU-SeeMe

Boxtop iVisit