Skype, formally launched today the application to be used over the iPhone, and Blackberry in the future, to video chat. Both of the version will allow Skype users to chat and call for free amongst themselves. However, the service requires WiFi for its voice functions.
The users will have separate access to the iPhone contact list & Skype friends and will be allowed to mute calls as well as placing them on speakers. The application should be live on Apple's website by tuesday, however, the Blackberry should be live by May.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Obama does video chat, again
Barack Obama created history by video chatting with around 64,000 people in the US answering their question LIVE. The most popular question was whether legalizing marijuana might stimulate the economy by allowing the government to regulate and tax the drug. The viewers included teachers, students & small business people.
The video chat lasted for around 70 minutes wherein Obama disclosed that he intended to announce in the next couple of days what kind of help his administration would extend to the auto industry.
The video chat lasted for around 70 minutes wherein Obama disclosed that he intended to announce in the next couple of days what kind of help his administration would extend to the auto industry.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Obama, Schoolchildren video chat with astronauts at Space Station
The crew of astronauts of the space shuttle Discovery at the International Space Station shared some light moments with the president Barack Obama, several Congress members and several schoolchildren from Washington middle schools, from the White House, through video chat for about half an hour on Tuesday. The President congratulated the crew for standing firm against all unidentified space obstacles and for their recent work at the International Space Station.
The president seemed extraordinarily proud of the astronauts for their work & showed his desire to know as to how they installed the new solar panels & how the green power would help the ISS.
Obama said, "This is really exciting! We're investing back here on the ground a whole array of solar and other renewable energy projects and so to find out that you're doing this up at the space station is particularly exciting.” while the astronauts were relaxing after the third & final spacewalk on Monday.
The president seemed extraordinarily proud of the astronauts for their work & showed his desire to know as to how they installed the new solar panels & how the green power would help the ISS.
Obama said, "This is really exciting! We're investing back here on the ground a whole array of solar and other renewable energy projects and so to find out that you're doing this up at the space station is particularly exciting.” while the astronauts were relaxing after the third & final spacewalk on Monday.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Heroes Star Greg Grunberg Auctions Charity Video Chat
Meeting with Fans to Benefit the Epilepsy Foundation Charity
Greg Grunberg, star of NBC’s “Heroes” and creator of TalkAboutIt.org, will auction his time for a one-on-one video chat to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation charity. Bidding is exclusively online at humanety.com and will open to the public beginning at 4:00 P.M. Thursday, March 26, and end at 4:00 P.M. April 5. The winning bidder will participate in a personal 30-minute video conversation with Grunberg at a later date. The auction is conducted by Humanety, which will record the conversation and make it available for playback from its Web site.
Grunberg’s son, Jake, 12, has epilepsy and the actor relied on the Epilepsy Foundation to gain the knowledge needed to care for him. Over time, Grunberg became the official spokesperson for the Epilepsy Foundation and EpilepsyAdvocate.com. He recently created TalkAboutIt.org, a website that helps remove stigmas about epilepsy and provides a forum for information about the affliction.
“When I heard about Humanety, I jumped at the chance to raise money and awareness about a cause I feel so passionately about. I love talking with my fans, and nothing is off limits: Heroes, Alias, Felicity, Yowza!!, my best friend JJ and his new Star Trek movie and, of course, epilepsy. Let’s talk about it,” said Grunberg.
"Humanety is a new way to help support and promote a wide variety of vital charities," said Michael Campbell, CEO of Humanety. "By conducting these meetings over the Internet, we are able to connect celebrities to their fans anywhere around the world. We are honored to work with Greg to help him promote the cause of the Epilepsy Foundation and hopefully raise significant donations in the process."
The Epilepsy Foundation is a national voluntary agency solely dedicated to the welfare of more than three million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families. The charity works to ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in all life experiences; to improve how people with epilepsy are perceived, accepted and valued in society; and, to promote research for a cure.
Two-time Saturn Award nominee Greg Grunberg stars in NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated ensemble drama series “Heroes” as Matt Parkman, a police detective with the ability to hear the thoughts of others. He just wrapped the romantic comedy “Group Sex” which he co-wrote, co-produced and starred, and will soon launch Yowza!! a mobile coupon application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A philanthropist by nature, Grunberg started the celebrity rock band for charity "Band From TV" with fellow actors Hugh Laurie, James Denton, Adrian Pasdar, Jesse Spencer and Bob Guiney. Most recently, Band From TV performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “American Idol Gives Back” where they helped raise over $60 million.
Humanety is a new method of aiding charities. Fans bid on auctions to meet their favorite celebrities, and this helps raise awareness and funding for worthy causes. Two-way conversations are conducted over Internet videoconference and shared with the world via the Humanety web site.
Release Summary: Greg Grunberg, star of NBCs Heroes, will auction his time for a one on one video chat to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation charity. Bidding is exclusively online at www [dot] humanety [dot] com and starts Thursday, March 26.
Greg Grunberg, star of NBC’s “Heroes” and creator of TalkAboutIt.org, will auction his time for a one-on-one video chat to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation charity. Bidding is exclusively online at humanety.com and will open to the public beginning at 4:00 P.M. Thursday, March 26, and end at 4:00 P.M. April 5. The winning bidder will participate in a personal 30-minute video conversation with Grunberg at a later date. The auction is conducted by Humanety, which will record the conversation and make it available for playback from its Web site.
Grunberg’s son, Jake, 12, has epilepsy and the actor relied on the Epilepsy Foundation to gain the knowledge needed to care for him. Over time, Grunberg became the official spokesperson for the Epilepsy Foundation and EpilepsyAdvocate.com. He recently created TalkAboutIt.org, a website that helps remove stigmas about epilepsy and provides a forum for information about the affliction.
“When I heard about Humanety, I jumped at the chance to raise money and awareness about a cause I feel so passionately about. I love talking with my fans, and nothing is off limits: Heroes, Alias, Felicity, Yowza!!, my best friend JJ and his new Star Trek movie and, of course, epilepsy. Let’s talk about it,” said Grunberg.
"Humanety is a new way to help support and promote a wide variety of vital charities," said Michael Campbell, CEO of Humanety. "By conducting these meetings over the Internet, we are able to connect celebrities to their fans anywhere around the world. We are honored to work with Greg to help him promote the cause of the Epilepsy Foundation and hopefully raise significant donations in the process."
The Epilepsy Foundation is a national voluntary agency solely dedicated to the welfare of more than three million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families. The charity works to ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in all life experiences; to improve how people with epilepsy are perceived, accepted and valued in society; and, to promote research for a cure.
Two-time Saturn Award nominee Greg Grunberg stars in NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated ensemble drama series “Heroes” as Matt Parkman, a police detective with the ability to hear the thoughts of others. He just wrapped the romantic comedy “Group Sex” which he co-wrote, co-produced and starred, and will soon launch Yowza!! a mobile coupon application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A philanthropist by nature, Grunberg started the celebrity rock band for charity "Band From TV" with fellow actors Hugh Laurie, James Denton, Adrian Pasdar, Jesse Spencer and Bob Guiney. Most recently, Band From TV performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “American Idol Gives Back” where they helped raise over $60 million.
Humanety is a new method of aiding charities. Fans bid on auctions to meet their favorite celebrities, and this helps raise awareness and funding for worthy causes. Two-way conversations are conducted over Internet videoconference and shared with the world via the Humanety web site.
Release Summary: Greg Grunberg, star of NBCs Heroes, will auction his time for a one on one video chat to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation charity. Bidding is exclusively online at www [dot] humanety [dot] com and starts Thursday, March 26.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Uses of video chatting
Video chatting finds its uses in the following:
- Live interacting with family & friends
- Celebrity interviews
- Conferences
- Meetings & seminars
- Finding a date, mate or friend online
- Interviews
Monday, March 23, 2009
faceVsion Offers True HD Video Communications to Mass Market
faceVsion Technology Limited (FVT), a market innovator in empowering consumers and SMEs with face- to-face communications experience anytime, anywhere, on any screen, today announced the availability of 720p/HD video chat service on standard broadband network. The company will also showcase in CeBIT its innovative FVfone(TM) solution, the first ever full function DECT phone system that allows users to enjoy HD video chat and multimedia experiences over big TV screen.
Offering netbook/notebook users or even those without PC experience to enjoy true HD video chat experience under standard broadband network is a must to bring HD video chat to the masses. By inserting FVexpress(TM) into any netbook/notebook, and/or getting an innovative FVfone(TM) from faceVsion or its channel partners, consumers and SMEs' can now enjoy true HD chat without any hassles.
FVexpress(TM) and FVfone(TM) are engineered with state-of-the-art technology at consumer price. By embedding mainstream HD encoding and decoding algorithms at chipset level, together with optimized implementations for image quality and noise cancellation under lowest bandwidth requirements, these cutting edge solutions is designed for use with a variety of webcams and interoperates with standards-based third-party video chat applications like Gmail video chat.
"This announcement is our first step in empowering mass market users with true HD communication experiences -- from looking real to feeling real, from exclusive (to corporate users) to affordable (for general public with low upfront investment), and from location-bound (within conference room) to pervasive connectivity," said Alex Huang, faceVsion CEO. "Now, with our FVexpress(TM) and/FVfone(TM), users of Gmail video chat will be able to connect with each other. We are bringing a real mass market solution to empower consumers and SMEs with face-to-face communications."
"We are pleased to see that faceVsion has chosen to interoperate with Gmail video chat, which expands the scope of our respective video products," said Justin Uberti, technical lead for Google Talk. "At Google, we strongly believe in the use of open standards such as XMPP and H.264, which make it easy for partners like faceVsion to communicate and interoperate on the Google Talk network. We look forward to working with all video, voice, and IM providers regarding the opportunity provided by our open communications network."
Offering netbook/notebook users or even those without PC experience to enjoy true HD video chat experience under standard broadband network is a must to bring HD video chat to the masses. By inserting FVexpress(TM) into any netbook/notebook, and/or getting an innovative FVfone(TM) from faceVsion or its channel partners, consumers and SMEs' can now enjoy true HD chat without any hassles.
FVexpress(TM) and FVfone(TM) are engineered with state-of-the-art technology at consumer price. By embedding mainstream HD encoding and decoding algorithms at chipset level, together with optimized implementations for image quality and noise cancellation under lowest bandwidth requirements, these cutting edge solutions is designed for use with a variety of webcams and interoperates with standards-based third-party video chat applications like Gmail video chat.
"This announcement is our first step in empowering mass market users with true HD communication experiences -- from looking real to feeling real, from exclusive (to corporate users) to affordable (for general public with low upfront investment), and from location-bound (within conference room) to pervasive connectivity," said Alex Huang, faceVsion CEO. "Now, with our FVexpress(TM) and/FVfone(TM), users of Gmail video chat will be able to connect with each other. We are bringing a real mass market solution to empower consumers and SMEs with face-to-face communications."
"We are pleased to see that faceVsion has chosen to interoperate with Gmail video chat, which expands the scope of our respective video products," said Justin Uberti, technical lead for Google Talk. "At Google, we strongly believe in the use of open standards such as XMPP and H.264, which make it easy for partners like faceVsion to communicate and interoperate on the Google Talk network. We look forward to working with all video, voice, and IM providers regarding the opportunity provided by our open communications network."
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fly to conferences? Now, it's via video
AS BUSINESSES curb air travel expenses during the economic downturn, companies in Singapore are switching to videoconferencing to conduct business meetings across the miles.
Telcos and software companies offering the service report that business has surged. SingTel, for example, has seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of customers requiring videoconferencing services in the past 12 months.
Local sales of Cisco's Telepresence - an upscale videoconferencing solution launched here in 2006 - have gone up by 100 per cent in the same period.
Microsoft's Unified Communications Server, which combines video, voice and text messaging in one platform, has also seen a higher take-up. Microsoft has declined to give figures for Singapore, but said that within the Asia-Pacific region, 100 more companies have signed up with it.
Smaller firms operating on more limited budgets, meanwhile, are turning to cheap - or free - alternatives, such as Google video chat and Windows Live Messenger, which has chalked up a year-on-year increase in usage of about 25 per cent.
The shift in Singapore reflects global trends. Last month, research firm Gartner predicted that high-definition video meeting solutions would replace 2.1 million airline seats annually by 2012.
Firms here said using such services can save them a pretty penny.
Local thermal solutions manufacturer Opulent Group, for example, has cut its travel expenses by half after switching to video meetings from September last year. It declined to give its travel budget, but said about a third of its 100-strong staff used to travel to Asian or European destinations at least three or four times a week.
It recently decided to purchase a Microsoft system and has since enjoyed savings. The system uses the firm's existing broadband connection to run.
In addition to a cut in travel bills, Opulent also saves on monthly IDD phone charges, which used to hit $5,000.
Tech advances add to the attraction of videoconferencing.
Said Mr Nagi Kasinadhuni, 46, a general manager at Datacraft, a global information technology consultancy: 'There are more choices. It is getting cheaper, and gives a richer, immersive experience.'
Another plus: Videoconferencing makes it easy to set up meetings between customers in more than one country. Datacraft said, for instance, that organising a three-way conference between Singapore, London and Bangalore is a snap.
'Doing this face to face would have taken a month to set up,' Mr Kasinadhuni said.
Datacraft has cut back on travelling by a third as a result, saving a bundle in the process.
Six other companies The Straits Times spoke to also said they managed to cut back on travelling and have switched to videoconferencing. They said cutting costs was a major factor, but doing away with the hassle of travelling was also a boon.
For smaller local outfits, spending tens of thousands on videoconferencing equipment is out of the question, so they have turned to cheaper options.
Point-Star, a Web solutions company, uses free applications such as Google video chat and Skype to conduct business discussions with its partners and clients overseas. It said it can save up to $5,000 a month on travel expenses using these services.
Mr Justin Lee, 28, Point-Star's founder, said: 'The tools are getting more 'integrated'. It often doesn't feel like we're in a different country or time zone any more.'
There are also benefits for those who have to travel, he added, as jet lag is now a thing of the past.
Mr Lee said travelling can get very disruptive. 'I have to adjust to the time difference, language and culture. Initially the jet-setting can feel very exciting, but in the end it is just not worth it.'
Good as it is, firms polled said videoconferencing was not always the answer. When sealing a big deal or getting a foot in the door, meeting clients face to face is still the best option, they said.
'Socialising with clients in person is important too. You can't do that over video,' said Mr Kasinadhuni.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
by Tan Weizhen
Telcos and software companies offering the service report that business has surged. SingTel, for example, has seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of customers requiring videoconferencing services in the past 12 months.
Local sales of Cisco's Telepresence - an upscale videoconferencing solution launched here in 2006 - have gone up by 100 per cent in the same period.
Microsoft's Unified Communications Server, which combines video, voice and text messaging in one platform, has also seen a higher take-up. Microsoft has declined to give figures for Singapore, but said that within the Asia-Pacific region, 100 more companies have signed up with it.
Smaller firms operating on more limited budgets, meanwhile, are turning to cheap - or free - alternatives, such as Google video chat and Windows Live Messenger, which has chalked up a year-on-year increase in usage of about 25 per cent.
The shift in Singapore reflects global trends. Last month, research firm Gartner predicted that high-definition video meeting solutions would replace 2.1 million airline seats annually by 2012.
Firms here said using such services can save them a pretty penny.
Local thermal solutions manufacturer Opulent Group, for example, has cut its travel expenses by half after switching to video meetings from September last year. It declined to give its travel budget, but said about a third of its 100-strong staff used to travel to Asian or European destinations at least three or four times a week.
It recently decided to purchase a Microsoft system and has since enjoyed savings. The system uses the firm's existing broadband connection to run.
In addition to a cut in travel bills, Opulent also saves on monthly IDD phone charges, which used to hit $5,000.
Tech advances add to the attraction of videoconferencing.
Said Mr Nagi Kasinadhuni, 46, a general manager at Datacraft, a global information technology consultancy: 'There are more choices. It is getting cheaper, and gives a richer, immersive experience.'
Another plus: Videoconferencing makes it easy to set up meetings between customers in more than one country. Datacraft said, for instance, that organising a three-way conference between Singapore, London and Bangalore is a snap.
'Doing this face to face would have taken a month to set up,' Mr Kasinadhuni said.
Datacraft has cut back on travelling by a third as a result, saving a bundle in the process.
Six other companies The Straits Times spoke to also said they managed to cut back on travelling and have switched to videoconferencing. They said cutting costs was a major factor, but doing away with the hassle of travelling was also a boon.
For smaller local outfits, spending tens of thousands on videoconferencing equipment is out of the question, so they have turned to cheaper options.
Point-Star, a Web solutions company, uses free applications such as Google video chat and Skype to conduct business discussions with its partners and clients overseas. It said it can save up to $5,000 a month on travel expenses using these services.
Mr Justin Lee, 28, Point-Star's founder, said: 'The tools are getting more 'integrated'. It often doesn't feel like we're in a different country or time zone any more.'
There are also benefits for those who have to travel, he added, as jet lag is now a thing of the past.
Mr Lee said travelling can get very disruptive. 'I have to adjust to the time difference, language and culture. Initially the jet-setting can feel very exciting, but in the end it is just not worth it.'
Good as it is, firms polled said videoconferencing was not always the answer. When sealing a big deal or getting a foot in the door, meeting clients face to face is still the best option, they said.
'Socialising with clients in person is important too. You can't do that over video,' said Mr Kasinadhuni.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
by Tan Weizhen
Friday, March 6, 2009
Gmail voice and video chat
Gmail voice and video chat allows you to see & hear family and friends right inside Gmail using the chat. You are required to install Gmail Voice & Video Chat on Windows XP or later to use the facility. The unique feature of Gmail Voice & Video Chat is that you can have a voice chat, or a 1-way video chat, even if your friend doesn't have a video camera. The cameras that are supported for voice and video chat are:
- Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, Logitech QuickCam Communicate MP for Windows desktops
- Logitech QuickCam Pro for Windows laptops or notebooks
- Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro for Mac
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