Various thoughts and adventures, including but not limited to Linux, assorted bits of hardware new and old, and occasionally Windows XP/Vista/7.
I started working with what we called "analog computers" in aircraft maintenance with the United States Air Force in 1970. After finishing military service and returning to university, I was introduced to microprocessors and machine language programming on Intel 4040 processors. After that I also worked on, operated and programmed Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8, PDP-11 (/45 and /70) and VAX minicomputers. I was involved with the first wave of Unix-based microcomputers, in the early '80s. I have been working in software development, operation, installation and support since then.
I am typing this blog entry on a brand new laptop, a Fujitsu Lifebook S6150, which I picked up yesterday. This will be "first impressions", and I will write a more complete review over the weekend.
I've been traveling in Florida for a couple of days now (my home is in Switzerland), and I have been experimenting with audio and video IM in various places and circumstances while traveling. The results are almost all good.
Here are just a couple of comments and wrap-ups about previous topics.The Gizmo Project - I sent a report to Customer Support about the audio device selection problem.
Next on my list for evaluation is The Gizmo Project. Gizmo actually comes in two (well, three) varieties - a text and audio only client (no video) for Windows, Mac and Linux; a text/audio/video client that is still in beta test, only for Windows, and a version for mobile devices that runs on various internet-enabled smart phones.
I've spent a lot of time discussing video quality, resolution, frame rate, bandwidth and the like. But after using this information to set the video resolution, or optimize your setup to get the best possible performance, how are you going to know if it actually worked?
Skype released a new "hotfix" version yesterday (12 Dec 2007), which restores the ability to specify the video resolution and frame rate by editing their config.xml file.
As usual with my "Tech Talk", this will be a somewhat more technically detailed description of some things to do, to avoid, or to simply keep in mind to avoid problems or to find them when they arise. This one is going to concentrate on hardware, and the next will be about software.
A new Skype release has been made available for download. It appears to have fixed the massive Page Fault problem, and to have restored the ability to increase video resolution by editing the config.
I have received a very friendly reminder from ooVoo that their System Requirements say "Broadband connection (Cable, DSL etc..)", and I think it is only fair to repeat that again - I don't want it to sound like I am faulting them for marginal performance in an environment that they don't even claim to work in!
I am frequently asked for advice about hardware, software and connections for Video IM. I suppose this is a bit like putting the cart before the horse, since I have already written quite a lot about the major Video IM programs, but better late than never...