bobw
The Late: SuperMacMod
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3285411
December 4, 2003
AOL Preps Live Video IM
By Christopher Saunders
America Online is poised to unveil the next version of its client software, and which includes an enhancement to its built-in instant messaging that offers streaming videoconferencing.
The Dulles, Va.-based Internet giant, a unit of New York media conglomerate Time Warner (Quote, Chart), plans to launch the next version of its flagship client software, codenamed Tahiti, early into 2004. With that release, the AOL software should include capabilities enabling AOL subscribers to initiate streaming video sessions from within an IM conversation.
"We're currently testing it within the beta of the AOL service," said AOL spokesman Derick Mains. "We expect to have it as a live service at some point early next year."
The service, dubbed Live Video IM, is only available to users of Windows XP with the Microsoft RTC 1.2 Libraries. When subscribers click on a video icon during a chat, a small video window appears alongside the text IM conversation. Users can view the output of their camera in one tab, view their Buddy in another, and view them both simultaneously using a picture-in-picture feature. Video is delivered relatively crisply, although it naturally becomes choppy when viewed by dialup users.
December 4, 2003
AOL Preps Live Video IM
By Christopher Saunders
America Online is poised to unveil the next version of its client software, and which includes an enhancement to its built-in instant messaging that offers streaming videoconferencing.
The Dulles, Va.-based Internet giant, a unit of New York media conglomerate Time Warner (Quote, Chart), plans to launch the next version of its flagship client software, codenamed Tahiti, early into 2004. With that release, the AOL software should include capabilities enabling AOL subscribers to initiate streaming video sessions from within an IM conversation.
"We're currently testing it within the beta of the AOL service," said AOL spokesman Derick Mains. "We expect to have it as a live service at some point early next year."
The service, dubbed Live Video IM, is only available to users of Windows XP with the Microsoft RTC 1.2 Libraries. When subscribers click on a video icon during a chat, a small video window appears alongside the text IM conversation. Users can view the output of their camera in one tab, view their Buddy in another, and view them both simultaneously using a picture-in-picture feature. Video is delivered relatively crisply, although it naturally becomes choppy when viewed by dialup users.