If you can't wait for network videoconferencing standards and need to support multiple platforms now, Communique 3.0 from InSoft (Mechanicsburg, PA) will interest you. It's a multiplatform videoconferencing program that originated on Unix platforms and moved to Windows-based PCs this summer. The program can talk between an impressive list of hardware that includes Sun and compatibles, HP Apollo 9000, Digital Alpha AXP, IBM RS/6000, and 486-/Pentium-based computers. Communique support for both LANs and switched services includes TCP/IP, Ethernet, FDDI, ATM, Frame Relay, T1, ISDN, Switched 56, and others.
The program includes all the frills of a high-end videoconferencing package, including whiteboarding, file transfer, and meeting minutes. The program does application sharing that works across platforms. This means you could be sitting at an Alpha AXP and
control an application running on a Sun machine, or vice versa. Like InVision, Communique supports PCs with many different video and audio boards. It isn't for the faint of heart, though. It requires 16 MB of RAM (32 MB recommended) and 50 to 60 MB of swap space on a hard drive.
Pricing per seat starts under $2000, depending on platform. A Communique ConferenceKit for Windows 3.1 is $1995 and includes software, a video board, a camera, and a microphone.
Flexible C++
Matthew Wilson
My approach to software engineering is far more pragmatic than it
is
theoretical--and no language better exemplifies this than C++.
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Crossing Platforms
