Ian Hall Update: 25 June 2012 COMMUNICATION SERVICES AVAILABLE

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1 Ian Hall Update: 25 June 2012 COMMUNICATION SERVICES AVAILABLE Digsby provides you with IM, and Social networks in one easy to use application. Instant Messaging - Digsby is a multiprotocol IM client that lets you chat with all your friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber with one simple to manage buddy list. Notifications - Digsby is an notification tool that alerts you of new and lets you perform actions such as 'Delete' or 'Report Spam' with just one click. Social Networking - Digsby is a social networking tool that alerts you of events like new messages and gives you a live Newsfeed of what your friends are up to. Version 38 onwards is a stub installer that includes numerous toolbars etc., we recommend you do not install these. Web site : Download:

2 ComBOTS is a German company that has just taken its product to beta and appears aimed to carve a chunk out of Skype s potential customer base. You ll have to get in line for an account right now but it s worth an early look at the site. ComBOTS is a Windows based desktop client that facilitates one-to-one communication by VOIP, file transfer, IM and a whole lot of avatars. The service promotes itself as spam-free, drag and drop communicationkarlsruhe, Germanybased ComBOTS will connect your PC or landline phone with others around the world for free, or at least for no extra charge on top of whatever you already pay for broadband service. ComBOTS s Web site is unclear about whether you can originate calls using your mobile, but you can certainly call other mobile numbers from your PC or landline. That said, communication options from your mobile include photo and other file transfers, chat, text messaging, and emoticons. Pro: Rich-media chat messages including audio and video. Con: Apparently can t originate mobile calls. ComBOTS - The Next Generation Communication Tool Extremely powerful, incredibly easy to use and a lot of fun.upon receiving the invitation, each of your friends gets access to ComBOTS for free! More than , more than Instant Messaging. File Transfer Deluxe and the best from Hollywood. Always & everywhere, and soon even on your mobile phone: - Virtually unlimited attachments and immediate delivery feedback - Send files & media up to 1 GB per file or folders containing up to 500 files per Drag & Drop - Chat using rich media messages (incl. files, folders, voice, pictures, sounds and videos) - One click free calls and voice messages (even to offline friends) - Gather your friends and turn them into your favourite Characters on your desktop. - Free starter set and free bonus packs of animated 3D Characters & Emotions - Messages & data in sync on multiple PCs - Soon: Support of standard (Java-enabled) mobile phones Download:

3 The AIM service is all about helping you keep in touch with your buddies. Whether you're sending IMs, sharing photos or doing a voice chat we want to make it better. Features include: Sleek new design: New buttons, new layout, new color, new brand! Tell us what you think of our shiny gold look and the new layout. Profiles, profiles, profiles: Connect with your buddies like never before. Customize your profile, get updates from other social networks, and more. Now, you'll never miss an update on AIM. Status messages in the IM. :) Emoticons: You asked, we answered. AIM Blast: IM your friends, coworkers, or customers all at once, and all from the convenience of your Buddy List. More goodies: Sign in as invisible, Ctrl + F to search your Buddy List, Search the web from the IM window. Download:

4 Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time. Pidgin runs on Windows, Linux, and other UNIX operating systems. Pidgin is compatible with the following chat networks out of the box: AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr. It can support many more with plugins. Pidgin supports many features of these chat networks, such as file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smilies, and typing notifications. Numerous plugins also extend Pidgin's functionality above and beyond the standard features. Pidgin integrates with the system tray on Windows. Download: Web site:

5 Trillian is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings. Without stealing your home page and with no other included software, pop-ups, or spyware, Trillian provides unique functionality such as: contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds, shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications. Download:

6 Get Messenger and stay in touch. Windows Live Messenger makes it easier than ever to stay connected to the people you care about. Favourites and groups - Put the people you chat with most at the top of your contacts, so you easily see when they're online. Want to chat with several people in one window? Just set up a group. Share photos - Look at photos together, right in the conversation window. And Messenger tells you when people you know post new photos on Windows Live. Customize - Show off your personal style with custom scenes, animated display pictures, and signature sounds. Mobile and web - Using a public computer without Messenger? No problem! You can chat on the web from Windows Live Hotmail. Or, use Messenger on your mobile phone. DOWNLOAD:

7 Keep friends at your fingertips with the new Yahoo! Messenger: Easier ways to stay up to date - See more updates from your friends in the detailed Messenger list Show off your status - Easily add links and emoticons to your status messages Watch videos together - Share videos from popular sites and watch them with friends right in your IM window Other features include: 1. Instant message with one friend, or conference in a bunch 2. Send text messages (SMS) to friends' mobile phones 3. Join a chat room to meet new friends while you discuss your favorite topics 4. Make free PC-to-PC calls and PC-to-phone calls for as low as 1 a minute (plus free voic !) 5. Use the built-in media player to watch web videos and view photos with friends 6. Show your style with emoticons, Avatars, audibles and IMVironments 7. Share securely with automatic file scanning for users of Norton AntiVirus or Internet Security 2007/2008 Download:

8 Originally an iphone-only service, Viber claimed somewhere around 10 million downloads in early May, 2011 when it opened up a beta for Android. The Android app adds a couple of unique features over the iphone version, including a full call screen when a Viber call is received, popup text notification that lets users reply without the need to fully open the app, as well as the ability to act as the phone's default dialer for both normal calls and VoIP calls. Web site: The VoIP service is free, runs in the background, and doesn't charge anything to make calls over 3G and WiFi: In open-source VoIP softphone that enables free or minimally expensive calls worldwide. Its spinoff, SIPphone.com, is a startup offering more complex, business-oriented tools that use Gizmo s protocols, including PSTN (public switched telephone network) gateways, voice mail and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)/PSTN network peering. Gizmo features Call In and Call Out (similar to SkypeIn and SkypeOut). typically for 1.9 cents per minute, instant messaging, and the ability to record conversations or map where caller and receiver are located. Pro: Available for Windows, Linux and Mac platforms. Con: Umm... Download:

9 Learn more at: You can watch a video of a hangout Explore hangouts: Where to hangout: Web site:

10 Screensaver option plus google documents and google effects

11 You had to know this one was coming. Google Voice provides free PC-to-PC voice and video calls, free PC-to-phone calls within the U.S. and fairly cheap calls elsewhere. The service also provides a range of other useful features, such as voic , SMS, conference calling, call screening and voic transcription. Google Voice gives you one number for all your phones -- a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location. Use Google Voice to simplify the way you use phones, make using voic as easy as , customize your callers' experience, and more. Google Voice isn't a phone service, but it lets you manage all of your phones. Google Voice works with mobile phones, desk phones, work phones, and VoIP lines. There's nothing to download, upload, or install, and you don't have to make or take calls using a computer. Google Voice will let you define which phones ring, based on who's calling, and even let you ListenIn TM on voic before answering the call. We use smart technology to route your calls. So, if you're already on a Google Voice call, we'll recognize it and use call waiting to reach you on the phone you're on. Note: At this time Google Voice is only available in the U.S. June 2012 Web site:

12 You d think Google would make it easy to use their XMPP-based VoIP and video services. They don t. Google Chat is Google s IM service; Google Talk is its VoIP and video-service; and Google Voice is Google s private-branch exchange (PBX) telephony service. When you put them all together, and you can do so via the Gmail interface, you end up with a complete VoIP/video and landline/mobile phone service. It works quite well, but I could wish that Google would make it easier to understand how the pieces all fit together. For example, you can make landline calls from Google Talk if, and only if, you have a Google Voice account. You can use a Windows client to use this package of services, but Linux and Mac users must install a Google Talk video and voice plug-in to their Web browsers. Unfortunately, the full package of services is only available for U.S. users. If you re not in the States you can t use Google Talk or Google Voice. However, U.S. Google VoIP users can use it to talk and video with XMPP users outside of the U.S. and vice-versa. INFO VIDEO: Comes in two flavors: a widget to use from a Google site (with Flash 8.0) and a 1.5MB download. It integrates directly with a user s Google Personalized Homepage, and the Google Talk application automatically loads your contacts from a Gmail account, speeding setup time. Unfortunately, the Google Talk Client currently works only with Windows and BlackBerry devices, although Google promises Linux and Mac OS X versions in the future. Pro: Interfaces available in a dozen languages, including British English. Con: Google Talk does not connect with landline phones or mobiles. The Google Talk downloadable application for Windows offers many features for communicating with your friends and family. Instant messaging - Chat with all of your Google Talk and Gmail contacts in real time. Free PC-to-PC voice chat - You can talk to anyone else for free who's online and has the Google Talk client. Send and receive voic s - If the person you're calling isn't available, you can leave a voic . Unlimited file transfers - Send files to your contacts. There are no file size or bandwidth restrictions. Gmail notifications on your desktop - When you're signed into Google Talk, you'll be notified of new messages in your Gmail inbox. Download:

13 Has many of the same features as Skype, excellent voice quality and ready integration with isight video cameras. It is also less of a bandwidth hog than Skype. The current version, ichat AV for Mac OS X 10.4, is the next best thing to being at a conference table with your co-workers, enabling razorsharp videoconferencing with three others or audioconferencing with nine. In October, a new version of ichat will accompany the release of OS X 10.5 and add more bells and whistles. Pro: Extremely crisp audio and video built into every Mac. Con: You need a Mac. WEB SITE: DOWNLOAD: Jajah Offers the chance to make entirely free PC-to-PC VoIP calls and a limited number of free calls to and from landline phones. You visit Jajah s Web site then enter your phone number and the number you want to call. Your phone rings and you answer, after which your recipient's phone rings and Jajah completes the call. Jajah operates on an honor system that allows you about 1,000 minutes per month of free calls because other Jajah users pay to use the company s premium services (such as business accounts, calls to non-jajah users and some foreign calls). Go over that limit, and Jajah will ask that you purchase some premium services; if you don t, you may be cut off (and remember, they have your phone number). Pro: Mac-friendly, with a plug-in that connects Jajah calling with the OS X Address Book, plus an Outlook plug-in that is in beta. Con: Ceiling on free calls limits usefulness for highvolume callers.

14 WengoPhone 2.2 If your company has some IT experts lying around, consider, WengoPhone an open-source application being developed through OpenWengo.com. WengoPhone Classic provides voice and video over IP, while the WengoPhone NG project currently underway completely rewrites Classic to be more modular, extensible and VoIP-provider agnostic. Pro: Open-source. Con: Probably unusable by the nonprogrammer. OpenWengo is an alternative broadband telephone company, offering consumers unlimited free calling worldwide. It is aiming at providing a simple and reliable communications tool, featuring superior audio quality, video, and chat. OpenWengo is an open source VoIP project sponsored by a French telecom carrier. The project is based on EXOSIP, OSIP, ORTP, and FFMPEG libraries and supports voice as well as video communications using SIP protocol. In short: Wengophone is a communication-over-ip application. With Wengophone you can: place voice calls to other Wengophone users create audio conferences with up to three users place video calls to other Wengophone users exchange instant messages with other Wengophone users, or MSN, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ, Jabber and GoogleTalk users; And this all comes for free. If you also buy credits from Wengo, a French Voice-over-IP service provider that backs the development of Wengophone, you can also: place phone calls to land lines at very low rates; place phone calls to mobile phones as well, for rates that are still too high for national calls, but very good for internationals; send SMS messages everywhere for 8.5 cents Euro (plus VAT where applicable) Wengophone is a communication-over-ip application Download: WengoPhone CNET Download.com

15 With ICQ Instant Messenger you can video/audio chat, send , SMS and wireless-pager messages, as well as transfer files and URLs. If you're away from your personal computer you can still chat with friends and contacts, even where the ICQ client is not installed, by using the webbased ICQ2Go that works from any computer. You can customize your ICQ to be exactly what you need and always up-to-date by adding shortcuts to your favorite features in order to launch them directly from your ICQ. This means that you can send your friends & contacts greeting cards and invitations to games, multi chats, video sessions, and more directly from your client and/or the message window. In the message window you can also choose to display your photo or one of ICQ's unique, animated devils. ICQ Open Xtraz are web based applications developed by ICQ users for enriching your ICQ experience. Now you can create, download, use and share with friends fun and useful applications such as music, games, gadgets and tools. Add as many as you like! You can find the list of Xtraz for download on the Xtraz Gallery. DOWNLOAD:

16 With Facebook Messenger you can chat with your friends from Facebook without using a browser. You can see and respond to chats right from your desktop. Whether you're browsing other websites or using another app, you don't have to click away to stay connected. Thanks to a notifier you will find out about new comments, photo tags and more as soon as they happen. Download:

17 oovoo let s you videoconference with up to six people at onc, and send out video messages rather than s if your fingers are numb from typing. Although it s currently available only for Windows users, oovoo s conferencing setup looks strikingly like ichat s, and the company is now developing Macfriendly software. oovoo sells several compatible third-party cameras, headsets and speakerphones and runs its own servers, making a Skype-like outage less likely. Pro: Makes video-spamming friends easy. Con: Friends can spam you back. A funny name and all, has long been Skype s most direct competitor. Its parent company claims though to be more of a video-conferencing service than a VoIP package. As such it sees its competition as being more with GoToMeeting or Cisco TelePresence. Be that as it may, I ve found the free version to do far better at Skype s kind of features than Skype. Its video and voice both tend to be better. On the other hand, oovoo also uses a proprietary protocol and can only be used, for two way and conferencing with oovoo users. It s also only available on Windows, Mac OS X, and a handful of Android phones. It will be available on the ipad 2 soon. All that said, it s the other VoIP/video program I use a lot. It has a good size user population and in my experience it delivers better video and voice than any product or service this side of TelePresence.. Now, if only the company supported Linux I d be perfectly happy with it. oovoo lets you video conference with up to six people at once, and is especially neat because it also allows users to send video messages rather than s if typing just isn't your thing. Although currently only available for Windows users, there's some Macfriendly software in the works. Further, the company sells several compatible third-party cameras, headsets and speakerphones, and runs its own servers, making an outage less likely. Download:

18 SightSpeed SightSpeed is the award-winning provider of Internet video chat and voice calling for friends and family, and video conferencing solutions for businesses. We make it easy to install and set up so you can... Connect with everyone in your network, face to face, anyplace Save time, hassle, and money spent on travel Help save our environment by minimizing your carbon footprint! Our patented video technology ensures you get the best possible video and sound quality every time, unlike other online video services. SightSpeed offers the highest-quality, fullmotion 30 frames per second video with clear audio and no annoying delay. On top of that, you can easily send video which is much more personal than the traditional - and text chat endlessly with our integrated instant messaging (IM) service. SightSpeed also offers low-rate worldwide phone calling. And don't forget, SightSpeed works great on both PCs and Macs! Emphasizes free PC-to-PC voice calling and videoconferencing, and its $4.95-per-month Pro service adds video-mail recording and multiparty videoconferencing. Available for Windows and Mac. Pro: MySightSpeed feature allows voice and videoconferencing via browser with non-sightspeed members (although both parties require Internet Explorer 6 or higher). Ontario, Canada-based Softroute Corp. s Vbuzzer allows PC-to-PC voice VoIP-based calling, faxing and videoconferencing for free, with nominal rates for completion to landlines and mobiles worldwide (typically 1.5 cents per minute to the U.S., Canada and China and, 1.7 cents per minute to other countries). Pro: Works with relatively old computers (minimum 500 MHz chip speed). Con: Currently available only for Windows 2000 and XP. Web Site: Download:

19 Ventrilo is the next evolutionary step of Voice over IP (VoIP) group communications software. Ventrilo is also the industry standard by which all others measure themselves as they attempt to imitate its features. Ventrilo is comprised of two primary Components: The Client that every end user will need to download, and the Server. Only one person needs to host a Server that all of the other Clients will connect to. Ventrilo is supported on different platforms as well ranging from Microsoft Windows to Apple Macintosh and Linux. Download: Ventrilo Client (32-bit) Ventrilo Client (64-bit) Ventrilo Server VoxOx is like a combination of Skype, Google Voice and TweetDeck with some file sharing capabilities thrown on top. A unified Google Voice-like number will ring all of a user's connected phones, calls are 1 cent per minute in several countries, and the service also has a mobile app, which was most recently demonstrated here: INFO VIDEO : With VOXOX you can seamlessly switch calling, texting, chatting, Facebook, fax and more- all in one unified conversation. We call it modality switching. You ll call it staying connected. Web Site:

20 Tango is an entertaining, easy to use, free video calling service that connects people around the world with friends and family from wherever they are. Free video calls can be made by anyone who has downloaded Tango to their iphone, ipod touch, ipad, Android phone or tablet, Windows Phone, or Windows PC. Whether you re out and about, at home, or in the office, use Tango for all your calls and make every call count. INFO VIDEO: WEB SITE: Free international calls and text messages to other Viber users using 3G or Wi-Fi Uese your existing contact list- see which of your phone contacts are already on Viber and call them for free Go ahead and ca;;. It s free and it works great! WEB SITE: INFO VIDEO:

21 Is a free program that uses the latest technology to bring free and high-quality voice communications to people all over the world. When you use the free VoipBuster software, you can call regular phones in various popular destinations for free or call at an incredible low rate to any other phone on the planet. You can also call all your online friends (pc-to-pc calls) as long as you like, for free. Just click here to download VoipBuster; the download should take only a few moments depending on your connection speed. Download: WEB SITE: You can use Voipbuster in various ways to stay in touch at the lowest rates possible! Computer: Mobile Device: Fixed Line: To get more information about how to use our product, choose your preferred device. Skype is software for calling other people on their computers or phones. Download Skype and start calling for free all over the world. The calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption. You don't even need to configure your firewall or router or any other networking gear. Additionally it doesn't just work on Windows. Skype is also for Mac OS X, Linux and PDAs using Pocket PC, with a native look and feel for each platform. Talking, sending instant messages or even file transfers work between different platforms like a charm. Skype calling - Skype has all the features of an ordinary phone so it's even easier to manage your calls. Video calling - see who you are talking to at the same time as speaking to them. Add Skype and SkypeOut contacts - Add contacts who use Skype and those who use ordinary phones so you can call more people. Organising groups - group contacts under certain names and share them with your contacts so they can talk to them too. Basic chat and emoticons - when it's not convenient to call, chat or Instant Message (IM) your contacts. Group chat - for when it's easier to chat or Instant Message (IM) all your friends at once. Profile settings - change how you appear to the world and let people know a bit about you. Conference calling - talk to more than one friend at a time. Import contacts - search your address book to find friends and family that already have a Skype name and start calling them for free. View Outlook contacts - view and call your Microsoft Outlook contacts quickly and directly from your Skype contact list. Quickfilter and Speed-Dial - find Skype contacts, recent chats and SkypeOut contacts quickly and easily, then enter their Skype name to call them back quickly.

22 DOWNLOAD: WEB SITE: Skype is on Facebook. To connect with Skype, sign up for Facebook today.... Skypei s for doing things together, whenever you're apart. Skype makes it simple to chat with facebook friends. Video: How to make skype video call on facebook at this web site:

23 When you re talking Skype alternatives, you re really talking low-end, free or low-cost programs and networks. But, say, you really need business level VoIP and video. In that case, you need Cisco TelePresence or, at a lower price-tag, Lotus Sametime. I ve consulted on installations of both, and they work well. They re also enterprise solutions for big business; they re not for just shooting the breeze with a buddy or running a small company. Video: Telepresence, Next-Generation Video Conferencing The world is getting bigger, more complex, and moving faster making collaboration a critical and strategic priority. How do you get everyone on the same page? Scale resources to be in more places at once? Maintain face-to-face relationships with a growing network of colleagues, customers, agencies, partners and advisors? Telepresence Puts People at the Center of Collaboration Cisco TelePresence places people at the center of the collaboration and video experience, empowering them to work together in new ways to transform business, accelerate innovation, and do more with less. It's next-generation video conferencing, where everyone, everywhere can be face-to-face and more effective through the most natural and lifelike communications experience available. Enabling Business Transformation Organizations around the globe are experiencing the transformative power of Cisco TelePresence. Imagine scaling experts to be in more places at once, optimizing employee time and driving more innovation throughout your organization. Our customers are gaining competitive advantage through better collaboration and realizing that telepresence is no longer a nice to have it's a must have.

24 Ekiga is probably the best known of the Linux VoIP clients; it s also available on Windows. On either platform it works well. It s a SIP client, but it also supports the H.323 videoconferencing protocol. With H.323, you can use Ekiga with the older Microsoft NetMeeting conferencing program. I ve found that a very handy feature over the years. Unfortunately, when Microsoft upgraded NetMeeting to Windows Meeting Space with Vista, they also broke its compatibility with Ekiga and other third-party programs. Ekiga (formely known as GnomeMeeting) is an open source SoftPhone, Video Conferencing and Instant Messenger application over the Internet. It supports HD sound quality and video up to DVD size and quality. It is interoperable with many other standard compliant software, hardware and service providers as it uses both the major telephony standards (SIP and H.323). Web site: Download:

25 Is a multi-messenger for both your desktop and mobile device. Free services include calls from goober user to goober user, video calls, call forwarding to a goober user, and receiving calls. Further, the desktop application integrates popular networks like Facebook and Twitter so you can keep track of all your favorite actions at once: The best communication solution goober makes the communication paths you need quicker and easier. Whatever you need, goober offers the right communication solution, such as VoIP, Video Call, Chat Conference, File Transfer, etc. One messenger for everything! goober communicates with all main messenger protocols and has connections to the most important networks, so that you can communicate with all your contacts in one place. Even addresses can be integrated, so you can easily send files or screenshots to your contacts. Prospects We are currently working on speeding up communication within businesses and promoting the exchange of ideas. In order to reduce the amount of work required from the adminstrator for the introduction of goober Messenger as much as possible, a central adminstration interface is being created for goober. VIDEO: Download:

26 Anveo is more than just Hosted PBX or Hosted Unified Communications Service. Anveo is next generation Voice 2.0 Communication and Collaboration Service for businesses of all sizes. Anveo's integrated Voice 2.0 business VOIP, IM and collaboration technology helps businesses to gain flexibility, reduce costs, increase productivity and control their business communications worldwide Anveo Communicator can be used anytime, anywhere as a standalone application on any PC with Windows, Linux or Mac or straight from any web browser. * Provides FREE Video Calls, FREE Audio Calls, FREE chat, Video and Audio Group Calls, Make Phone Calls, Answer Phone Calls. It also includes business essential features: Desktop Sharing, Business Grade XMPP based IM, Voic , Integration with Anveo Visual Call Flow, ability to monitor calls of employees and more! Exceptional Communication and Collaboration tool for business use. Everyone knows Skype for its free Audio, Video and Chat. But Anveo can offer even more! Anveo Communicator is FREE and provides an effective way to communicate and collaborate with co-workers remotely. Download: