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Does anyone have a recommendation for a cross-platform (Mac/Windows at least) video chat program usable by casual users and which works fine through a NAT? Skype is quickly becoming annoyingly unusable for the reasons the article discusses (and more).
Skype 2.8 UI was messy, with windows popping up everywhere and sidebars going crazy. Skype 5 is just perfect, and in all honesty can't find anything wrong with it a part of the chat while calling thing.
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Not even AIM? I find that hard to believe
It's absolutely true. I haven't used AIM much but a while ago I was trying to find an easy way to talk to my parents. When you want a hassle free experience, Skype so far is the only option.
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And easier for you is better than easier for 49 people?
You are missing my point, and that could very well by my fault in not explaining it properly. Why should an end user, who could use multiple platforms, need to understand two different layouts for the same program. This has nothing to do with different vendors, but the fact that a company needs to invest serious time in to developing a UI that is intuitive in all platforms they are targeting. The user experience shou…
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And easier for you is better than easier for 49 people?
By way of agreeing with you I will say that yes, easier for IT is "better" than easier for the users, and this has nothing to do with PCs and Macs, it has to do with the fact that there is no spot in the company's financials for the time and efficiency lost by products that do what they are supposed to do, but do it poorly. Whereas, it's easy to measure the amount of time IT spends supporting the product. So if there…
Skype 2.8 UI was messy, with windows popping up everywhere and sidebars going crazy. Skype 5 is just perfect, and in all honesty can't find anything wrong with it a part of the chat while calling thing.
Agreed. I have no idea why the author prefers the 20 window view http://cl.ly/5cqD to Skype 5 http://cl.ly/5cmT I've hated Skype's UI until now. Personally, I think everyone's greatly mistaken for thinking otherwise.
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I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Also, it's a plus for the users coming from the PC market because they don't have to relearn the interface.
I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Considering that I wrote that companies might think it's cheaper, I'm going to go with yes, I realize that companies might think it's cheaper. Likewise, it's also cheaper for P…
I remember when Apple released FaceTime, they said it'd be an open industry standard. See: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/07/apple_announce... and http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177819/Jobs_has_loft... Seems striking that it's been nearly a year and we haven't heard a peep about making it open. I would presume that if it were, it could be possible to bridge the two protocols or eliminate the need…
I would venture a guess that one part of FaceTime is actually the streaming protocol it uses - HTTP Live Streaming - which is indeed by Apple and already Open Source, and used by Google, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Live_Streaming Edit: Spelling
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I wonder if you realize that because the Macs have a "tiny market share" (as you describe it) it's just easier (cheaper, too) to produce a re-chromed version of your software rather than writing a completely new interface just for those users. Considering that I wrote that companies might think it's cheaper, I'm going to go with yes, I realize that companies might think it's cheaper. Likewise, it's also cheaper for P…
There is also the case of the PC user being forced to use a Mac temporarily, i.e. because it is the only kind of computer available in their friend's house/school/etc. Before I owned any Apple products, I would experience this frequently, and be thankful for the programs that were a thin veneer over a windows program (that I was already familiar with.)
I have Parallels. If you log into the Guest account on my machine and want to run Skype, I'd rather you use Skype for Windows and get exactly what you want than deal with something that is kinda-sorta Skype for Windows, but not enough to delight you as a user.