Author: admin

By Jon: First published in Online Currents 2002 – 17(4): 4-6

Abstract

Real-time conversation via the Internet – ‘chat’ – has been overlooked as a means of business communication.  Despite its reputation as a recreational system, chat offers many powerful features of use to everyone in business or government.  Different types of chat systems and chat software are examined here: Web chat, IRC, NetMeeting, ICQ and Yahoo Group chat.  All have their own strengths and weaknesses, but an appropriate system can open new channels of communication for teams of workers. read more

By Jon: First published in Online Currents – 20 (2) March 2005

Got a fast PC? Got a broadband Internet connection with lots of spare capacity? Bored with your own music and want to hear someone else’s? Need to keep up with a specialised news feed? Have a special interest in rare radio programmes? Or are you just looking for a wider choice of information and entertainment than you can get through the local media?

You may be a candidate for listening to Internet radio.

Here’s how it works.

The Basics

Internet radio (IR) is not, of course, radio. Transmission of IR is by cable, like all the other material transmitted over the Internet – unless, of course, you have a wireless connection to the Internet or to your network hub, in which case the last step is by radio after all. But if you only have a wireless connection you probably won’t have the broadband capacity to properly receive IR anyway. Complicated, isn’t it? read more

By Jon: First published in Online Currents – 20(8) October 2005

Internet telephony, also known as Voice Over Internet (VOI), is the transmission of voice communications in real time using the Internet rather than a proprietary telephone system.  It has two advantages over conventional telephony (known as ‘Plain Old Telephone System’ or POTS); firstly, the cost of calls is lower – sometimes much lower – and secondly, the introduction of a computer into the process allows powerful software to be used for making, monitoring, timing and recording calls. read more

By Jon. For Online Currents 17 (9/10), 18 (1) 2002-2003

By Jon: First published in Online Currents – 20 (7) September 2005

Many years ago, at university, I overheard a snippet of conversation between two female students: “I’ve heard of garlic bread,” said one, “but I’ve never tried it.”

Many people feel the same way about macros.  They know that it’s possible to automate repetitive processes on the computer by creating macros, but it all seems too complicated.  There are too many decisions.  Local or global?  Relative or absolute?  Keystroke or toolbar button?  Also, how to create a macro that involves two or more programs?   read more