Mobility - We Need To Make Video Chat A Habit

In my quest to see the feasibility of my MacWind and the amount of productivity I can get from it, I've been trying a lot of true mobility tasks.

Now, the Wind is a netbook.  Not a regular notebook.  It is a fact that I recognize in using it but I want to see how far I can push it despite running Leopard quite handily for day-to-day tasks.

So we've been trying some video conferencing on our netbooks.  As you may well know there are choices for video chats.

• IM services - AOL, Yahoo, and MSN have been around for a long time in offering services.
• Gtalk - just this week, two days ago in fact, you can now chat with your contacts right out of the browser in Gmail.
• Skype - You do know it does more than offer chats, IM, and Skypeout to regular landlines, right?
• Others - definite a lot more but it depends on your cup of tea in this matter.  But you get my idea.  Mobility has never been easier.  
• iChat - on the Mac, it is the default IM program and the video chat is very smooth.
• Oovoo - still in beta but has tons of 

On a Mac, iChat works best for me as more and more people I know start using Macs or install OS X on Intel -based systems.  But we tried something different last night.  I'll get into it in the next post.

But you see.  IM is fun.  Voice over the Internet is more fun.  But video chat is much more funner.  Not to mention productive if applied correctly.

This is the way things will go.  Even future generations of mobile devices like the iPhone, Blackberries, or Google's Android will sport video chat capabilities.  That's a no-brainer declaration.  So, make using video chat, whatever service is employed, simply makes a lot of sense.

Already, students are using it to share information and conduct study groups.  We've said this before at Onxo and we finally have the tools and bandwidth to make it happen.

I'll get into our experience on MeBeam next but I would love to hear stories of how regular mobile warriors use video chats.

Mobile Subscriptions: Economic Hit

Netflix has already guided down for the short-term and 2009 as they indicated continuing economic woes as a major factor.  I've already cancelled mine.  Plus, there's only so much crappy movies that are being made lately?

So I started wondering about mobile subscriptions - fees for texting, mobile Internet, and even wireless lines.

For anyone being hurt by job losses or other financial problems, I can definitely see some folks cutting off subsciptions like Netflix, cable, or other luxuries that we have come to take for granted in this day and age. It's only the economic reality that has made us realized what are or are not necessities.

However, given the need to be connected now and our reliance on mobile phones, mobile contracts are not likely to be cancelled en mass.  Now, texting and mobile Internet services can go one way or another.

If mobile Internet is one's only source to access e-mails or the World Wide Web, it is not likely we'll see folks calling up the customer services of their respective wireless providers and canceling the service.  On the other hand, texting is likely to go.  I have already heard of folks doing just that.

In the end, it depends on the mobile users to make that call.  $20 a month is a bit steep when IM is free.  Ultimately, I do see an impact if more people start to cancel specific mobile services.  This could hit the bottom line of a lot of the providers.

You probably know by now I'm not a fan of those guys.  But now is the time for them to step up and work with users on fees.

Note:  Bundling is a good idea.  It's what T-Mobile did with their G1 3G services.  $25 for 3G access and 400 texts a month and $35 for unlimited texting.

Instant Messaging: Goober Tries It All

I've wonder what would MacGyver carry as his mobile device of choice.  I'm guessing he's more of a Blackberry or Nokia E71 type of type.  the iPhone may have too much finesse for him.



How about an IM program?  I'm guess he'll go with Trillian on the PC and Adium on the Mac.  But now, Goober could be just the thing our mild-mannered super agent, part-time hockey player, is looking for.

Here are some highlights of what Goober offers.  For the rest, I'm gonna make you go over to Techcrunch for the excellent preview.  Plus, there's extra extra they're offering if you move fast.  Remember, this is still in beta.

• Support for other IM protocols


• SMS, VOIP, widget system - e-mailing, ads


• User will have to create an account, cannot just get into the IM features (Trillian, Adium, and most other IM programs do not require this step.  Probably there to hook the user into using other paid services.


• Integrated Internet radio and video streams.


• No support for AIM/gTalk yet.  I don't think I saw Yahoo either.


• Windows version only with a Mac client forthcoming - iPhone too, I hope.  

The value for an application like Goober is that instead of having five different applications open for e-mailing, IM, and entertainment, you have only one:  Goober.  Try it and see if it's your cup of tea.

Note:  I already had a crash and the SMS activation request is like 20 minutes over due.  Still waiting.



A commentator on TC suggested digsby.  For those not wanting to go through a beta program, digsby is robust enough and supports more IM protocol than Goober right now.