We Mac users don’t complain about our choice very much. What’s not to like?
But one function that’s always been a bit of a drag is video messaging. Our Microsoft and Yahoo messengers, and aggregated software like Adium, don’t support it.
I had a reason to troubleshoot the problem last month. My parents are Mac users and they wanted to be able to video chat with the rest of the family. Perhaps their buddies too, for all I know.
After trying and discarding a bunch of software, the solution turned out to be online at the free, simple-to-use TokBox site. In addition to a TokBox ID, that you can use to set up instant video chats or send video mail, you can synch it to your AIM, Yahoo, Microsoft and GoogleTalk accounts. Once you do it brings up a friends list and works much like multi-account chat programs like Adium. You can see who is online and offline and text windows open for chat. The improvement is that you get the video capabilities your PC friends have been enjoying, and I actually suspect you get it at a better quality.
The title of this post is a bit misleading. TokBox is a website, so it’s platform-independant. You don’t have to be on a Mac to use it. I just especially wanted to share it with anyone on a Mac who’s feeling a bit frustrated that our cameras are getting better and better but our software is still quirky.
1 Comment
April 28, 2009 at 11:52 am
Many thanks for the Tokbox mention! Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about the service.