Unit 3-5 Communicating in Real Time

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

• Know the most popular methods for communicating in real time over the Internet.
• Learn how Instant Messaging can let you chat with your friends at any time over the Internet.
• Understand how Internet Relay Chat (IRC) organizes conversations into channels.
• Enter Web-based chat rooms on the Internet and engage other users in meaningful real-time conversations.
• Download Microsoft’s NetMeeting software and use it to share data and make entries on a whiteboard shared with conference members over the Internet.
• Learn how to equip your PC for videoconferencing for less than $50.
• Look in on videoconferences hosted on CUseeMe sites on the Internet, whether or not you have videoconferencing hardware.
• Understand the purposes of and the distinctions between a MUD, a MOO, and a MUSH.
• Set up your own private chat room on the Internet.

Reading

Read chapter 9 of the Internet Literacy textbook to study the concepts covered by this unit.

Online Activities

E-mail, listserv, and newsgroups are great ways to communicate, but all three suffer from the lack of real-time interaction between you and the person with whom you are communicating. Historically, real-time communication has occurred either in face-to-face conversation or over the telephone. Now it is also possible to converse in real time over the Internet. If the person you are talking to has a video capture card, you can even see the other person on screen. This unit covers five kinds of environments used to communicate in real time over the Internet: instant messaging, chat rooms, white boards, videoconferencing, and MUDs (multi-user domains).

• After you study the background information in the textbook regarding Internet Relay Chat, visit the Interlit chatroom that's been set up for this course. You can enter the chatroom by pointing your browser at . Note: it is possible that when you visit the chatroom, it might be empty. If so, try again later, and try to coordinate your schedule with a classmate who will enter the chat room at the same time you do.
• Microsoft's NetMeeting software is a fantastic example of real-time communication software. Part of the Microsoft Internet Explorer, NetMeeting has a whiteboard, supports application sharing, and does videoconferencing if you have a camera attached to your computer. Follow the Interlit Web site links to NetMeeting to learn more about this exciting software.
• One of the first videoconferencing applications on the Internet is CU-SeeMe. CU stands for Cornell University, where the software was developed. CU-SeeMe 3.0 Video Chat Software has a directory for locating other CU-SeeMe users, twelve of whom can be viewed on screen simultaneously. To conserve bandwidth, you push a button in the software when you want to talk, and your video camera transmits a live picture to the other users. To learn more, follow the Interlit Web site links to CU-SeeMe, where you can look in on video cameras positioned in various locations around the world.
• MUDs, MOOs, and MUSHes are different kinds of multi-user environments:
  • The term MUD has evolved from its earlier game-related meaning of Multi-User Dungeon to the more-general concept of a Multi-User Dimension. MUDs are synchronous multi-user communication environments that enable participants to take on a persona and create virtual worlds out of their own imaginations.
  • MUSH stands for Multi-User Shared Hallucination. The acronym MUSH was chosen because this kind of environment is thought to be more squishy than a MUD. MUSHes are situated MUDs used for role-playing games that simulate worlds from books and movies or completely original environments.
  • MOO stands for MUD, Object-Oriented. The term object-oriented refers to a style of programming in which applications are constructed from reusable code segments known as objects that several programs can share. MOOs enable users to share code segments from each other's characters.
• For a fascinating tour of different applications of multi-user environments, follow the Interlit Web site links to MUDs, MOOs, and MUSHes.

Assignment

This unit has no formal assignment. You may simply enjoy exploring the multi-user environments provided here.