Last Updated Feb 13, 1996






You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software. Unless you have a different license agreement signed by Lateral Technologies your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and warranty.

Shareware Version

Evaluation and Registration

This is not free software. You are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 21 days. If you use this software after the 21 day evaluation period a registration fee of $10 is required. Payments must be by money order or cash in US dollars, and should be sent to Lateral Technologies, 325 Carmichael Road, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada V0R 1Z0. When payment is received you will be sent a registered copy of the latest version of this product via E-Mail. Unregistered use of this product after the 21-day evaluation period is in violation of Canadian, U.S. and international copyright laws.


Distribution

Provided that you verify that you are distributing the Shareware Version you are hereby licensed to make as many copies of the Shareware version of this software and documentation as you wish; give exact copies of the original Shareware version to anyone; and distribute the Shareware version of the software and documentation in its unmodified form via electronic means. There is no charge for any of the above.

You are specifically prohibited from charging, or requesting donations, for any such copies, however made; and from distributing the software and/or documentation with other products (commercial or otherwise) without prior written permission, with one exception: Disk Vendors approved by the Association of Shareware Professionals are permitted to redistribute this product, subject to the conditions in this license, without specific written permission.


Registered Version

One registered copy of this product may either be used by a single person who uses the software personally on one or more computers, or installed on a single workstation used nonsimultaneously by multiple people, but not both. You may access the registered version of this product through a network, provided that you have obtained individual licenses for the software covering all workstations that will access the software through the network.


Governing Law

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the province of British Columbia, Canada.


Disclaimer of Warranty

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which this product may be put, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED.

Good data processing procedure dictates that any program be thoroughly tested with non-critical data before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.




What is IDC: Internet Direct Chat?

Internet Direct Chat (IDC) is a Shareware program designed to enable you to interactively (and privately) 'chat' DIRECTLY with your friends anywhere over the Internet, WITHOUT NEEDING TO USE AN EXTERNAL SERVER!


How Does It Work?

In Internet terms, IDC is both a Client and a Server - capable of sending and responding to specially encoded IDC messages. This means that with IDC, you can directly connect between any two (or more) Internet addresses.

When you type your chat messages, they are sent directly to the person(s) you are chatting with. In addition, you can easily direct each and every message to one or more of your chat friends at the same time. When messages come to you, the name of your friend precedes the displayed message - this way you can keep track of chats with numerous friends.


What Can Internet Direct Chat Do For You?

IDC is fast! By using IDC's proprietary message 'bursts', the time it takes for your message to zip from one corner of the Internet to the other is minimal.

With IDC, your communications are much more private than using an external server such as IRC - you are connected only to the person(s) you are chatting with.

If you have used IRC (Internet Relay Chat), you will appreciate that IDC does not suffer from 'net split' or many of the other problems relayed chat systems often present.


And What About Privacy?

IDC was designed with two purposes - to be fast and to be private! With IDC, you will chat only with your friends (if they want to chat with you). This is accomplished (and secured) using Password Pairs.

IDC friends are identified by their E-Mail address (or some other chosen ID name). In addition, for each friend there are TWO passwords - the password your friend must use to contact you, and the password you must use to contact your friend.

In order to chat, IDC must find correct IDs and passwords on BOTH ends of the conversation!


System Requirements

To run this product, you need the following minimal system:

  • 386SX (or higher)
  • 4 MB RAM
  • Hard drive with at least 1 meg of free space
  • VGA (or better)
  • Windows 3.1 (or higher)
  • Internet IP connection

How Do You Get Your Own Copy of IDC: Internet Direct Chat?

IDC is a Shareware product - you can try it FREE for 21 days before choosing to buy it. The latest version of this Shareware (and other goodies) can be downloaded from the Lateral Technologies web site at:

http://www.lateraltech.com/lt-home/

Should you decide you want a Registered (fully functional, non-expiring) version of IDC, simply mail $10 (US$ - money order or cash) to:

Lateral Technologies
325 Carmichael Road
Hornby Island, British Columbia
Canada V0R 1Z0

* Be sure to include your E-Mail address - your registered copy will be E-Mailed to you.




Getting Started

To use IDC, you need to create a directory on your hard drive and copy all of the files included with IDC into that Directory.

To start IDC, from Windows, you must run the program file IDCHAT.EXE. You can do this by selecting 'File|Run' from either the Program or File Manager.

Once the program is running you should see a main control form as shown below:



Setting Up IDC

Before, you can use IDC to chat with your friends, you must enter some information about yourself and your friends.


Identifying Yourself

In order for your friends to be able to recognize you when you want to chat with them, you need to enter your name and e-mail address.

'My Name'
Enter your name (or nickname) here (eg. 'Robin', 'Barny' or 'John Doe').

'My E-Mail Address'
This field is important. Whatever you enter here is what your friends' IDC will be looking for (eg. 'robin@acmenet.com').


Adding Internet Friends

The whole point of IDC is to let you chat with your friends on the Internet. Before you can do that, you must identify your friends.

To Add a Friend...
Click on the 'Add' button on the main control form. This will bring up the 'Add Internet (IP) Friend' form as shown below:



Identifying Your Friends

'Friend's Name'
Enter your friend's name (or nickname) here (eg. 'Jerry', 'Barny' or 'Jane Doe').

'Friend's E-Mail Address'
This field is important. You must enter whatever your friend has entered on their IDC as their E-Mail Address (eg. 'jerry@comnet.edu').

'Password I Must Use to Contact Friend'
What you enter here is the password that your IDC will be sending to your friend (eg. 'HEYJERRY').

'Password Friend Must Use to Contact Me'
This is the password that you are going to expect your friend's IDC to send you (eg. 'HEYROBIN').

'IP Address of Friend'
IDC needs to know where to find your friend (IP address). You must enter all four digits of your friend's IP address. If your friend 'dials in' to get Internet access, they may be assigned a different IP address each time. If this is the case, you may want to use a program like IP Radar (also available from Lateral Technologies) to find your friend's IP address automatically. Alternatively, you may choose to exchange e-mail with your friend at a known time to pass on your daily IP addresses.


Chatting with Your Friends

Once you have added one (or more) friends, you are almost ready to turn IDC ON.

IP Access
In order to chat you must be connected to the Internet before running IDC.

Turning IDC ON
Once you have at least one friend in your list, and you are connected to the Internet, you can turn IDC ON by clicking the 'Chat ON' button.

Selecting Which Friends to Chat With
IDC lets you send your message to one or more friends at the same time. To select which friend(s) your next message will go to, click on the Friends list. For multiple selections, you can hold the shift or control key down while you select (and deselect) Friends in your list.

Sending a Message
As you select your friends to chat with, their names will appear above the 'Send Message To' text box. To send a message, just type what you want to say in the text box and press the [Enter] key. The moment you press the [Enter] key, your message will be sent to all of your selected Friends running IDC (with Chat ON). What you type will appear above in the Messages window (along with your name).

Receiving a Message
Whenever IDC receives a message from a friend of yours, their message will be displayed in the messages window along with their name.

What if Your Friend is Not On-Line?
No problem! IDC does not care if you try to send a message to a friend who may not be running IDC. You can always try to send a message to your friend - if they get your message and reply, you will find out quickly enough!

IDC also Works in the Background
The moment you turn Chat ON, your friends will be able to send you messages from anywhere on the Internet! You can do other things while IDC waits for messages. Whenever a message arrives, you will be alerted and the message will be displayed.

Turning IDC OFF
When you are finished chatting with your friends, you can turn IDC OFF by clicking the 'Chat OFF' button.


Changing Your Friends List

Editing a Friend
To edit a friend's information (IDC must be off) highlight a friend in your list and then click the 'Edit' button. An 'Edit Internet Friend' form will appear (very similar to the 'Add Internet Friends' form), and you can make whatever changes are appropriate.

Deleting Friends
To remove a friend from your list (IDC must be off) highlight one or more friends in your list and then click the 'Delete' button.


Closing up

IDC Saves Automatically
Whenever you exit IDC, all of your information is saved automatically.

Exiting IDC
To exit IDC (Chat must be OFF) click the 'Exit' button.



Happy Computing!

We hope you find our product useful and that it serves your needs well. Feel free to write to us with your ideas and suggestions for this and/or other products you think might be useful.

Of course, should you encounter any difficulties, please let us know right away.

We will be happy to help you through any technical problems, and we do encourage your feedback - it's the only way to ensure a better product!