Software of the Month Club 1996 June

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OS/2 Help File | 1996-03-03 | 28.5 KB | 912 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ InterCom is a telephone for the Internet. It allows you to communicate with anyone in the world for free. It is a full featured program that acts in every way like a real telephone. Features include: 32-Bit multithreaded PM application 16-Bit audio Video Real time compression Runs on anything from a 14.4K modem or faster Customizable settings to improve performance Caller ID Quick Dial Call Blocking Dialing Directory Answering Machine Electronic telephone book server Connect to multiple talk servers around the world Online help Easy installation Low price! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Requirements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ For InterCom to run it requires: OS/2 Warp running on 8MB or more RAM 8 or 16-Bit sound card capable of PCM audio MMPM/2 TCP/IP Internet Access Kit 14.4K or faster connection to the Internet QuickCam (optional for Video support) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ There are three types of configurations done for InterCom. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. General Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The General Configuration dialog box is where you set InterCom's basic operating options. Name Name that you want to be known by, to be displayed to the people with whom you talk. Location Location where you live. For example Atlanta, GA, USA. Comment This comment field will be displayed to the other users on the ICTalk servers. Max rings Maximum number of rings before the answering machine will pick up. Call window The time of the day when the phone should ring. If someone calls outside of this time the answering machine with automatically pick up. This time is in 24 hours format. Language Select the primary language that you speak. This will be displayed to the other users on the ICTalk server. E-Mail Internet e-mail address. This is an optional field that will be used to send you product updates via e-mail. Address Address used to send you product updates via mail. This is an optional field. Telephone Telephone number. This is an optional field. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Server Connection Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Server Connection Configuration dialog box is where you enter the addresses and information for the servers that you will be connecting to. ICDynaIP Server Address This is the address of the ICDynaIP server. This address should not be changed unless you are instructed to by Revolutionary Software. This server is used to provide direct dialing support for those people who have a dynamic IP address. ICPages Server Address This is the address of the ICPages server. This address should not be changed unless you are instructed to by Revolutionary Software. This server is used to search for the dialing information for other users of InterCom. ICTalk Server Addresses These are the addresses of the ICTalk Servers that you plan to connect to. There is no limit to the number of server entries you can have. To add an address first type the address in the entry field of the listbox and then click the Add button. To delete an address first click on the address inside the listbox you wish to delete and then click the Delete button. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Compression Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Compression Configuration dialog box is where you choose which type of compression to use on the data that is sent and the sampling rate for the audio recording. Sample Rate Select the sample rate to use by moving the slider around. The default is 8000 and this should not be changed unless your sound card does not support 8000. If your sound card does not support 8000 then you need to check the Force 11025 sample rate option on the options page of the configuration notebook. There are three types of compression that are used on sound. None Choose this only when you have a very fast connection to the remote such as local network or a ISDN-128K or greater. Loseless Choose this only when you want to transfer sound other then normal speech. The data compressed in this method will be reproduced exactly on the remote machine. This should be chosen if the connection is ISDN-64K or greater. Lossy Choose this if you are only going to be transferring normal voice audio. This type of compression should be chosen if you are running a 28.8 modem or slower. The reproduction of the audio on the remote is not exactly that of the recording, but the quality is almost exactly that of the recording when dealing with voice audio. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. General Control ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The InterCom program consists of these main control groups. Time This group displays the current time and the elapsed time since the conversation started. If you are an unregistered user of InterCom then the elapsed timer will be disabled. Caller ID This group allows you to scroll through caller ID entries and block callers if you choose. To access the commands related to the information in the Caller ID box simply click the right mouse button inside the Caller ID group box on the main dialog. This will cause a popup menu to appear with a set of commands. For more information on the commands related to Caller ID click the link highlighted above called Caller ID. Quick Dial This group allows you to store and dial frequently called people. For information on how to store names in the quick dial click the highlighted link above called Quick Dial. Answering Machine This group controls the manipulation of messages left on the answering machine. To access the commands related to the answering machine simply click the right mouse button inside the Answering Machine group box on the main dialog. This will cause a popup menu to appear with a set of commands. For more information on the commands related to the Answering Machine click the link highlighted above called Answering Machine. Answering Machine Greeting This group allows you to record a message that will be played to the remote caller if the answering machine picks up. Use the button that says record greeting to record the message. To review the message click the right mouse button inside the answering machine group box on the main dialog and choose review greeting. Talk Control This is group is used to control conversations. You can answer, call, hangup, talk and replay the last piece of audio by choosing the buttons in this group. For a detailed description of these commands click the link highlighted above called Talk Control. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Caller ID ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This Caller ID group shows the caller identification information for all the calls InterCom has received since the program started. Previous View the previous caller ID entry. Next View the next caller ID entry. Block Adds the current caller ID entry to the call blocking list. This person will no longer be allowed to call you. Add to Dialing Directory Creates an entry in the dialing directory from the caller ID information. Return call This will automaticly redial the person in the caller ID box. This is faster then adding them to the dialing directory, choosing call, and then selecting their name. This is also useful for those people you may only call once and don't want to have in your dialing directory. Clear Clears the current caller ID entry from the list. Clear All Clears all the entries from the caller ID list ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Quick Dial ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Quick Dial group is a place to store and dial your four most frequently called people. The buttons on the right of the group contain the name of the person to dial. If this button is clicked a new person can be placed in the quick dial slot. The people in the dialing directory will be listed so that you can choose which one should fill the slot. If the button on the left is clicked it dials the quick dial entry. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Answering Machine ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Answering Machine group is used to control the answering machine. Review greeting Allows you to playback the answering machine message to make sure it sounds like you would like. Delete This is used to delete the current message once you have listened to it and don't want to store it on the hard drive anymore. Next/Previous These buttons are used to move forward and backwards through the messages stored in the answering machine. Play/Stop This is used to play a message back. Click the stop button if you want to stop listening to the message before it is over. These commands are used to play back messages left on the answering machine. To review the greeting that you recorded select review greeting from the popup menu. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. Talk Control ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Talk Control group is used to control the connecting and talking to remote people. Start Recording This is used to start the recording of message to be sent to the remote person. Click this button again to stop recording the message. If you have CB Style record buttons checked on the options page in the configuration notebook then the button must be depressed and held down throughout the duration of the recording. Hangup This is used to disconnect from the remote person. When this is chosen a dialog will popup saying "waiting for disconnect". This will stay up as long as pending data is being transferred. If for some reason this dialog remains up longer than expected you may click the immediate disconnect button on the dialog and it will terminate the connection no matter what data is pending. Remember that long conversation may cause a backlog of data if the remote person is running slower than 28.8. Call This is used to call a person. This will load a list of the people in the dialing directory for you to choose from. Answer When someone is calling you, you must click on the answer button to initiate a conversation. If you don't the answering machine will pick up. Replay This button will replay the last sound. Make sure sound replay is checked on the options page in the configuration if you would like this feature to be active. Remember that InterCom must store the last message in memory so this feature can consume a little more memory depending on the length of the message last received. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Other ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Other group box is used to select options that effect your conversation with the remote person. Sample Rate If your connection to the internet is not fast you can adjust the sample rate. If the sample rate is lower then the amount of data sent will be less, but the quality of the sound will also be degraded. If the compression is set to lossy then set this at 8000. If your sound card generates an error because it can't support this then set it to 11025. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Dialing Directory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Dialing Directory dialog box is where you add and maintain the names and addresses of people you call. The list is like your personal telephone book. Add To add an entry to the dialing directory. Delete To delete an entry click on it in the list and then click the delete button. Edit To edit an entry click on the entry in the list and then click the edit button or double click the entry in the list. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Dialing Directory Entry Editing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Dialing Directory Entry Edit dialog box is where you specify the information for an entry. Name This is the name of the person. If you know that the person has a dynamic IP address then this field must be spelled exactly as they have it in their configuration. Location This is the location of the person. If you know that the person has a dynamic IP address then this field must be spelled exactly as they have it in their configuration. If they do not have a dynamic IP address then filling in this field is not required. IP Address This is the internet address of the person. If the dynamic IP button is checked then this is ignored by InterCom and their IP Address is retrieved from the ICDynaIP server upon each call. Dynamic IP Check this box if the person has a dynamic IP address. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Call Blocking ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Call Blocking dialog box is where you add and maintain the names and addresses of people you do not wish to let call you. Do not add entries to try and block people who have a Dynamic IP address because their address will change each time they connect to the Internet. Add To add an entry to the call blocking list. Delete To delete an entry click on it in the list and then click the delete button. Edit To edit an entry click on the entry in the list and then click the edit button or double click the entry in the list. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Call Blocking Entry Editing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Call Blocking Entry Edit dialog box is where you specify the information for each entry. Name This is the name of the person. IP Address This is the internet address of the person. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. ICPages ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ ICPages is the electronic telephone book of other people running InterCom. You can register yourself with the ICPages so that other people can find out your address. ICPages allows you to search it's database for other people that you know. If will provide you with their address and they can be added to your dialing directory. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. ICPages Register ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ By choosing this from the menu you are automaticly register with the ICPages Server. You must choose this at least once every two months to update your entry in the database and keep it active. If your internet address is dynamic you should not register with the ICPages server. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. ICPages Search ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The ICPages Search dialog box is where enter a search criteria and submit it to the ICPages server. Name This is the name criteria to use for the search. If this field is left blank the server doesn't use it is part of the search criteria. This field can be a substring that would be found in the name that you are searching for. Location This is the location criteria to use for the search. If this field is left blank the server doesn't use it is part of the search criteria. This field can be a substring that would be found in the location that you are searching for. Add to Dialing Directory Once the search results are returned from the server you can add a result to your dialing directory. Simply click on the entry in the list you would like to add and then click the Add to Dialing Directory button. Search Once you have entered the criteria for your search, click the Search button to send it to the ICPages server and retrieve the results. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. ICTalk ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ ICTalks are servers that people can login to and talk with other people. These servers are a great way to meet other people and chat with them. There are many ICTalks around the world. You can log in to as many of them simultaneously and chat. This makes you literally visible to the entire world all at once. Once you are logged in to the server you can choose from a list of all the people and talk to them. When you are finished talking you can logout of the servers. There are three lists in the dialog that display: Unconnected servers This list displays the ICTalk server addresses for the servers that you are not connected to. Double click on the address to connect to the server. Connected people This list displays the people that are connected to the server. Double click on an entry in the list to call the person. Connected Servers This list displays the ICTalk server addresses for the servers that you are connected to. Double click on the address to disconnect from the server. There are also command buttons in the dialog that do: Login Logs into the currently highlighted server address in the unconnected servers list. Login all Attempts to login to all the servers in the unconnected servers list. Logout Logs out of the currently highlighted server address in the connected servers list. Logout all Attempts to logout if all the servers in the connected servers list. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Glossary ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ These are terms that help explain InterCom better. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Internet address ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ An internet address is a unique number which identifies a computer on the Internet. There are two ways of expressing an internet address: names or numbers. An example of a name address would be ibm.com, but this address also has a number representaton which would be 129.34.139.30 Note: This program can handle internet addresses that are either in either name or number forms. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Quick Control ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Quick Control is a small window that can be placed out of the way to allow easily control of the talk features. The main dialog box disappears when the quick control dialog appears. The main dialog box will automaticly reappear when this window is closed. Start Recording This is used to start the recording of message to be sent to the remote person. Click this button again to stop recording the message. Hangup This is used to disconnect from the remote person. Answer When someone is calling you, you must click on the answer button to initiate a conversation. If you don't the answering machine will pick up. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.1. Options Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Options Configuration page is where all the general yes/no toggles are configured. Load Introduction If this box is not checked then the introduction will not be shown each time the program loads. Use Line-in Check this box if your microphone is plugged into the line-in jack instead of the microphone jack on the sound card. Dynamic IP Address Check this box if you have a dynamic IP Address. This will cause InterCom to login to the ICDynaIP server each time it loads and allow others to call you directory by retrieving your address from the ICDynaIP server. InterCom must be reloaded after configuration is complete if this is checked for the first time. Add duplicate caller ID If this is selected a caller ID entry is added for each call received or placed. If this is not selected and an entry already exists in the list then the entry is updated. Float on top upon ring This causes the main dialog or the quick control, depending on which one is showing, to float to the top of the desktop when a call is received. This eliminates the hassle of finding the window in time to click the answer button. Float quick control to top This causes the quick control to float on top of the desktop when open. The quick control will not take the focus away from other windows though. CB style record buttons This option causes the record buttons to function like a CB. You must hold the button down with the mouse or keep the key on keyboard down while recording. As soon as the mouse button or the key on the keyboard is released the recording stops. Force 11025 sample rate by remote Check this option if your sound card does not support any other sampling rates except 11025. This will force the remote and you to record and playback at this level. Ring through the PC speaker If this option is checked the ring will be heard through the PC speaker. If this option is not checked the ring will be heard through the audio device. Enable sound replay If this option is selected the last sound played will be stored in memory to allow fast replay. Force 8bit sound card interface Select this if your sound card is being detected as 16 bit, but needs to be run in 8 bit mode or some reason. This was only needed by a few users because of hardware conflicts. This should not be selected by most people. This will not make transfers faster either. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Quick Start ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ To successfully start using InterCom follow the instructions below: Configuring InterCom: Pull down the InterCom menu and choose CONFIGURATION. Fill in the entire first page which is entitled GENERAL. Click the notebook tab labeled OPTIONS. Recommended option to have checked is "Float to top upon ring." If you IP address is dynamic (changed each time you connect to the Internet) then check "Dynamic IP." Press ALT-F4 on the keyboard and then select YES. Connecting to an ICTalk server: Choose ICTALK from the menu bar. Double click on one of the names is the unconnected servers list. Use "revsoft2.is.net" to start with. If any names appear in the Connected People list you can double click on them and it will call them. To disconnect from the server you simply double click on the server's name in the connected servers list. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. QuickCam Config ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The QuickCam Config page is where you set the basic parameters for the QuickCam. Enable Video If this box is enabled video will be transmitted to the remote system if they allow it. This box also determines wether test snap shots can be taken on the next page. Seconds per frame This is the amount of time that InterCom will wait in between sending images. If there is lag in the transmittion then there might be a longer delay between images. LPT I/O Port This is the I/O Base address of the printer port that the QuickCam is connected to. LPT1 is usually 0x378 and so on. Make sure you have this set correctly before doing anything else with the QuickCam. Detect This will attempt to detect the QuickCam on the printer port. This detection is not flawless so don't be surprised if it takes more than one time to get a successful connect. This also works better if the fastio.sys driver is installed. Image appearence This determines how the image will appear in the video windows. In stretched mode the image will fill the entire window. If it is in normal mode then the image will simply be centered in the middle of the video window. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. QuickCam Adjust Config ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The QuickCam Adjust Config page is where you set the type and quality of the images. Size This is the size of the image that will be captured from the QuickCam. Remember that the large the image the longer the transfer time will be. Quality This is the quality of the image in bits per pixel. At 4 BPP the image will have 16 shades of gray. At 6 BPP the image will have 64 shades of gray. Increase BPP also means large images to transmit to the remote user. Brightness/Contrast/White Balance These settings are used to fine tune the images that the QuickCam takes. Brightness is the most commonly adjusted setting. Test Snap Shot This button will retrieve an image from the QuickCam using the current settings in the dialog. This helps fine tune the image quality. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Trademarks and Copyrights ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The following is a list of trademarks and copyrights used in this program. All rights are reserved. InterCom is Copyright (c) 1995-96 by Jonathan Tew. QuickCam is Copyright (c) 1995 by Connectix Corporation OS/2 is Copyright (c) 1987, 1995 by IBM Corporation FASTIO.SYS is Copyright (c) 1995 by Holger Veit All others not mentioned are trademarked or copyrighted by their respectful companies. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Technical support ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Revolutionary Software can be contacted by Email - jtew@revsoft.is.net WWW - http://revsoft2.is.net/ic/intercom.html FTP - ftp://revsoft2.is.net ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ InterCom v2.x registration form InterCom is Copyright (c) 1995-96 by Jonathan Tew. All Rights Reserved. Note: Each registration of InterCom comes with at least two licenses for InterCom. Note: InterCom is distributed via BMT Micro. BMT Micro is in no other way affiliated with Revolutionary Software or InterCom. Mail Orders To: BMT Micro PO Box 15016 Wilmington, NC 28408 U.S.A. Voice Orders: 8:00am - 7:00pm EST (-5 GMT) (800) 414-4268 (Orders only) (910) 791-7052 (Orders / Order Inquires) Fax Orders: (800) 346-1OS2 (1672) 24 hours, 7 days a week Online Orders via BBS: (910) 350-8061 10 lines, all 14.4K (910) 799-0923 28.8k v.FC via Compuserve: Thomas Bradford, 74031,307 via Internet: orders@bmt.wilmington.net We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, money order, cashiers checks, and personal checks. We also accept DM and British currency via registered mail. Personal checks are subject to clearance. We accept purchase orders from educational institutions, governmental agencies and other verifiable businesses. Terms are "Due Upon Receipt" with a $250 minimum. Name: ____________________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ City: _______________________ State/Province: __________________ Country: ____________________________ Postal Code: __________________ Phone: ____________________________________________________________ Fax: ____________________________________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________________________ Product Price Quantity Total -------------------------------------------------------------------- ( Funds below specified in US dollars ) _InterCom v1.x__________________ $_29.99__ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ Subtotal: $____.___ North Carolina residents, please add 6% sales tax: +$____.___ Shipping (check one): ___ Email (subject to credit card verification Free ___ Fax (subject to credit card verification Free ___ 1st Class ................................. Free ___ Airborne (Next day most places, USA Only).. +$___7.00_ ___ Federal Express (USA Only)................. +$__13.00_ ___ Federal Express (Canada/Mexico)............ +$__25.00_ ___ Federal Express (Europe/Japan)............. +$__30.00_ ___ Express (Outside USA) ..................... +$__20.00_ Total: $____.___ For credit card payment only: Circle one: VISA / Master / Discover / AMEX / Diner's Club Credit card number: _____________________________________________ Expiration date: ___/___ Authorization signature: _____________________________________________ --- Additional ordering information for our German customers--- If you reside in Germany and wish to register InterComm locally you can deposit the registration fee into our account in Germany. The registration fee using this method is 46 DM diskless / 50 DM with diskette. Empfanger: Thomas Bradford Konto-Nummer: 0860221 Bankleitzahl: 500-700-10 After depositing the money, you can fax confirmation of the deposit to 910-350-2937 along with the registration form -or- you can wait until we are notified by Deutsche Bank that your deposit has been made, usually within 7-10 days. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. Speeding up QuickCam ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ To speed up the QuickCam you can install the FASTIO.SYS driver in your config.sys file. Simply add the line DEVICE=C:/INTERCOM/FASTIO.SYS to your config.sys. If you have the XF86SUP.SYS driver that is used for XFree86 then you shouldn't have to install the FASTIO.SYS driver. This driver is automaticlly detected by InterCom and used if found it is used. The system functions fine without it though also. This driver allows InterCom to do 32 bit IO to the printer port. This removes some system overhead and increases the speed by a small amount.