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Jeff HesterKeymaster
Shouting out the window! I like it!
As far as your friend being the world’s worst gossip…I’d like to think I could trust my friends. Though you’re right; if you want to play safe, that’s a good way to go.
One of the rules I sometimes share is this: “Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want your mother to overhear!”
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterLooks like the demise of another FREE service…
SpotLife just sent this out to their members this week:
Quote:quote: Dear SpotLife Member,We want to thank you for your continued support of SpotLife. It’s been an exciting year for the company. Since our initial launch in May ‘2000, SpotLife’s community has grown to more than 1.5 million registered Internet video users, the largest worldwide Internet video user-base on the market. And, SpotLife continues to be the only company in the industry to provide you with a full suite of Personal Video Broadcasting services (live video, recorded video, digital photos and live updating webcam).
We are writing to inform you about some upcoming changes to your SpotLife membership. Effective June 21, 2001, SpotLife implemented an expanded subscription model for all SpotLife members. Consumers who register for SpotLife’s Personal Video Broadcasting service on or after June 21, 2001 will automatically receive a FREE 30-day trial membership that includes unlimited webcamming, 10MB of storage for recorded videos and pictures and 60 minutes of live video.
After the initial 30-day trial membership, the customer must select from one of the following modest subscription plans that is right for their Personal Video Broadcasting requirements:
*BASIC: $2.99/month (or an annual fee of $24.99) includes unlimited webcamming, 10 MB storage and 60 live video minutes per month.
*STANDARD: $4.99/month, 20 MB storage, 300 live video minutes per month and unlimited webcamming.
*PLUS: $9.99/month, 50 MB storage, 600 live video minutes per month and unlimited webcamming.
*PREMIUM: $19.99/month, 200 MB storage, 1000 live video minutes per month and unlimited webcamming.
*SUPER: $99.99/month, 200 MB storage, unlimited live video minutes and unlimited webcamming.
*Viewing is always FREE!
GOOD NEWS FOR EXISTING MEMBERS!
If you were a SpotLife member BEFORE June 21, 2001 – there will be no changes to your existing SpotLife service until September 5, 2001. After September 5, 2001, you must select from one of the above subscription options that is right for your Personal Video Broadcasting requirements. Remember, viewing is always FREE.WHY IS SPOTLIFE EXPANDING ITS SUBSCRIPTION MODEL?
Implementing a ‘premium’ subscription plan was always part of SpotLife’s business model. Previously, SpotLife members could use SpotLife’s basic Personal Video Broadcasting service for free with the option to upgrade to a paid premium service plan. However, due to the changing Internet economy, and the decline of online advertising revenue, SpotLife recently re-visited its ‘premium’ subscription model and determined that its full suite of services provides a strong value-add to consumers and requires charging a modest basic subscription fee in order to continue providing long-term growth and stability.WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE
Our first year has been a successful one. We’ve helped over one million customers stay connected with their families and friends through live video, recorded video, digital photos and live updating webcams. We look forward to continuing to offer you the easiest way to share videos and pictures on the Internet with “point, click and broadcast” simplicity.Thank you for your continued patronage and for helping to make SpotLife the best Personal Video Broadcasting site on the Internet!
Sincerely,
John Walsh
Chief Executive Officer
SpotLifeJeff HesterKeymasterWhat kind of connection do you need to play? Can you play ok over a modem connection?
Also, you’ve gotta check out the GameVoice technology and let us know how it works! Being able to talk to your team mates would be so cool!
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterIt sounds like its pretty cool. Does in not work often?
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterI read that too (about the XP CD not having room for AIM). Of course, the skeptic in me wonders how much of that is really just political posturing on Microsoft’s part. It’s really comical to see these two behemoth’s battle each other and try to cooperate at the same time.
Now, on the downside, I heard that Windows Messenger will not replace MSN Messenger. Both products will continue to exist. Windows Messenger will require the Windows XP operating system (Hah! As if they couldn’t make it compatible!). They will interoperate for text messages, but not for video or voice. Shame on Microsoft!
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterSupposedly IM compatibility between Windows Messenger and AIM is one of the points currently being negotiated between M$ and AOL. AOL wants to be included in Windows XP, and M$ wants AOL to renew their license to use Internet Explorer as the default browser for AOL members.
Wouldn’t it be cool if they actually worked something out!
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterYes, the Imici account is password protected, but if I hit “cancel” it skips the Imici login, but goes ahead and auto-logs in to AIM and Yahoo!
I contacted Imici technical support and they said this is a known bug that will be fixed in the next release.
Jeff HesterKeymasterI checked it out, but oh-my-gosh it is s-l-o-w!!! And the other problem is that it has no way (that I could find) to support multiple users on a single PC (like I have here at home where my kids have their own IM accounts).
MaxxChat is interesting, but not worth serious consideration at this time.
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterI don’t believe in censorship as a rule. I prefer to let people “own their own words.” My personal rule-of-thumb when posting a message here or anywhere else is simple: Don’t post anything that I’d be embarrassed about if my mom read it! 🙂
That being said, we do reserve the right to edit messages containing illegal or unethical content, as stated in our Terms & Conditions.
To quote the T&Cs: “We have no control over the content and can not ensure it will not be offensive or objectionable…You also agree that you will not post any copyrighted material that is not owned by yourself or the owners of these forums. In your use of these forums, you agree that you will not post any information which is vulgar, harassing, hateful, threatening, invading of others privacy, sexually oriented, or violates any laws.”
All that being said, I still don’t believe in censorship. But there are cases when it’s necessary from a legal standpoint to edit a message.
Here’s a real-world example from a discussion forum at another web site:
A user registered and “claimed” to be the CEO of a dot-com company. They then posted a message that was inflammatory and offensive. While most people realized that no self-respecting CEO would be so stupid as to make such comments in a public forum, there were many people (judging by the responses) that were fooled into thinking that this person was the real CEO.
The forum moderator was contacted and added a “disclaimer” that simply stated that the message was satire and NOT actually written by the real CEO. Had they not, I suppose the CEO could have gone after the web site with a claim of slander or defamation.
Sorry for the long-winded explanation. Simply stated, don’t do anything illegal, or try to screw anyone over!
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorEdited by – Jeff on 05/23/2001 11:04:21 AM
Jeff HesterKeymasterMore about Imici…a BIG problem with Imici is security. If you share your computer with other people, you may not want to use Imici. It currently doesn’t prevent any other user from logging on and automatically connecting to your other IM accounts!
Hopefully they’ll fix this, and soon!
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterA quick update on Imici:
I’ve got it running at home and tested it with AIM, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. Since the latest versions of all of these IM clients store your buddy list on their servers, Imici was able to retreive those with no problem.
The user interface is very clean and professional. No “cute” icons for your buddies. Also, you cannot rename your buddies. In fact, for MSN Messenger, your buddies appear by their email name instead of the friendly name they specify.
Person-to-person chat works fine with all three, and supposedly you can also do group chat (again, with all three), though I haven’t tested that yet.
ICQ is the other IM client Imici integrates with, but I seldom use ICQ and none of my ICQ buddies were online for me to test (or else, maybe it doesn’t work!). I’ll keep you posted…
Jeff Hester
BigBlueBall.com ModeratorJeff HesterKeymasterAnother resource for free web cam hosting is http://www.webcamnow.com. They have two classifications, or communities, of web cams: Friends & Family, or Unmonitored. Warning: The unmonitored section is definately not for the faint-of-heart or the easily offended.
While the service itself is free, they offer a faster-refreshing version called Speedster that for $9.95 a month claims to improve the refresh rate 10x. Seems a bit steep for me…but then that’s just me.
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