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My Viewpoint....Aneditorial
The following comments are mine alone, exceptwhere attributed as noted.
Updated5/7/98
I'm just blown away by the new Cornell Version1.0 of CU-SeeMe. Most of you won't recognize the
advancements this software represents,but trust me when I say it's remarkable.  In over 7 years of usingvarious versions of CU, (including when there was NO chat window), I'venever seen  such a significant milestone in video conferencing. And I use/have used most of the programs out there, including NetMeetingand it's imitators. But none of them do with their bloated code what thislittle program does!
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In less than 300kb, it does for FREEwhat we've either had to buy or settle for with the other versions.
The latest White Pine is over 10megto download and unzips to over 30 meg. On top of that, it's bug-ridden,bogged down with un-necessary features/code and is slower than hell touse. In less than 300kb with this version from Cornell, (do you realizethat's 1/30th the size of the WP file?),  we can now see and sendcolor vid, use private geek/audio, configure the size of vids, tell vidsto "stay on top", move screens, size screens and determine other user info.
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Sure most of these features were foundin 2.1.*, and sure there are a couple of features I would have liked ("stayon top" ability for all the individual windows, including chat, participants,and even the phonebook)...but I can live with it the way it is...my vidsstay on top, and to me that's the most important feature. And, while I'mat it, it DOES have a "stop scroll feature" in the chat window! Yep, Ican walk away for coffee, come back and actually read what I missed! Damn,I'm impressed the more I use this program!  I think perhaps the reasonI like this program so much is that it's really an  "upgrade" to 2.1.*but with private chat and private audio features and I make no bones aboutbeing fond of 2.1.* (see below). But even this program is smaller than2.1.*.....(which is 10mb no matter how you look at it) and it takes feweruser resources to operate, so it won't tax your system to the max. And,this program is FREE!  THERE IS NO COST FOR THIS PROGRAM! PERIOD.and less than 1/30th the size of it's supposedly "enhanced" big brother.
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Perhaps WP will read this and buy aclue. They can afford it with the money most of us have shelled out fortheir bloated code programs. I won't delete my licensed copies of WP Cu-SeeMefrom my system....I'd be a fool to considering they're paid for...but youcan bet I'm going to be found using the New Cornell Version 1.0 for Windows95/NT most of the time from now on.
Get it...you won'tregret it!
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Now, for those who've missed my pastramblings, I'll leave them here.  These represent my comments andobservations over the last 18 months as presented on these and other pagesprior to moving to this website a few months back. If you've got a cupof coffee, a cig (smoker?)  or a pencil to chew on, read on brother,read on....
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White PineVer 3.1.1004
EXCUSE ME...I THINK WE MISSED THE BOATAGAIN
THIS IS NOW THE 7th (SEVENTH) RELEASEof WP CU-SeeMe in just over a year!
White Pine has released 3.1.1004 as of March30th.  While there is some improvement  when it comes to enteringand re-entering WP  and Meeting Point reflectors, (this was THE originalvideo bug with 3.1 Build 25!, the reason for which they issued THIS release,Ver 3.1.1.004!)  there is still a  problem when it comes to dealingwith Brian "Spacer" Godette's Enhanced Reflector software and apparentlywith Cornell Reflectors too.  A White Pine Tech responded to my questionof whether or not the 3.1 Build 25 Bug still existed in 3.1.1....His response,in short, is apparently Yes and No.  They solved the problem withno vid sent from your station when you   enter and leave WP orMeeting Point Reflectors (again, this was the ORIGNIAL 3.1 build 25 bug) but not the other two reflector  versions...Cornell or Brian "Spacer"Godette's Enhanced Reflector.  Yes, this problem existed in 3.1, butthey chose to ignore it in the 3.1.1 release because Cornell and EnRef'sare NOT SUPPORTED software and considered variations/deviations. Thereseems to be one sure solution, Re-Start CU after leaving an EnRef beforegoing into a WP or Meeting Point reflector. (Note that you dont reboot,just close and then re-start CU-SeeMe). It's a pain in the butt, but atleast it's not a full re-boot) There's a complicated explanation to this,but it has to do with the way the video codecs (compression/decompression drivers) interact with the reflector software. We can only hope WP getstheir "shi*" together soon.....This is NOT  acceptable. However, thequailty of the vid itself seems to have improved over 3.1 Build 25, butstill is no where near the clarity of ver 2.1.1 or 2.1.2.  Again,it's in how the software deals with the codecs....
 
White PineVersion 3.1, Build 25
On December 6, 1997, White Pine Softwarereleased commercial CU-SeeMe Build 25 for sale to the public. Once again,they screwed up...BIG TIME! Mind you,this was the third and final update/release of the upgrade to 3.0 Theyhad already issued two  "beta" programs/patches (hurriedly so sincethey knew 3.0 was so bad). While they solved a couple of minor codec problemsin the course of their work...they forgot one thing: Compatibility withtheir own reflector software.  This bug has been much publicized andthere are details all over the web about the problem. However, in the interestof  information, here it is in short form: If you enter a reflectorrunning certain versions of the White Pine Reflector Software, you arelikely to experience a lock-up of video: this may be sending of your vidor reception of others.  - The problem is with YOUR  software- Not anyone else's. There's also a problem with repeating chat (includingprivate chat from previous reflectors that gets repeated in the main channelof the new reflector!)

These bugs can only be solved by closingCU, restarting and then re-logging back into the WP reflectoryou want to be in (It is NOT necessary to reboot the pc, just restart thesoftware). You will most likely have to close it and then re-open it ifyou leave to enter any another reflector.
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How do you know if it's a White Pine Softwarereflector?..You can check using Streak's Reflector Scan which tells youthe software version being used for that reflector, - OR -  when youlog into a reflector it's pretty obvious: It pauses and asks which conferenceyou want to join. If it does, it's a WP reflector.
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Yes, White Pine is aware of these bugs.Yes they are working on it.  They were aware of it within one weekof the launch on  December 6th. I will avoid telling you they wereaware of them prior to it's release and the fact that it was released anyway.I wont tell you that...I promise.

So what's being done?. They've already begunworking on a patch/beta to correct the problem: AWP Tech Support Rep responded on this issue 03/16/98 and confirmed theyARE working on a patch due in April   '98...go here for moreinfo! However, I will also tell you it has caused them to re-think thesoftware code in their Reflector programming as well. It has become the"chicken and the egg" theoy.
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In the meantime, they did do at least onething right: They finally put in default minimum and maximum send and receiverates that come up at reasonable levels.  This gives new users a decentchance at seeing and be seen until they become familar enough to play withrates/settings (cuz God knows they won't read the damn manual!). You mayuse the default rates in this version, or fine tune them as suggested inthese pages.

WHITEPINE VER 3.1 Build 014p (that's "p" as in "patch"folks!)

White Pine software has missed the mark inmore than one area when it comes to their commercial distribution of CUSeeMesoftware (and for those who may not know, that CU in the title stands forthe code owners of the program, Cornell University).  Primarily, WhitePine is guilty of perpetuating what many other Windows software companiesare guilty of: writing bloated code.  When the Cornell Version forWindows 95 total's less than one megabyte unzipped and installed and andthe JUST RELEASED  White Pine 3.1.final version is 9.91 megabytes for the average download, and approximately30 megabytes unzipped and installed, there's a problem. Granted, they haveincluded a couple of things the Cornell version doesn't, but 29 +/- megabytesworth? I don't think so! Nor do many others.

Need more evidence?...How about an irritating"main screen" and a second "reflector screen" that will over-lay the firstscreen (why the hell do they need a full screen for a phonebook with schmuckyRolodex type contact cards for?). Additionally, these contact cards don'tcompile into a single nickname.ini as in previous versions (or even a phonebook.pbxin the case of Cornell's version). In the latest White Pine Commercialrelease (3.1, Build 25, released Dec 1997) you can now import from scannerssuch as Streaks....(to learn how to do so, try going here).
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            As an example, here's how the Phonebooks on my pc shape up as regards filecount/size:
                 Cornell's phonebook.pbx (one file)............12.75 KB with 75 reflectorslisted.
                 WP Ver 2.1.2's nickname.ini (one file).......23.6KB with 75 reflectorslisted.
WP Ver 3.1.014p's Phonebook (Folder with5 subfolders and 48 files).......974KB with 75 reflectors listed.

The use of two over-laying screens makesit a pain in the ass to disconnect and then reconnect to another reflector.Dont even think about trying to minimize and run the screens side by side..theydont automatically scale giving you a reduced version. Instead, it severelycuts the screens off, limiting you to the number of features and propertiesas well as vids that you can use/see. Once you connect to a reflector youcan modify the appearance of the "Conference Screen" and use individualwindows thru dragging and resizing*,but it's a pain to configure. NOTE: WINDOWS NT USERS: This feature mostlikely wont work with your system without some modification. To find outmore, go here at the White Pine 3.1 Readme site. (The only bright spotabout it is that it will thereafter remain the default layout for thatparticular reflector, so you only have to do it once per reflector). However,even with the individual vid windows, or chat box window or Participant'swindow moved to desktop, there is NO "Stay onTop" feature for any of them. At least with 2.1.1/2.1.2, you could leavethe vids on top while you went back to Netscape, Lotus, WordPerfect, etc.For those of you who aren't familar with the older versions of Cuseeme(prior to 3.0) I've got a page showing my 15 inch monitor screen set at800x600 for each version.This page includes screen caps of Cornell, WP2.1.2 and WP 3.1 so you can see whatI'm talking about.

My major complaint?...installation. It shouldn'ttake a Master's Degree in software to install or configure software ona Windows 95 computer: this damn near does. You have to jump thru hoopsto install the program correctly (and dont even dream of context sensitivehelp files to assist you!). The configurable Minimum and Maximum Send/Receiverates are nothing new...but what a painin the ass to change or set in these versions. At least in Cornell andWP ver 2.* you could adjust them from from the main CU panel or individuallyin the Phonebook section (if it was even necessary).  This was NOTcorrected in the latest version of 3.1, released December 6, 1998, (Build25)..

Finally, White Pine introduced their firstbeta of 3.1 as a "patch/upgrade" less than six weeks after it commerciallyreleased 3.0 on the market earlier this summer. In the meantime, therewere 3 updates to the beta of 3.1 in 3 months....the last beta being 3.1.0.021p,released November 20, 1997. Now with the latest commercial distributionof 3.1 it marks the SIXTH  revision to their software in less thana year?....Do you think there's a problem (02/22/98: I should have beena prophet! I'm telling ya, I called this one didn't I?...LOL!)

Granted, there were/are some things in theCornell and WP vers 2.* that I dont care for, but none as consistentlyirritating as those things found in 3.0/3.1.*...However, I will applaudat least one step in the right direction with 3.0/3.1 (the non-scrollingchat window; if you put your cursor in the "entered" text window, you canactually scroll back up and read something that blew by when you've takenyour concentration away or stopped for coffee).

WINDOWS NT USERS:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN ICQ WHILE RUNNING3.0/3.1! WHITE PINE ADVISES
IT WILL CAUSE A SYSTEM FREEZE.
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There are a few other things that arestill quirky, including F3 (Speed Dial) and some audio setttings.
READ THE MANUAL!

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Now,lest you think I'm slamming White Pine, I'm not...I have a licensed copyof 2.1.2 and LOVE IT!. I spend at least 75% of my time using 2.1.2. However,I also have a licensed copy of 3.1...and I use it daily as well. I forcemyself to use it because I know that is what's NOW being sold on the shelvesat ComputerCity, CompUSA, CircuitCity or wherever you buy software. ANDMOST IMPORTANTLY, I'm still working with and learning 3.1 myself..everyday that time permits me to be on line. It doesn't mean I am liking itany better, just becoming more familiar with it. I am not a software compilernor do I consider myself an expert...nor is it my intent to say mine isthe only viewpoint or that these pages represent the be-all/end-all whenit comes to setting your rates. Not in the least. I'm a user who's tryingto help those of you who are new to this facet of the internet. At thesame time, I have selfish motives...Idont want you screwing up my ability to see vids (yours or someone else's).
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On apositive note, I truly believe that WP will eventually get it right...afterall,even a blind squirrel finds an acornonce in a while.
 
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NOTE:* Thanks to IKE for remindingme the windows within the Conference Screen can be moved. 
 

Someother folks who have opinions on WP Ver 3.0 and/or 3.1*
Squeek Speaks
Os has a few comments too!
MemCpl speaks out on 3.0
updated02/22/98
Now, back to our show:
Page2 - Select your version:
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Setyour rates for ver 3.0/3.1