Video Chat - Skype vs Tango

Monday, 18 June 2012

Last week when i went out of town, Karrie and i decided to try out video chat. Just like in every sci-fi movie of the future, where people don't just talk on the phone, but also see the persons face. We decided to try both Skype and Tango, the two most popular video chat programs.
VS.

When comparing the two i realized that the program for the PC was not the same as the mobile version for the cell phone. So i came out with two different results:



Video Chat using a Computer
If you have a microphone and you are using you computer or laptop, then the winner is:

Skype had lots of features and easy to use. When you run the program on your computer, you are able to clearly see all of those features and understand how everything works. But you have to make sure you have a webcam and microphone. Some laptops now come with those built in.

Video Chat using a Cell Phone
If you are planning on using video chat with a cell phone, then the winner is:

When you are using a cell phone you don't need lots of features. In fact it's a lot easier to use an app with a simple interface. No clutter no fancy options, just turn it on, call and video talk. With a small cell phone screen, it's not easy to see and use all of the buttons. That's why i liked Tango's interface better.

So if you are looking to try out video chat with your family and friends, the program you want depends on whether you will be using your computer or cell phone. I would think that the majority of people now a days would be using their cell phone. In that case i would recommend connecting to a wi-fi first. It takes a lot of bandwidth to transfer live video. If you have a bad connection, the video can get really choppy. Also your phone needs to have a forward facing camera, otherwise you won't be able to see the person you are talking to, and sort of ruins the whole point.

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iMac G3

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

While driving over a month back i noticed this computer by the side of the road. It looked like it was fairly new so i threw it in my trunk. Ya i took a computer out of the trash.

I started reading about it and learned that it was an iMac G3 and they stopped making them in 2003. On ebay, when they work, they are only worth about $300.

I plugged it in and amazingly, nothing happened! I kind of figured that since it was in the trash. So i went about trying to fix it.

The short version of the story is I didn't fix it. These iMac's are impossible to work on. It took probably 2 hours of me removing screws and trying not to break plastic before i could even look inside of the thing.


My only hope was a fuse i saw on the motherboard that might have blown. I checked it but it was fine. So i said forget it, there's no way i'm going to get this to work so i started taking everything apart. That took another hour or so.

I realized why they probably threw it out. It's one of those things where the broken part might only cost a few dollars but the cost to pay someone to fix it might be a few hundred dollars.

I ended up throwing most of it out but i did get the 80Gb hard drive, DVD drive, 2 small speakers and 2 ram cards. I'm using the hard drive in the new computer i built.

But if anyone asks for your help in fixing a Mac, just tell them to throw it out, it isn't worth it.

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