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During the past ten years we have advocated that quantity surveyors should use computers, not only in the number-crunching aspects of their business but also as communication tools. .
When we first published this section back in 1998 there were programs such as ICQ which allowed for instant messaging between computers over the Internet. In those days one could only communicate at typing speed!
About ten years ago we recommended that our members should experiment with VOIP (voice over IP). Firetalk was an innovative voice/music chat program, allowing users to talk to others singly or in chatrooms. Firetalk was shut down due to a lack of funding and were bought by PalTalk in 2001. Paltalk was the first innovator to combine voice and video into instant messaging. Microsoft also saw the possibilities of VOIP and included a scaled down version of Net2Phone in MSN messenger and for a limited period users of MSN could call landlines in America and Canada for free!
Although Paltalk and MSN (now known as Windows Live Messenger) are still widely used, other applications such as Net2Phone and Skype are primarily used to make voice calls over the Internet.
Skype calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for their additional features which include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.
Your webmaster still occasionally uses PalTalk for video conferencing but I use Skype on a regular basis to stay in contact with friends and family both locally and abroad.
Both Net2Phone and Skype offer South Africans a cheaper alternative than Telkom if they wish to phone overseas, especially when the call is made to a mobile phone. I even use Skype on my Windows Mobile cellphone when there is a good 3G connection.
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