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Web App of the Week: Tinychat

David Murphy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:39 -0600

Sometimes, you have a whole 'lotta people you need to chat with at once. And more often than not, you are all spread across ten different social networks, messaging programs, time zones, and lifestyles. Getting you all together in a single room would destroy your Skype client, not to mention your sanity--wrangling these people up is going to be a lot more complicated of a process than you bargained for.

Or is it?

The Web app Tinychat couldn't make the process of setting up Web-wide chat rooms any easier. You don't need a login; you don't even need customized software. As long as your browser supports Flash, you have scored yourself a ticket to a chat application that not only functions as a text-based room, but as a full-fledge Web cam and microphone gateway for telecommunications as well.

How easy is it? I'll make this quick. Start your chat room by firing up the Web site and clicking on the big "Choose a name for your chatroom" area. The app will try to default you to a random name of characters and numbers. Delete this (unless you really want to talk about "kwyjibo") and enter in whatever name you want for the room. Click the big "create your room" button to the right.

Still with me? You can log into the site with your Twitter or Facebook names--for a quick room, don't bother. Just type a handle onto the "tinychat" tab and hit Login. That's it! Confirm a topic for your room to open it up to the masses. You can now display your shining mug via your webcam (and speak using your microphone) by hitting the big "start broadcasting" button in the upper-left corner. Access fancier functions like a sharable whiteboard and screen-sharing by hovering your mouse over the gears icon in the upper-right.

Powerful chatroom functionality for just a few clicks of the mouse? I'll take it!

Each week, Maximum PC picks a new Web App as its favorite of the... week. Have a Web App that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Sony LocationFree TV LF-B20

Michael Brown — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:38:44 -0600

The LocationFree TV LF-B20 offers a number of improvements over Sony’s earlier video-streaming effort. A few of the new model’s features are superior to the Slingbox Pro’s, but this product is no match for Sling Media’s latest release.

Surprisingly, considering the source, the LF-B20’s two biggest shortcomings are its video quality and the convoluted process you must go through to set it up. The latter problem can be attributed to the LF-B20’s flexibility: It can operate as either a wireless client to a wireless router (meaning you don’t need to hard-wire it to your router) or a wireless 802.11a/b/g access point in its own right. But there’s just no excusing the inferior quality of the LF-B20’s streaming video.

There’s also no excuse for Sony’s continued expectation that consumers should pay $30 for each additional PC on which they wish to install the company’s LFA-PC2 player software. And despite the claim of “Windows Mobile” compatibility advertised on the LF-B20’s box, no such software was available at press time. (Third-party developer Access has announced, but not shipped, a $20 Pocket PC client.)

On the other hand, the LF-B20 boasts a few features we’d like to see on the Slingbox Pro: We dig the fact that we don’t necessarily have to hard-wire it to our router, of course, and we also like the infrared port that can learn commands from any IR remote. And Sony’s device has two IR emitter ports to the Slingbox’s one—although Sony provides only one IR blaster in the box. And if you want to watch TV on your PSP, Sony’s LocationFree TV products are your only choice. But without a built-in tuner, homebound and remote viewers have to watch the same channel.

Month Reviewed: February 2007
+ BROADBAND: Supports Sony’s PSP; can function as a wireless access point.
- DIAL-UP: Cables not included; each additional client costs extra; PDA and smartphone support not yet enabled.
Verdict: 7
URL: www.sony.com