looking for free Intranet 'Chat' program

[gb]

Hi,
I'm running a home network, with some wired and some wireless computers. I
am searching for a simple way to communicate with the other users. I have
seen a few programs out there but I'm hoping someone can recommend what is
the best. The features I'm looking for are:

1) Users don't have to open an application to be "reachable" or "available".
All users on the system can receive messages

2) Internet connectivity is not necessary

3) works with both W2000 and XP

4) free

5) prefer graphical interface, with the ability to share hyperlinks and
images, not just text

I found a list of freeware here:

http://www.nonags.com/nonags/conflan.html

but rather than trying each one, I thought someone here could recommend one
over the other. thanks for your help.

gary in vermont

 

[Herb Martin]

Hi,
I'm running a home network, with some wired and some wireless computers.
I
am searching for a simple way to communicate with the other users. I have
seen a few programs out there but I'm hoping someone can recommend what is
the best. The features I'm looking for are:

1) Users don't have to open an application to be "reachable" or
"available".
All users on the system can receive messages
2) Internet connectivity is not necessary
3) works with both W2000 and XP
4) free
5) prefer graphical interface, with the ability to share hyperlinks and
images, not just text

I found a list of freeware here:

http://www.nonags.com/nonags/conflan.html

but rather than trying each one, I thought someone here could recommend
one
over the other. thanks for your help.

It you take out #2 (internet not necessary) then I like
both Skype (which works through firewalls and also
is adding Video -- video is in beta and available), and
also MSN.

MSN is fine for text chat; and the audio works through
firewalls if you set them up correctly.

The old NetBIOS chat program might work as an
alternative if you must use it without the net. There
are probably many free/shareware versions of that
idea.

 

[Galen]

In gb <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi,
I'm running a home network, with some wired and some wireless
computers. I am searching for a simple way to communicate with the
other users. I have seen a few programs out there but I'm hoping
someone can recommend what is the best. The features I'm looking for
are:

1) Users don't have to open an application to be "reachable" or
"available". All users on the system can receive messages

2) Internet connectivity is not necessary

3) works with both W2000 and XP

4) free

5) prefer graphical interface, with the ability to share hyperlinks
and images, not just text

I found a list of freeware here:

http://www.nonags.com/nonags/conflan.html

but rather than trying each one, I thought someone here could
recommend one over the other. thanks for your help.

gary in vermont

Bleh...

http://www.conware.org/products/ic3/

That's what I use... Links sent need to copy/paste.

They don't have to "open" an application - it runs at boot automatically
unless you disable it - that's the best you'll find for this sort of
software... It's also free... (Oh, and VERY well used in these parts.)

(from Maine and I think we have better Maple Syrup)

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[gb]

http://www.conware.org/products/ic3/

That's what I use... Links sent need to copy/paste.

thanks, but it says

XP USERS: Please Note:
We are currently having some problems with IC3 running on XP. In some cases
it works fine and in others it causes system errors. We are working on a
solution.

 

[Galen]

In gb <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

thanks, but it says

XP USERS: Please Note:
We are currently having some problems with IC3 running on XP. In some
cases it works fine and in others it causes system errors. We are
working on a solution.

Bah, running on 4 XP systems, one Vista system, two 2k systems, and a ME
box... If you manage to find a problem with it with XP you're maybe one in a
million (exaggeration I suspect) but it's been fine here. If I didn't use it
often I'd not recommend it. <g> Well, I might, but I'd say that I hadn't
used it. In this case I've used it countless times and never once had an
issue with it. All I can say is give it a try - it's free and easy.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[Charlie Tame]

Bah, running on 4 XP systems, one Vista system, two 2k systems, and a ME
box... If you manage to find a problem with it with XP you're maybe one in
a million (exaggeration I suspect) but it's been fine here. If I didn't
use it often I'd not recommend it. <g> Well, I might, but I'd say that I
hadn't used it. In this case I've used it countless times and never once
had an issue with it. All I can say is give it a try - it's free and easy.

Yo, just installed on W2003 server to see how it went and am getting some
kind of flashing bar across top of desktop... seems pretty random, looks
like top of a full screen window... if I can catch a better view of it later
I'll let you know, meanwhile any ideas?

I do have VS2005 on here so maybe it's something to do with the runtime...
just trying to decide if it would be useful at work or not.

Charlie

 

[Galen]

In Charlie Tame <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Yo, just installed on W2003 server to see how it went and am getting
some kind of flashing bar across top of desktop... seems pretty
random, looks like top of a full screen window... if I can catch a
better view of it later I'll let you know, meanwhile any ideas?

I do have VS2005 on here so maybe it's something to do with the
runtime... just trying to decide if it would be useful at work or not.

Charlie

Can you capture a screenshot? I'll load up a 2k3 VM and take a gander at it
tomorrow morning-ish to see if I can reproduce it. So far my testing of the
app is limited to Vista, 2k, XP, and an old ME box. My only complaint with
the app is that when you send a link it goes to the other person as plain
text and they have to copy/paste it. I'd like it to be click-able. That one
little thing drives me bananas.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[DMFH]

Hi,
I'm running a home network, with some wired and some wireless computers. I
am searching for a simple way to communicate with the other users. I have
seen a few programs out there but I'm hoping someone can recommend what is
the best. The features I'm looking for are:

1) Users don't have to open an application to be "reachable" or "available".
All users on the system can receive messages

2) Internet connectivity is not necessary

3) works with both W2000 and XP

4) free

5) prefer graphical interface, with the ability to share hyperlinks and
images, not just text

An IRC server would meet these requirements, with a little work. It's
absolutely free, dozens of clients across multiple platforms, across the web,
will run on older hardware without a lot of fuss, and is quite scalable if you
take the time to learn how to link servers and do a minor amount of
administration. Adding ircservices would create a nickname registration and
memo system. Indeed, IRC does have a UNIX heritage but has long since bridged
just about all platforms...

Happy New Year!

 

[Marcel]

Hi,
I'm running a home network, with some wired and some wireless computers.
I
am searching for a simple way to communicate with the other users. I have
seen a few programs out there but I'm hoping someone can recommend what is
the best. The features I'm looking for are:

1) Users don't have to open an application to be "reachable" or
"available".
All users on the system can receive messages

2) Internet connectivity is not necessary

3) works with both W2000 and XP

4) free

5) prefer graphical interface, with the ability to share hyperlinks and
images, not just text

I found a list of freeware here:

http://www.nonags.com/nonags/conflan.html

but rather than trying each one, I thought someone here could recommend
one
over the other. thanks for your help.

gary in vermont

netmeeting?

 

[Charlie Tame]

Can you capture a screenshot? I'll load up a 2k3 VM and take a gander at
it tomorrow morning-ish to see if I can reproduce it. So far my testing of
the app is limited to Vista, 2k, XP, and an old ME box. My only complaint
with the app is that when you send a link it goes to the other person as
plain text and they have to copy/paste it. I'd like it to be click-able.
That one little thing drives me bananas.

Ah, well a bit more time tonite...

No screen shot because this was random but linked to activity in and around
the communication window, eg selecting options, but I managed to read the
text "Speed Bar" and disabling that option has fixed it. I have to add that
I have two Nvidia cards (An AGP and a PCI) with two monitors and it could
well be more to do with that than W2003. Hadn't noticed that option of
course not having seen the text in the bar itself earlier. It looks okay,
just flashes at random so probably not an issue for other machines, I will
try it on one later.

Charlie

 

[Charlie Tame]

Ah, well a bit more time tonite...

No screen shot because this was random but linked to activity in and
around the communication window, eg selecting options, but I managed to
read the text "Speed Bar" and disabling that option has fixed it. I have
to add that I have two Nvidia cards (An AGP and a PCI) with two monitors
and it could well be more to do with that than W2003. Hadn't noticed that
option of course not having seen the text in the bar itself earlier. It
looks okay, just flashes at random so probably not an issue for other
machines, I will try it on one later.

Charlie

Okay, here's a bit more.

It's the speed bar "Slide Effect" option causing it, and that is under W2003
even with a more standard graphics setup. It works fine on XP though. Aside
from that the program seems to work well.

Charlie

 

[Galen]

In Charlie Tame <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Okay, here's a bit more.

It's the speed bar "Slide Effect" option causing it, and that is
under W2003 even with a more standard graphics setup. It works fine
on XP though. Aside from that the program seems to work well.

Charlie

I'll take a gander with the two combined at some point and see if I can fill
in the authors with any additional information. As mentioned earlier, I
hadn't any issues at all with it under XP except for the fact that
transmitted URLs can't be clicked on but rather have to be copied and
pasted. It's even fairly light on resources which was good. One "problem"
that's likely unique to one system is (and that system seems to like to do
it to any old icon in the notification area) that sometimes the icon won't
show on boot. The problem seems to be limited to that system and when the
application is shut down and restarted it works like a champ.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[Galen]

In Charlie Tame <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Okay, here's a bit more.

It's the speed bar "Slide Effect" option causing it, and that is
under W2003 even with a more standard graphics setup. It works fine
on XP though. Aside from that the program seems to work well.

Charlie

Server 2k3, VMware install, designated 512 MB RAM, alloted a static 20 GB
disk, installed and ran with my "normal" configuration. I was using
something called StatBar (statbar.nl IIRC) and StatBar - not IC3 though -
started going bonkers. It ate thread after thread like it was hungry for
resources it hadn't any call using. It took about 45 minutes and then it
froze, I was able to repeat it. Didn't notice the same thing on XP yet
though. Pinged the authors of both applications - or at least I hope the
email gets through to them.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[Charlie Tame]

See below

In Charlie Tame <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:


Server 2k3, VMware install, designated 512 MB RAM, alloted a static 20 GB
disk, installed and ran with my "normal" configuration. I was using
something called StatBar (statbar.nl IIRC) and StatBar - not IC3 though -
started going bonkers. It ate thread after thread like it was hungry for
resources it hadn't any call using. It took about 45 minutes and then it
froze, I was able to repeat it. Didn't notice the same thing on XP yet
though. Pinged the authors of both applications - or at least I hope the
email gets through to them.

Interesting. Naturally having two different cards, one a PCI that I got by
accident more or less, I thought perhaps either the NVIDIA driver was having
trouble or maybe the NVIDIA multi desktop thing (Since I have two multi
desktop things really I guess).

The other W2003 test setup is on a much older machine, Compaq with AMD and
about 350 MHz, and naturally a lower spec card but quite decent for it's
age, so when that did it too I was quite surprised.

In both cases it's not the bar but the auto hide style setting that cause
trouble... the bar once selected is stable. Didn't seem to cause any real
trouble, but would not stay visible, flashing on sporadically with
apparently random mouse clicks.

Charlie