CU-SeeMe
To Distance ToolsCU-SeeMe is video conferencing software, similar to Netmeeting. There are two types of CU-SeeMe versions; the original free one from Cornell University. And the commercial ones by White Pine software, who bought the ownership from Cornell. We will look at each in turn.
Free VersionThe free version would allow you to video conference with the instructor or another student with both audio and video, provided that you have a video camera, about $50, and a microphone. There is no whiteboard though, so formulas and figures will be difficult to communicate. Also, the computers we tried it on crashed very frequently. The biggest reason to use the free version is probably that it is available for Mac. Netmeeting is not.
You can video conference with more than one person at a time, but only using a server. To have a private conversation requires renting a server. You cannot communicate with others running the commercial Windows CU-SeeMe or Netmeeting.
Installing the free version is not for the timid; it took me a full weekend to get the video to work. First, while playing around with the video settings to get the video to work, I selected a poor combination and got system crashes not to be believed. Uninstalling CU-SeeMe, deleting cu-seeme.ini in C:\Windows, and reinstalling did not stop the crashing. I had to uninstall both CU-SeeMe and my video camera (QuickCam Home) and reinstall both to get CU-SeeMe to work. If you want to try anyway; under View/ Preferences/ Video/, you probably want the black and white codec. Under Video Format/ you need a 160x120 video size, and the only pixel depth and compression that worked for me was YVU9. If you really must have (less efficient) color, the Indeo 3.2 Codec worked on my system when I selected the RGB 24 driver. Also note that if you get an "Unsupported Video Format" error, the video, if any, will not be sent out to others. Also, in order for others tou receive your video, they must have a version of the particular CODEC that you are using.
Commercial versionThe commercial CU-SeeMe is made by White Pine. There are versions for Windows and for the Mac: these are different, though they cost the same: $69. It is not clear why you would want to get either version.
The difficulty with the Windows version is that Netmeeting is free and easier to use. The Windows CU-SeeMe can communicate with other people using Netmeeting, but you might as well use Netmeeting for that. We found the sound quality is better using Netmeeting. Also, the Windows commercial CU-SeeMe will not communicate with other people that use the free CU-SeeMe.
The Mac version will communicate with the free CU-SeeMe version on Windows, but you might as well use the free Mac version for that. The Mac version will not communicate with Windows users using Netmeeting. The Mac CU-SeeMe version will communicate with the windows commercial CU-SeeMe, but without a whiteboard. So, you might as well run the free version. The only reason I can see to use the commercial Mac version is if it is less crashy than the free version.
My experiences with trying to install the commercial CU-SeeMe on a late Mac were as follows: After entering all my credit information into the wpine.com server, it could not process my order. I had to go to CUSeeMe World and get it there. The download was about 5 Mb. The downloaded .sit file did not want to install. After fooling around, downloading the 5Mb a few different ways, a call to the credit card processor's toll-free support number brought a quick response: the sit file required a newer version of the destuffer. After updating the destuffer, the software installed but did not want to run; it complained about the executable not being compatible with the new Mac File OS. Another call to the same tech support number as before was not as rewarding. For this problem we were referred to White Pine itself. The support person could not find the support number and gave us the number of the White Pine sales department. Looking around on the White Pine web site, I found the solution myself: the version they sell you is 3.1.2; they do not tell you at that time that you need 3.1.3 for Mac OS 9. To get 3.1.3 you need to go to the White Pine web site and re-enter all your information, including the license key, and then download the 5Mb file again. After doing this, the installer did not want to run; it apparently did not recognize the file as an executable one. Time for White Pine techical support. To get support, you need to register: you need to re-enter all your information again, including your license key, (with no option to turn off junk E-mail) before you can get phone support. Next, to get phone support, you first need to find the number. For that, you need to download the entire user's guide in PDF format. It took over 40 minutes to reach a support technician; this is a long-distance toll call. The technician told us the download must have become corrupted and try again. That worked. We found that this commercial Mac version did not connect to Netmeeting at all, but did connect to the free CU-SeeMe Windows version.
The installation on a Windows 98 machine was less time-consuming. The first try, the setup froze on the video part. After restarting the computer, the setup froze on the squelch setting, requiring reboot. The video is still buggy; I get a couple of video selection boxes when I start up a CU-SeeMe session. Also, the call notification crashes when shutting it down. But it works (more stably than the free version.)
How to obtain itThis web page simply describes the software. It does not endorse the software beyond the fact that it seemed useful to us.
You alone assume total responsibility for any adverse effects of this software. You alone are responsible for making sure that no copyrights, licenses, contractual obligations, patents, etcetera are violated. In particular you must carefully read all licenses and ensure that you comply with their terms.
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