For a paranoid section of the population, a giant face on a monitor can be an Orwellian nightmare come true. But, a giant face on a monitor that walks around town in a white jumpsuit is actually pretty cool. Still, he should definitely keep an eye out for a girl in red shorts wielding hammers.
Apparently at least one “major Australian financial institution” is looking to test NCR’s fancy new video conferencing Automatic Teller Machine. Aside from the usual touchscreen options, customers can be directly connected with a teller so they can ask questions about their account, and even — wait for it — organise a home loan.
Video chatting – the future is now! But it sure is expensive. Between Logitech’s Revue ($US300 for the box and $US150 for the cam), and Cisco’s $US600 Roman emperor offering, you might feel left out. But you have (affordable) options.
It should have been done when it was first introduced: FaceTime video conferencing between iPhone/iPod Touch and desktop computers. The latest rumour is that it will be added soon. For Macs, Apple could incorporate it in iChat, while there’s no mention about how they are planning to do it on Windows.
And it doesn’t require users to wear a crazy-looking glove. MobileASL incorporates compressed video signals, increased image quality around the face and hands, and motion detection to make it a better option than other mobile video conferencing services.
Apple artificially limits the use of Facetime – their video conferencing software for the iPhone 4 – to Wi-Fi use. Good thing we have independent developers to make it work under 3G too. This is how to do it:
