Cheap Cu-SeeMe Pro (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT) Price

The accompanying Quick Start Guide will serve as your ready guidebook as you begin your journey. CU-SeeMe Pro offers a number of options: point-to-point calling, group conferencing, or cybercasting. Most likely, your needs will fall into one of these categories.

Start by checking out CU-SeeMe World. After downloading the latest version of the Web plug-in, you can log in to this cybercafe and immediately start chatting with fellow CU-SeeMe netizens. Depending on your connection speed and computing power, your video and audio will range from choppy to near-pristine. You'll find that the majority of the chat here, as well as in other uses, occurs via the keyboard.

After getting a taste with CU-SeeMe World, give your cross-continent friends or family a ring. For those familiar with some of the most popular instant- messaging applications, you'll feel right at home with the Conferencing Companion. Rather than type in your mother's IP address each time you would like to videochat, the Conferencing Companion will store all of her data in the address book, and even notify you when she's online. Contacting her is easier than picking up the phone: she's now just a double-click away.

Others may find the group conferencing options to be the answer to a number of professional woes. Hoping to get your colleague's opinion on a new company logo, or the phrasing of a press release? CU-SeeMe Pro offers an even easier option than standard e-mail: the collaboration tools allow you to share applications, use the virtual whiteboard, and transfer files. You'll both (or all for that matter--there isn't a limit to the number of users allowed to collaborate) see the changes being made, as they are made. When you want to take a turn, a click lets the group know that you have some thoughts to add.

And perhaps you would like to take your 15 minutes of fame by cybercasting yourself. This one-way feature outputs a video and audio feed to all users connected, but individual users will not be able to send video, audio, text, or graphics back to you.

With a number of satisfactory features, CU-SeeMe Pro offers a great opportunity to get into videochatting. Invest in it for yourself, then send (or recommend) copies to your nearest and dearest. Setup is easy, using it is intuitive, and, should you run into any problems, both the printed guide and the Web site are well-equipped reference tools. And, if all else fails, ask someone in the cybercafe's Corner Booth. --Emilie Dirks