They used to say the problem with ham radio is that the only people you can reach are other hams. That adage came to mind when I first tried Internet Phone (or "IPhone" as it's known among aficionados), a new program from VocalTec that does pretty much what the name suggests: it allows you to talk in real time with other people on the Internet. The system won't replace AT&T any time soon, but exploring the booming IPhone community provides an intriguing preview of where the Net is headed.
IPhones, along with a growing number of competing programs, work like this: you speak into a microphone connected to your computer, and the software then compresses your voice, shipping it across the Internet to the receiving computer where it's played. Voice quality ranges from the slightly muffled sounds of a speakerphone to the near-gibberish of a New York subway announcement. But hey, you get what you pay for - in this case, a cheap, local phone call to your Internet provider.
That makes the program a godsend for anyone in a long-distance relationship. But while a few people use IPhone as a cheaper way to reach out, right now, its main use is as a telephone chat line - a place for people to hang out and talk with strangers.
My inaugural IPhone call was fairly typical. The program first connects to a central directory of people who are hooked up and willing to talk. I scrolled through the list, clicked on a name at random, and, suddenly mike-shy, stammered my hello. After a short pause, the voice of Tom from St. Louis emerged from my computer. It was exciting at first, a faint echo of how Alexander Graham Bell must have felt when he called Watson. But after Tom and I exchanged weather information, and talked about how cool IPhone was, our conversation petered out.
It was a far cry from the playful and often surprisingly personal conversations I've had on IRC and MUDs - an impression other IPhone users echo. "IRC allows you to get a little more substance," agrees Alice, a longtime IPhone user. "Voice is more personal; people kinda freeze." The old joke that no one knows you're a dog on the Internet doesn't hold true anymore.
Of course, not everyone misses the intricate wordplay and flights of imagination found in the ASCII world. Tom, for one, believes IPhone's growing popularity stems from the fact that "you don't have to be a literary genius like you do on IRC" to communicate effectively. And some people find voice flat-out superior. Jimmy, an aerospace engineer in California, brags he's dated two girls he met through IPhone thanks to his "silver tongue." And Alice, who has the use of only one hand, says IPhone can make the Net a whole lot more accessible to the disabled.
Perhaps the sea change IPhone reflects is that the Net is no longer just for shy hackers who prefer typing over communicating face-to-face. Indeed, IPhone users speak excitedly of how this is just a teaser for what's to come: real-time video. They're undoubtedly right. But, as embarrassingly retro as it sounds, I wonder whether more bandwidth will allow us to communicate better. VocalTec Inc.: www.vocaltec.com or +1 (201) 768 9400.
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IPhone: More Is Less?
