Listenning to sound in real time

Here's a new thing of the Internet: sound in real time. Real time sound works like that: when you want a sound file, usually you should have to download it, and that takes a lot of time, and then play it. The real time sound technology forces the tranfer of the sound file to be done at a certain speed, enough to the computer be able to transfer it and to play it on the same time. So, you don't have to do the download first. This technology is ready to work on a modem, including the 14400 bps ones. If you have one of these, or a faster one, (or even a direct Internet connection), you can use this technology.

The program that allows you to listen to the sound files is the RealAudio. You can browse this site, read information, and transfer the program, or the plug-in to be used with Netscape.

The version 1.x of RealAudio works over a 14400 bps modem, but the 2.x one needs a 28800 bps one.

The use of this program is very easy: the installer installs everything that Netscape needs, automatically, so you don't need to do almost anything. Usually, the sound file addresses are in the WWW pages. So, when you click on a RealAudio file link, RealAudio will start to transfer and play it. If you want to try RealAudio, a cool portuguese site to do that is TVI, where you may listen to Sofia Carvalho (a portuguese reporter) presenting a portuguese news program.

Real time two-way sound communication

There's another way of doing sound communication. If you use a program like NetPhone, you can simulate a telephone: speak and listen to someone else in real time. You may go to the Netphone's site to know more information about Netphone, and to download the demo version, or to buy the complete one.

Using the demo version, you have one week to test the program, and the calls made by you "drop" when time reaches 90 seconds.

ATTENTION: These programs, and the one described on the next page, need a data tranfer from the site to your computer at a constant and very high speed. Using them, you're contributing to the degradation of the speed on the INTERNET to the other users. Please, until the INTERNET isn't more sofisticated and faster, try not to use these programs very often.

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