MeBeam
Encyclopedia
MeBeam is a video chat
website, that allows any user to create videoconference
rooms for up to 18 people. MeBeam does not require registration, login or downloading of software.
MeBeam is now Koowy.
site, and gained popularity after a plugin was developed to provide multi-party videoconferencing for Adium
in August 2008, after being featured on Digg
,, and has since been the most downloaded plugin for Adium.
The site was also featured on Chris Pirillo
, at which point it gained wide spread usage.
The website uses Adobe Systems
Flash Player to display video and access the user's webcam
. It works across, Windows, Linux
and Macintosh
, along with any web browser that supports Flash
8.
As of 17 November 2010, MeBeam appears to be unusable. There has been no activity on their blog (http://blog.mebeam.com) since January 2009 and the reaction time of the video response is so slow that it's not a viable service. Also, using a Logitech 9000 webcam, the zoom calibration is such that, when zoomed out to the extreme, it still shows only a small part of the face, unless you sit on the far side of the room. Perhaps development may still be in progress, but there is no obvious way to contact the developer or determine the status.
The site now forwards to http://www.koowy.com/ and appears to be fully functional.
It started life as WigiWigi in 2004 and has been re-branded as http://www.koowy.com/ in 2010.
Videotelephony
Videotelephony comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time....
website, that allows any user to create videoconference
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
rooms for up to 18 people. MeBeam does not require registration, login or downloading of software.
MeBeam is now Koowy.
Overview
The site was launched in November 2007 by Ashod Apakian, as a web-based demo of a research application he was working on, with the goal of creating the worlds fastest videotelephonyVideotelephony
Videotelephony comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time....
site, and gained popularity after a plugin was developed to provide multi-party videoconferencing for Adium
Adium
Adium is a free and open source instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple IM networks, including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, and XMPP. It supports many protocols through the libraries libezv , MGTwitterEngine , and libpurple...
in August 2008, after being featured on Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
,, and has since been the most downloaded plugin for Adium.
The site was also featured on Chris Pirillo
Chris Pirillo
Christopher Joseph Pirillo is the founder and maintainer of Lockergnome, which is a network of blogs, web forums, mailing lists, and online communities. He spent two years hosting the TechTV television program Call for Help, where he also hosted the first annual Call-for-Help-a-Thon...
, at which point it gained wide spread usage.
The website uses Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
Flash Player to display video and access the user's webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
. It works across, Windows, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, along with any web browser that supports Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
8.
As of 17 November 2010, MeBeam appears to be unusable. There has been no activity on their blog (http://blog.mebeam.com) since January 2009 and the reaction time of the video response is so slow that it's not a viable service. Also, using a Logitech 9000 webcam, the zoom calibration is such that, when zoomed out to the extreme, it still shows only a small part of the face, unless you sit on the far side of the room. Perhaps development may still be in progress, but there is no obvious way to contact the developer or determine the status.
The site now forwards to http://www.koowy.com/ and appears to be fully functional.
It started life as WigiWigi in 2004 and has been re-branded as http://www.koowy.com/ in 2010.