- Chat-N-Tickle

Chat-N-Tickle was developed by a Canadian programmer. My goal is to introduce his videochat program, which is very easy to use and which is, regarding the video and especially the audio quality, one of the best videochats available at this time. So if you are looking for sort of "videotelephony via internet", why not give it a try? Chat-N-Tickle can be downloaded on www.chatntickle.com

In the beginning of "Instant Messengers" (i.e. the REAL TIME communication over the internet) this programmer had a favourite program called FreeTel. As this is not existent any more, he just developed his own videochat, which is strongly reminding of the former FreeTel, but with some nice new modern features. In the current version (5.x) it has been on the net since the turn of 2001/2002. So it is still rather new and sort of "secret tip" in the chatters' world.

"Chat-N-Tickle" is a unique videochat program for talking to friends and family, as well as for meeting new people.

Unlike on other videochats, here, however, the communication is established as a direct connection and not via a server (I will return to that below) and "conferencing" like, for instance, on NetMeeting, is not possible here.

Like in many other videochat programs, You do not need a microphone or a webcam for communicating with other users. Pure text messaging is also enabled. But it is definitely more fun when both users can send audio and video!

In the previous months I have been trying out many videochat programs (NetMeeting, Yahoo, Eyeball, Paltalk, ISPQ and others). NetMeeting and Yahoo (version 5.5) are excellent, too, but none of the others convinced me as much as Chat-N-Tickle.

What makes Chat-N-Tickle so special to me:

Chat-N-Tickle works fine already with a dial-up modem! With a fast connection (for example, DSL) you will be surprised about the clear sound of the audio chat. None of the above other videochats (apart from NetMeeting) can compete in this feature.
Chat-N-Tickle is very easy to use: You have one box for text messaging mode, and only if you wish, you can open a second box for video transmission. This will keep your desktop clear.
In comparison to other videochats, Chat-N-Tickle does not use too much of the computer's memory.
No "history", i.e. you can communicate without logs of the dialogue on your computer.
While on instant messengers sometimes you are "chatted-up" by several friends at one time when they see you online, on Chat-N-Tickle you are not available for others as long as you have your current chat. So you can really concentrate on the actual chat without being disturbed by others.
The program is free and - what is also very pleasant - there is no advertising.
No entry in your computer's registry.
No "phonehome" (i.e. Chat-N-Tickle won't secretly send data about you and your computer to the net, what is done, however, every day by many other programs, which were "free downloads").

Besides:

Chat-N-Tickle has no "buddy list" - everybody sees everybody who has started the program and is waiting for a talk.
No registration, no data collection by creating a so-called "profile". You also can start the program with a new handle any time.
Since summer there are now icons for your nick, and also this makes the program more jolly.
If you own a vibrating mouse, so you can receive "tickles" from your buddy: this type of mouse will change the buzzer signals into a tickle for you. (This is where the name "Chat-N-Tickle" comes from - You did want to know that, didn't you?) ;-)
You can send each other image files on Chat-N-Tickle, they will open immediately after receipt on your screen. Other files (such, containing executive code) cannot be shared. So you need not be afraid to receive a virus (at least not at the current level of computer technics).
You can surf together by sending a URL directly onto the desktop of your friend. Also in this case the browser would open automatically. However, I think it is a requirement of politeness to ask before sending a website onto the computer of someone else. (But generally, not only for this case here, you should be careful to use a browser with the latest security patches, especially if you are still using Internet Explorer.)

Because Chat-N-Tickle is so simple to use, it could be the ideal videochat program for the whole family. A short note, however, is required with regard to children (this is for all videochat programs): Children should not use the program without control by their parents. In EVERY videochat program you will also find some flashers. We, the "mature people", can handle this, more or less, but we should not allow children to be confronted with such situations. (But let me add here, that - at least until now - there are not so many flashers on chat-n-tickle like on other videochats, and most of them are fair enough to let you know they have "special desires" by indicating that together with their nick.

As we are just on that topic: Have fun with Chat-N-Tickle, but think about some security.

Because there is peer-to-peer connection for chatting established, you should have a "healthy " sense of caution when chatting with strangers. Use the program preferrably for chatting with friends and family. For this it is excellent!

If you are chatting to strangers, you never know, who is the person on the other end of the line and which are his/her real intentions. An enchanting 19 years old girl who does not have mic/loudspeaker nor cam (how sad!) might have a beard in reality and might be loughing out loudly about your male flirtatious chat-up or about the "open talk from woman to woman" ...

If you want to chat also with strangers, then don't forget about the direct connection. So why should you chat with strangers then in the text messaging mode? For pure text messaging there are ICQ and other instant messengers(IM), there the connection is established mainly via the server of the IM system first (unless you wish to establish a direct connection), so that messaging there - with the required security settings - is safe. So tell me - why should someone without mic and webcam want to use just chat-n-tickle? Let us better spoil their fun. Hang up, if they want to chat only in text mode, insist minimum on audiochat! (You surely met already such chatters, who tell you nothing about themselves, but who are trying to keep you busy by boring standard questions. Imagine you have the sound on - and while there is only short and slow text arriving on your screen, you perhaps can hear him hacking wildly onto his keyboard?)

Make your computer a castle! An antivirus program is a must for every internet user, and I consider also a (regularly updated) firewall a good idea - but never rely onto your firewall alone. Make your computer so safe, that it would be rather secure also without a firewall. Visit the website of Steve Gibson www.grc.com and check your computer safety by the "Shields Up" and "Probe My Ports" test. If necessary, close the ports 137 - 139 manually (the how-to is also explained there).

On Chat-N-Tickle you can share only image files (JPG, BMP). So there is no danger. But as you can share also websites, be sure to have the appropriate security settings in your browser. (By the way, I am going to introduce my favourite browser soon.)

Hope I did not scare you with my comments about security. I keep to it - Chat-N-Tickle is MY FAVOURITE PROGRAM for videochat! But new, perhaps unexperienced users should be aware that one has to be generally careful, when establishing direct connections on the internet, and I would like to give them an impulse for making their computer secure so that they can have fun here and everywhere on the net.

On the next pages, by the help of screenshots, I tell German and Russian readers how they can use the program without knowing English, how to download and install chat-n-tickle, and I have translated for them help files from the chat-n-tickle homepage.

You can have that much better originally from the source! Please visit the chat-n-tickle homepage!

Have fun with Chat-N-Tickle!

- Chat-N-Tickle