Technology: Video Promises To Liven Up E-Mail Messages

With text communications, it can be difficult on occasion for the recipient to put information into context. Apart from text formatting (bold print, italics, colors) and graphical items, e-mail does not offer users many ways to convey the various nuances found with face-to-face communication, such as inflection, tone, and facial expressions.

Little by little, the traditional barriers that have hindered video transmissions over the Internet are beginning to fall. Inexpensive, quality Web cameras and microphones have been integrated into desktop systems, laptops, and even handheld devices; LAN and WAN bandwidth has increased so networks can support video transmissions; and vendors developed a wide variety of techniques to ensure that video transmissions receive the bandwidth necessary so video exchanges are crisp and clear rather than garbled.

As a result, companies are looking for ways to integrate video into a wide array of applications, including e-mail instant messages. "Companies want to take advantage of the enhanced communications that video offers," said David Via, a research analyst at market research firm Ferris Research Inc. (Via Technology News)