In the past few weeks we have been busy working on a new release of Jolicam. This version will currently be open in a pre-release stage for selected users and will be publicly released shortly.

We strongly believe that our users know best what they need out of Jolicam and therefore this version introduces two new features that were mostly asked for by users. In addition we introduced some back end improvements, resolved bugs and simplified the registration and installation process.

So, what are the new features and how will they be operated:

1. Two-way audio support

In additon to viewing your webcam, you can now hear what is going on in the room where the camera is installed and also be able to speak into the phone and be heard on the computer’s speakers. Naturally, a new configuration panel is available for turning on/off this feature and selecting microphone and speakers device.

The panel is accessible using the following steps:
1. Right click the Jolicam tray icon
2. Select “Edit Camera Settings”
3. In the wizard navigate to the new “Audio devices” page and configure your devices

2. Discrete call mode

Several users were bothered by the fact that the Jolicam client makes explicit notifications about incoming video calls (pop-ups and tray icon animations), so that a user who is logged into the computer is aware of a person calling.

The new version allows you to configure these popups and icon indications to be turned off, resulting in a discrete mode Jolicam client. To do so use the following steps:

1. Right click the Jolicam tray icon
2. Select “Edit Camera Settings”
3. In the wizard click the “Advanced” button

4. Goto the “General” section and uncheck the notification and popup check boxes.

We are always open for more feedback about Jolicam and would like to hear your needs and ideas for new features.

The Jolicam install base is rapidly growing and of course so is the number of questions and support calls we get. We really like reaching out for those users in need of support, because this is a great way to learn about our product.

Every day we learn something new. Most interesting is that we suddenly understand folks are using the service in new and exciting ways: installing it on multiple computers to get a broader view, watching over their parking space or checking for stray cats that wander to the factory at night setting off the alarm.

 
On the technical side we learned that some users experienced problems using their phones to video call the service. Some phone models still use old firmware versions that are not fully compatible with the video call standard and other models, with a touch screen and virtual keyboard do not send key presses correctly.

 
If you experience problems connecting to the Jolicam service (don’t know if your phone supports video calls, you call but no video shows, you cannot press keys, call is disconnected) there are a few basic checks worth doing:

1. Test a video call to our Ayalon service 054-7920000
2. Ask a friend who has 3G video calls to video call you
3. Send us a support email (support@joliper.com), clearly stating your phone model

 
Here is a list of some of the common issues and how to overcome them:

 
1. Problem: No video on some Nokia phones: due to old firmware (e.g. 2 year old N95s may have this problem)

Workaround/Solution : you can check if you have the latest firmware following the instructions on this cool site (or simply by pressing *#0000# on your phone). If you experience problems calling the service you may want to upgrade the firmware for free by going to the nearest Cellcom / Orange / Pelephone lab.

 
2. Problem: Your touch screen phone does not send key presses. There is a problem with LG 990 (Viewty) and older versions of the Samsung Omnia not sending keys and some versions of E71 firmware that send multiple key presses.

Workaround/Solution: There is a simple workaround: just configure your camera to not require a PIN code and send us an email to support@joliper.com so we can confirm the service terms for you. Then you can call the camera directly without the need to press any key.

 
3. Problem: Phones with incompatible codecs (some Motorola models) that do not display video.

Workaround/Solution: we are still looking into this one. Unfortunately there is no workaround at this point. You can however allow access to your camera for additional phone numbers and use them in the meantime.

 
We are also getting asked about an iPhone version. If you are interested in calling your camera from an iPhone please send us an email and we will notify you once we have a solution for the iPhone available.

During the development of Jolicam, we had to test it on various platforms, including virtual machines where a hardware camera was not available. For that purpose we created a virtual camera module that can play images from the local hard disk. We called it “Photo Viewer Tester”. As sometimes happens during the development of software, those internal utilities that your R&D comes up with for their own use, prove to be quite useful for real end users.

 
Think about the way you share your family photos with your parents or grandparents. For tech savvy folks this is a piece of cake nowadays: you open up an online Picasa account and send them an email with the address of your photo album or you send them a zip file with the images that they can extract and view on their home computer or digital photo frame.

 
However, in the real world parents and grandparents are not always computer wizes. This is where the Jolicam Photo Viewer comes in handy. Simply have them call the Jolicam service number from their 3G mobile whenever and wherever they like. Instead of viewing your webcam stream, they will be able to see a slide show with recent photos of the grandchildren or whatever albums you point the Photo Viewer to.

 
The free download version of Jolicam is bundled with a basic copy of the “Photo Viewer camera” plug-in. To activate it choose “Photo Viewer” in the camera type section of the setup wizard and point it at your desired pictures folder.

 

 
Of course, the interface in this free version is very basic. Please send us feedback and ideas for more advanced feature you would like to see in the next versions (e.g. integration with your online Flickr / Yahoo account, navigation menu, sub-titles, audio).