And what you get by putting them all together, is CoWorking. Miller's evaluation of leading IM providers can be found here . TeraMedia allows any number of individuals, or groups, to see, talk, and interact with one another in real-time. As such, TeraMedia incorporates the functionality of the telephone, video network systems, and high-end computers in a single secure solution. Each has advantages and shortcomings.
Telephones are readily available, but provide only audio communication.
Video networks provide visual interaction, but have traditionally been expensive and inconvenient. Moreover, access to the network should not be dependent upon a particular device. This movement toward a single network capable of delivering multiple classes of services to different types of devices is what is known as convergence of voice, video, data and real-time services. It was not designed with components capable of handling the demands of real-time audio or video. As a result, the current performance standard is modest, with delayed clipped audio, and small video streams with jerky, grainy images.