Patent ID: 8095665

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with a local client, determined capabilities of a remote client with which to establish a communications link, including an ability to transmit audio, wherein the determined capabilities of the remote client are determined by at least an application executing on the remote client surveying at least one of hardware and software installed on the remote client; establishing an active connection with the remote client based on the determined capabilities by contacting the remote client and requesting the active connection; displaying an indicator at the local client for the established active connection after the connection is established, the indicator indicating available capabilities for the remote client, the available capabilities being based on the determined capabilities; receiving a selection of the displayed indicator from a user of the local client; if the selection comprises a selector hovering over the displayed indicator: receiving media from the remote client using the previously established active connection, wherein the previously established active connection comprises a simplex communication channel or a half-duplex communication channel, and rendering the media at the local client to the local client user as the media is received; and if the selection comprises an activation of the displayed indicator, sending media from the location client to the remote client using the previously established active connection, wherein the previously established active connection comprises a full duplex communication channel.