--- Forwarded Message from "Noel Eyre" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 12:53:24 +1300
>From: "Noel Eyre" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #6499 Networking software for Mac Lab

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I suspect the problem is related to the OS 9 not being able to do true multi-tasking. In other words, to monitor and talk to students you need a "listener/talker" program to be rumnning concurrently with the student MM program.

The lattest OS for the Mac (OS X) has as its base a UNIX kernal. Theoretically it is possible to do what you want by having OS X  two processes such as a "listener/talker" and a multimedia  running which  communicate with each other through 'pipe' process (called IPC -'interprocess communication').

If you are unsure what this means,  then your resident UNIX guru should be sble to hrlp you out.

I imagine that it might take some time to write an IPC program or a script that would do this.

In the long run, a hardware solution might be quicker and less expensive.

regards 
Noel

Noel Eyre
School of Languages, Auckland University of Technology
Private Bag 92006  Auckland
+64 9 917 9999 x6007
fax +64 9 917 9978
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>>> [log in to unmask] 02/07/02 04:55am >>>
--- Forwarded Message from Henry Wilmer <[log in to unmask]> ---

>User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.0.3
>Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 17:39:42 -0500
>Subject: Networking software for Mac Lab
>From: Henry Wilmer <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>

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I've been trying for a year to find software that would allow a teacher to
listen in and break in when necessary as a student does oral exercises.  We
do not have a turnkey system à la Sony or Tandberg.  We've got an all Mac
lab consisting of 40 iMac DV special editions, circa 2000.  We use Network
Assistant, which is fine for observing student's as they use their machines,
but you can't talk to them if they have any audio software open.  I've also
tried Timbuktu, but had the same problem

H