Thanks to a new technolgy U.S. soldiers serving overseas will be able to see and hear their loved ones through a revolutionary e-mail service.
(PRWEB) January 7, 2004 -- Thousands of U.S. service men and women separated from their families during the holiday season will get a chance to see and hear" their loved ones through a free video e-mail program that allows any computer with access to the Internet to receive the video messages.
VMdirect, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is donating video email accounts and web-cams to the family service centers at 80 U.S. military bases to help alleviate the separation anxiety.
Unlike other video e-mail services that require both the originating computer and the receiving computer to have downloaded compatible streaming video or player" software, video e-mail messages sent through VMdirects Web-based system can be originated from any PC with a video camera and can be received and viewed by any PC with Internet access, even a dialup connection. The idea for this unique holiday gift originated with Bruce Fealk, Rochester Hills, Michigan, an independent distributor of the VMdirect service.
My daughter is in Turkey with her husband, who is with the military," Fealk said. We exchange video e-mails almost every day. One morning I got to thinking how cool it would be if other families could see their loved ones, just like I see her. She isnt being shot at, so I cant even imagine how much more wonderful it would be for them."
Fealk first contacted VMdirect President Amy Black and got the agreement to donate the equipment and facilitating service. According to VMdirect the donation is worth approximately $200,000.
It was an easy decision," Black said, With so many military families apart at this time, they could see their new babies, or kids whove lost a tooth, or in their school holiday pageant costume. It can help keep the family bonds alive."
Fealk then contacted the Pentagon. Their response was very enthusiastic," he said. He explained that because the Pentagon is prohibited from accepting donations or gifts, the program is being set up as a donation to the family service centers at the individual bases.
Bruce should probably be negotiating peace treaties," Black commented about his negotiations with the Pentagon, he was tenacious."
The program for families to send free video e-mails up to one minute in length to their loved ones serving in the military extends for six weeks, starting from when the camera is set up at a particular U.S. military bases family service center. The family will need to go the service center to originate and send the message. There is no limit on the number of messages a family can send during the six weeks. Families of military personnel need to contact the family service center at the nearest military base to find out about the availability of the free video e-mail program. Families can also choose to purchase a personal account for $4.95 per month and, with a basic web cam connected to their PC, they can send video e-mail from the comfort of their own home.
Obviously, we were thinking about the military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan," Fealk explained, but the program is available for any service men and women who are separated from their families."
VMdirect was established in November 2001. VMdirects founders, Craig Ellins and Black, were also co-founders of the helloNetwork, Inc., a leading Java technology developer.
When you send a video e-mail message through VMdirects service, youre actually recording the message on VMdirects server and sending a link to the recipient, who clicks on the link to view the message. All of the necessary software to record and play the messages reside on VMdirects server, which is why any PC with a video camera can originate a message and any PC with Internet access can view the message. VMdirect has video e-mail services for personal use starting as low as $4.95 per month, as well as business-oriented service that supports hundreds or even thousands of video e-mails.
Watch a news report here.
http://view2.myvideotalk.com/hipi1.asp?msgid=ef667213-fe80-44a8-906d-491a7af4dd19
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