WhiteBoard provides a shared painting environment between two Mac's over the Internet. It was written by Cliff McCollum <cliffmcc@blueglobe.com> and is available for FREE. And no, there isn't a windows version available.
This program was originally created mostly as a personal experiment in using Threaded networking under PowerPlant. Please be aware that it isn't finished, may have a few bugs, and isn't terribly pretty - but it does work.
I completed WhiteBoard in November of 1995 and it had just been sitting around since then. One day, in a fit of computer cleaning, I stumbled across it on my hard drive: I had almost forgotten it existed.
Rather than throw it out, I thought I'd give it away.
Remember that this program is offered *AS IS*. I have only tested it on five or six different setups, though I expect it should work most everywhere. Please don't expect WhiteBoard to be commercial, or even shareware quality, as I haven't polished it enough for either of these categories. But it does work, and I'm sure that some of you will find it useful.
Also, despite that fact that it is offered for free, WhiteBoard is still Copyright (c) 1997 Cliff McCollum. Feel free to distribute WhiteBoard however you please, so long as this "Read Me" file is included along with the program. If you include WhiteBoard on any commercial compilations (CDs, Magazines, Books, etc.) I'd appreciate a quick note informing me of such.
Other Programs I Have Written
If you find WhiteBoard interesting or useful, perhaps you'll enjoy some of my shareware programs. I currently have two shareware program available for the Macintosh: "AliasZoo" and "Keys Off", and one available for Windows: "Port Scanner".
You can check out all my shareware by visiting Blue Globe Software's home page at:
<http://www.blueglobe.com/~cliffmcc>.
How Do I Paint With It?
When you first start WhiteBoard, it looks very much like a basic painting program. There are tools for lines, squares and circles (both hollow and filled), free form scribbles, and an eraser. There are also five pens widths that you can choose from.
Along the top of the window is a status area. This area contains the name(s) of the WhiteBoard users, and indicates which color each user has been assigned. These colors cannot be changed.
Connecting To Another WhiteBoard User
To connect two copies of WhiteBoard together requires a little cooperation. One of the WhiteBoard users must agree to wait, while the other person connects to the user that is waiting. It works like this:
User 1: Selects "Listen for Connection..." from the FILE menu. A dialog will appear asking you to enter your name. Type your name and press OK. A progress bar will now appear, and WhiteBoard will begin to wait for the other user to connect.
User 2: Selects "Connect..." from the FILE menu. A dialog will appear asking you to enter the IP address of the machine that is listening for a connection. Enter this address using either the full IP name (machine.uvic.ca), or dotted decimal notation (142.104.104.104). You are also requied to enter your name. Once you press OK, your copy of WhiteBoard will attempt to connect to the address you have indicated.
If all goes well, within a few seconds you should see your name and the name of the other WhiteBoard user, appear in the status bar along the top of the window. If a connection cannot be made, an error will be displayed.
Once Connected
Now that you are connected, you can begin drawing. Anything you draw on your Macintosh will be reflected on the Macintosh connected to yours, and anything the other person draws will appear on your Mac. There really isn't much more to it than that.
Note, that any drawing you do before the connection takes place will not appear on the remote Macintosh.
Disconnecting
To disconnect you can either quit the program, or choose "Disconnect" from the FILE menu.
About the Author
Cliff McCollum is a programmer/analyst with the University of Victoria's department of Computer Science. He has produced many shareware programs, including Port Scanner, AliasZoo, and Keys Off. All of Cliff's shareware can be viewed by visiting <http://www.blueglobe.com/~cliffmcc>.
Contacting the Author
If you have any questions, feel free to send me Email at <cliffmcc@blueglobe.com>. I'll attempt to respond to all questions, however, since WhiteBoard is free, I won't promise anything.
