Updated: Tom and Rafe, live on uStream
On our weekly Real Deal podcast today, Tom and I discussed lifecasting (e.g., Justin.tv) and the live streaming tools ordinary people (as opposed to 24/7 exhibitionists) can use to broadcast their own cams in real time: uStream, Stickam, ComVu (review), and Veodia (review).
Here's the show:
How (and why) to put a real-time video of your life online.
Our discussion wouldn't be complete without a live demo of streaming, so Tom and I both streamed ourselves during the taping, using uStream. We had some problems (most related to the ancient laptop I used to record the show, I think), but I grabbed a recording of the stream.
We used uStream, by the way, because of all the live-streaming products I've tested, it's the only one with a good chat function. However, at the moment, the chat function uses IRC ports, which are blocked by many firewalls. A uStream co-founder told me that within a few weeks a new chat technology will roll out on the service, which will route around this problem.
Kyte.tv's (review) chat function actually comes close to uStream's, but it doesn't offer the real-time video, just timed snapshots.
If you want to join the ongoing discussion, come on over to the Real Deal forums .
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Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe. 
