Connecting to a Worldwide Meeting with John Sherman on a Mac Computer.

The detailed instructions below, which include many useful pictures, should give all you need to set up your system so you can participate in our online meetings.

But please understand that we are unable to provide any real technical support regarding the software, nor are we able to provide basic computer skills training.

There are only John and Carla working here and, as joyous and wonderfully nourishing as this work is, there are still only so many hours in the day and much for us to do in them. We are happy to do all we can to make these meetings available and useful to all, but please also do all you can to figure out on your own how to set up and make your system work for these meetings. And please help one another as much as possible.

If you are using a Windows computer, click here for different instructions.

For security reasons, we set up a password to the server. You will not be able to log in to the meeting unless you enter this password in your login information: truth.

We do not have any Mac computers here at the River Ganga Foundation, so our super brilliant and dear friend Brian prepared these detailed instructions for you.

If you're visiting this page for the first time, please do the following test. The subsequent links and steps should guide you through the configuration process:

• Click here to launch TeamSpeex and connect to the Online Meeting Room, note what happens, then do one of the following:


• If a Connect To Server window opened up for you, click here


• If nothing happened, or if you got an error message, click here

Index

• System and Software Requirements


• Listening Hardware


• Connecting to the Server Using TeamSpeex -- the Short Version


• Connecting to the Server Using TeamSpeex -- the Full Version


• Accessing the TeamSpeex Preferences


• Accessing the Mac System Preferences


• Talking with John during the Meeting


• Troubleshooting & Advice for Intel-based Mac Users

System and Software Requirements

To connect to Worldwide Meetings with John Sherman,

• you must first install a free and very small program called TeamSpeex on your computer, and/or


• Upgrade your Operating System (OS) to Mac OS X 10.3.9 (Panther) or later. Please be aware that TeamSpeex will not run on on earlier releases.


• Mac OS X has been reviewed six times since its introduction. The different versions (or reference releases) were named after big cats and numbered sequentially: Cheetah (10.0.x); Puma (10.1.x); Jaguar (10.2.x); Panther (10.3.x); Tiger (10.4.x). In the late spring of 2007 Leopard (10.5.x) will be released. To check which OS your computer is running, go to the Apple Menu (the blue Apple icon in the top left-hand corner of your desktop) and choose About This Mac. You should see the window below. The reference release version number can be found below the large MAC OS X heading.


• If you have Panther, but not the latest version, you can automatically update for free by clicking on the Software Update... button (shown in the window below). Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the task.


• Unfortunately you can only upgrade to the latest version of your reference release. In other words, owners of Cheetah can only upgrade to the latest version of Cheetah; Puma to Puma; and Jaguar to Jaguar. Unfortunately, if your OS is earlier than Panther, you will have to purchase a new version to listen to the Worldwide Meetings.


• Users of 10.4.x (Tiger) and the forthcoming 10.5.x (Leopard) should have no problems.

If you've now installed TeamSpeex and your operating system is compliant, click here to launch TeamSpeex and connect to the Worldwide Meeting, and do one of the following:

• If a Connect To Server window opened up for you when you pressed the above link, click here.


• If nothing happened, you will have to fill the log-in information manually. Please click here to continue.

What Hardware to Use When Listening to Meetings

It is vitally important to kill the sound coming from your computer's speakers when teleconferencing. Speaker noise will be picked up by your microphone and fed back into the communication lines in the form of a noisy echo--this will have a disruptive effect on the meeting.

There are a couple of pieces of hardware that will eliminate sonic feedback:

• A USB headset is by far the most practical solution. Consisting of an all-in-one headphone and microphone set, these work exceptionally well and need not be expensive. Please note that the link is simply to give an idea of what's available and is in no way an endorsement of Amazon.com! Most large department or electronics stores (Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City etc.) will have a good and inexpensive selection available.


• Headphones or Earbuds. These are good because they replace or cancel your computer's speaker system. Simply unplug your speakers and connect your headphones or earbuds. Often--but not always--speakers will have a headphone socket built into the front that will defeat the speaker sound without the need to disconnect from the computer. Please note that you will need a separate microphone with this solution if you wish to speak to John.

• Click here for advice on setting the TeamSpeex Preferences.


• Click here for advice on setting your Mac System Sound Preferences

Connecting to the Server Using TeamSpeex -- the Short Version

If you used the link to auto-start TeamSpeex, you should see a window similar to the one above: You are only 4-steps away from connecting to the Worldwide Meetings server!

• In the Server Address entry box type in the IP address: 66.201.187.199:8100 It must be typed in exactly this manner, with no spaces--pay careful attention to the colon (:) before the 8100!
  
  Please note: it is possible that TeamSpeex has auto-filled riverganga.serverroom.us:8100 into the Server Address entry box. While this entry (known as an 'alias') should work under most conditions, there is a slight chance the DNS server may fail to recognize it. To avoid problems, go with the numerical IP address mentioned above.


• You can use any name you like for your Nickname, up to a maximum of 29-characters (including spaces). Because your Nickname will be the only way we can identify you on the final list of participants, it's exciting for everyone involved to know where you're located on the Planet, so please give us a clue as to your whereabouts! In the following example I'm going to enter "Brian from Dallas, Texas; USA" as my Nickname.


• Choose the Anonymous radio button.


• The Server Password is truth.  The Password field is case sensitive, so you must type truth exactly as written: with no capital letters or spaces.  Please note: The entry in the window below is for illustrational purposes only. When you type the password, your entry will be protected from prying eyes and truth will appear as a series of bullets like this •••••• This is perfectly normal!
  
  During a previous meeting, we were harassed by script kiddies who were trying to disrupt our meeting with a barrage of offensive language. For this reason, we set a password to the server. You will not be able to log in to the meeting unless you enter truth in your login information .

If your Connect To Server window looks like the one above (with your own Nickname, of course!), simply click on the Connect button in the bottom right-hand corner and you should see this window:

As you can see from the list above, "Brian from Dallas, Texas; USA" is displayed as my user name. On the day of the Meeting, there could be over a hundred participants on the list, and it's fun for everyone to see where-on-Earth everyone's calling from!

That's it! You're connected! Now please:

• Click here for advice about what hardware to use when listening to Meetings


• Click here for advice on setting the TeamSpeex Preferences.


• Click here for advice on setting your Mac System Sound Preferences

Connecting to the Server Using TeamSpeex -- the Full Version

When you first open TeamSpeex, you should see this window:

In the top left-hand corner of that window, click the gold Connect button. A second window should appear. Fill in the following information:

• In the Server Address entry box type in the IP address: 66.201.187.199:8100 It should be typed in exactly this manner with no spaces--pay careful attention to the colon (:) before the 8100!
  
  Please note: it is possible that TeamSpeex has auto-filled riverganga.serverroom.us:8100 into the Server Address entry box. While this entry (known as an 'alias') should work under most conditions, there is a slight chance the DNS server may fail to recognize it. You should have no problems with the numerical IP address mentioned above.


• You can use anything you like for your Nickname up to a maximum of 29-characters (including spaces). Because your Nickname will be the only way we can identify you on the final list of participants, it's exciting for everyone involved to know where you're located, so please give us a clue as to your whereabouts! In the above example I've entered "Brian from Dallas, Texas; USA" as my Nickname.


• Choose the Anonymous radio button.


• The Server Password is truth.  The Password field is case sensitive, so you must type truth exactly as written: with no capital letters or spaces.  Please note: The entry in the window above is for illustrational purposes only. When you type the password, your entry will be protected from prying eyes and truth will appear as a series of bullets like this: ••••• This is perfectly normal!

  During a previous meeting, we were harassed by script kiddies who were trying to disrupt our meeting with a barrage of offensive language. For this reason, we set a password to the server. You will not be able to log in to the meeting unless you enter truth in your login information .

If your Connect To Server window looks like the one above (with your own Nickname, of course!), simply click on the Connect button in the bottom right-hand corner and you should see the following window:

As you can see from the list above, "Brian from Dallas, Texas; USA" is displayed as my user name. On the day of the meeting, there could be over a hundred participants on the list, and it's fun for everyone to see Where-On-Earth everyone's calling from!

• Click here for advice about what hardware to use when listening to meetings


• Click here for advice on setting the TeamSpeex Preferences.


• Click here for advice on setting your Mac System Sound Preferences

Accessing the TeamSpeex Preferences

There are some settings you should choose to make the meetings a better experience for everyone involved. These preferences will minimize noise on the line when you talk to John. To access the TeamSpeex settings, open the program and in the TeamSpeex menu choose Preferences... You should see the window below.

The TeamSpeex Preferences Window has 3-different tabs that display Audio, HotKey and Voice Activation information. Simply click on whatever tab you are interested in to bring up the information you need.

The Audio tab (above) shows Audio Input and Audio Output device information.

• The Audio Input drop-down menu will list all available devices connected to your computer that can be used to input sound (microphones, soundcards, etc.). Simply select whatever device you intend to use from the list provided.


• The Input Gain slider controls the input volume of your microphone, and thus how loud your voice will sound to others. Note: In tests with John and Carla, I found that on my computer with my headset and my voice, positioning the slider halfway up the scale provided the best setting. Obviously this may be different for your equipment and your voice, but I would suggest it's a good place to start.


• IMPORTANT! There is a checkbox that lets you choose whether to use Voice Loopback or not. Voice Loopback (the option of having your voice fed back into your own headset or speakers) is a potential source of noise during the meetings. This box should remain unchecked.


• The Audio Output drop-down menu lists all available devices connected to your computer that can be used to output sound (speakers, headphones, soundcards, system audio, etc.). Simply select whatever device you intend to use from the list provided.


• The Output Gain slider controls the output volume of your headphones. 50% again worked best for me, but you may not be as deaf as I am!

This may be stating the obvious, but I'll mention it, just in case! The Logitech USB Headset named in the above window is the device I use for teleconferencing on my computer--if you do not have a Logitech USB Headset, this option will not be available to you. Both drop-down menus (above) will only display the devices currently connected to your own computer.

• The last button in the Audio tab is a link to your Mac System Sound Preferences. We will take a look at them in the next section.

The Voice Activation tab (above) and the Hotkey tab (below) are two sides of the same coin.

• Voice Activation (above) is a real pain and we recommended that you don't use it--even the makers of TeamSpeek dislike it, as you can see by their comments in the window above! Voice Activation adds noise and discontinuity to any online conversations, and we strongly recommend that you leave it unchecked.

That leaves HotKey (below).

When communicating through TeamSpeex, your microphone is normally off. To activate it you must hold down a HotKey or a Push To Talk Button. The default HotKey is the Command button (the one immediately to the left of your spacebar). If you find this default aesthetically displeasing you can change it to something more inspirational by clicking the Push To Talk Button in the window. The resultant options are below:

The best key to use is the CMD key. You won't be able to talk to John without holding down your HotKey!

Accessing Your Mac System Sound Preferences

You can access your Mac System Sound Preferences by clicking on the large System Sound Preferences button at the bottom of the TeamSpeex Preferences Audio tab (shown below). If you intend using this button to jump to your Mac Preferences, click here.

Alternatively (and more usually) you get to your Mac System Preferences by

1. Going to the Apple Menu in the top left-hand corner of your desktop,


2. Choosing Preferences... and


3. The large System Preferences window (below) should open up for you.

Click the Sound icon (highlighted above) and the Mac Sound Preferences window (shown below) should open up.

There are 3-tabs in the Mac Sound Preferences window: Sound Effects, Output and Input. The first of these: the Sound Effects tab, is shown below:

The good news is that there is nothing-at-all to interest us in this window! Lets move along to the Output tab (below).

There's a couple of things to be done here:

• Choose the device you wish to use to listen to the Meeting by clicking once on its name in the list above.


• If you want to adjust the Balance of your headphones, go for it!


• Set the slider for the Output Volume to 50% for the moment.


• Make sure the Show Volume In Menu Bar checkbox is ticked--you don't need it for the Meeting, but it will give you a volume control on your desktop so that you don't have to keep opening up this tab when you want to adjust the sound.

The last and final consideration is the Input tab:

• Choose the device you wish to use to talk with by clicking once on its name in the list above.


• Set the Input Volume for your Input Device (microphone). Talk normally into your microphone and note that the Input Level rises and falls with the loudness of your voice. Adjust the Input Volume slider until the Input Level rises to about a third of the way up the scale (it's easier to do than to explain!). Note: In tests with John and Carla, I found that on my computer with my headset and my voice, positioning the slider halfway up the scale provided the best setting. Obviously this may be different for your equipment and your voice, but I would suggest it's a good place to start.

Once again, this may be stating the obvious, but I'll mention it, just in case! The Logitech USB Headset named in the above two windows is the device I use for teleconferencing on my computer--if you do not have a Logitech USB Headset, this option will not be available to you. Both device menus (in the above two windows) will only display the devices currently connected to your own computer.

IMPORTANT: You must test your Teamspeak and your computer's audio settings before each meeting, because it is often the case that they are altered by other programs on your computer. Do this at least one hour before the meeting begins, so you'll have time to correct any problems. Once the correct audio settings are confirmed both in Teamspeak and on your computer, do not use any other programs that use your speakers, microphone, or headset, such as Google Talk, Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Media Player, Skype, etc. If you do, you will need to check the settings again, beacuse they might have been changed.

Talking with John Sherman during the Meeting

To speak with John during Online Meetings, you need to Request Voice, as Teamspeex calls it.  To do this, Mac users must send a text message to Carla, who's the operational brains behind the whole show.  She'll put you in line and let you know when it's your turn to speak.

• To send a Text Message to Carla in TeamSpeex, simply right-click on her name in the list. You can send messages to anyone else on the list in the same way. If you only have a one-button mouse (many Mac users do), you must hold down the Control button on your keyboard as you click your mouse on her name.


• Alternately you can single-click to highlight Carla's (or anyone else's) name from the list, and go to the Player menu and choose Send Text Message To Player from the drop-down options.
  
  
• During the meetings, please close all unnecessary programs that might be running on your computer (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, your email program, any VOIP program such as Google Talk, Skype, Windows Messenger, etc.). Doing this will free up resources on your computer and may improve the quality of the audio.
  
  
• uring the meetings, when you are in a conversation with John, you must push the CMD key and hold it down while you are speaking, and release the key so that John can speak to you. Please repeat this procedure during your entire conversation with John, to prevent feedback and other sound problems.

That's it! You're done! Please join us for the Live Online Worldwide Meetings!

Troubleshooting & Advice for Intel-based Mac Users

Teamspeex for the Mac is a beta program, meaning they're still working the bugs out. It's largely trouble-free, but if you're having problems with background noise or other glitches, you could try the following.

Apple has recently changed the manufacturer of its microprocessors from IBM's PowerPC chip to Intel's equivalent. Unfortunately the workings of these chips require software adjustments and some older programs will not work on the new Intel-based machines. To bridge these differences a code called Universal Binary was developed.

• If you're unsure of which chip architecture your Mac has, go to the Blue Apple Icon in the top left-hand corner of your desktop and choose About This Mac from the drop-down menu. You should see the window below. Your chip type will be displayed next to the Processor entry. The window below was captured from a PowerPC Mac; if you have an Intel machine, the appropriate information will be displayed for your chip.

The makers of Teamspeex have addressed the problem and a Universal Binary version of their software is available in a very obsure corner of their website. It should work on both PowerPC's and Intel machines, but please be warned: IT IS NOT the version they advertise on their website. It is a more advanced, but untested beta version. That means it could still contain bugs and glitches. That said, I have used it very successfully and it cleaned up some grungy sound I was experienceing quite nicely.

I've only tested it on PowerPC as I don't have an Intel machine handy, but I can only see glowing praise from the other guinea pigs on the Teamspeex website!

You can download it here.