Test reports

3. Software test: chat software BlackIRC (by Andreas Schaumloeffel)

Directly after doubleclicking the BlackIRC icon the program opens, which is (thanks to MUI) clearly arranged and divided into four "index cards".

The first index card is labelled About, which is not of importance, because it contains only the "general" infos about the program.

The second index card contains the chat window, which we put aside - for the moment.

The third index card contains the settings for the server like nickname, real name, etc. This will be described later. Nickname, RealName, etc. doch dazu spaeter mehr.

The last one is the index card Setup, where you can set the general settings like e.g. ignoring of various users.

But now, let's watch the program:

First we enter the menu Setup, where we can set the settings like ignore contents, watch user, etc.

Quite noticeable is the point Ignore, where you can setup, which users resp. which contents of channels to be ignored. A feature I miss e.g. with AmIRC 2.x. You can also start video conferences in this menu. This is also a feature I miss with AmIRC 2.x. In the sub-menu Setup/News you can setup the settings for CTCP user info, kick reason, etc., you know from AmIRC 2.x

Now we come to the menu server, where you can set your nickname, your real name and the various server settings.

The server settings might be known from AmIRC, because the server menu is a look-alike of AmIRC. One more feature of BlackIRC is, that you can enter more than one channel at a time as a standard.

The menu Chat window offers the real "action". If you are already connected via a server with various channes, all the channels are listed you're connected with within the slim window on the left hand. A deficiency of BlackIRC is, that you can chat only in one channel at a time. The window is quite much like the chat window of AmIRC 2.x, except for the newly added buttons Leave, Absent, VideoConf, Voice, Whois, DeOP and DeVoice, so there shouldn't be any problems when changing to BlackIRC.

System requirements: at least AmigaOS 2.04, 2 MB RAM, TCP/IP stack

Personal conclusion:

If you ignore the deficiencies described above, BlacIRC with its small register fee can be recommended. Especially the ease of use lets the fun of chatting start also for the beginner. A feature I miss with ANY IRC program for the Amiga is the display of coulerd text. If this was be added to a later revision of BlackIRC it would dethrone the currently better AmIRC 2.x and become the best IRC program for the Amiga.

If there are questions send an eMail to: Indiana@bamberg.baynet.de

Andreas Schaumloeffel«