This page will load a Java-based interface for you to use. But you can also access this room from any IRC client. Just open: irc://irc.icq.com/moretechtalk
Since the chat room is an IRC room, your firewall may ask you about an IDENT server. You may allow or deny this. Denying it will increase the time it takes for chat to load, but should not cause other problems. If you have your firewall set to show all alerts, you may see some from dslextreme.com - this is not an attack, and you are safe to disregard them. (This chat room may not work behind some corporate firewalls and we have a plan to solve this in the future.)
If the chat interface does not load make sure Java is enabled.
If you are using Mozilla Firefox open Tools » Options » Web Features » and check [X] Enable Java.
If you are using Internet Explorer open Tools » Internet Options » Security » and set the Internet Zone to Medium » or add chaseandsam.com to the Trusted Sites.
If you do experience any problems, please email me about them. We want to see you in the chatroom!
Help! More information:
I suspect that if you have problems it will be because you need to install the latest version of Java from Sun (which isn't a bad idea anyways).
You will be asked if it is ok to allow the applet to run. This applet is safe - click [Yes] or [Always].
Mac users: There's a bug in how OS X's Firefox handles Java. Use Safari until they get it fixed.
It's also possible that firewalls will cause some problems, so if you see the chat room but get a message telling you it could not connect, please e-mail me and explain how you connect to the internet (if you use a router) and what firewall software you're using and what setting it was on (such as Zone Alarm, on High). However - I am using a router, with its firewall turned on, and Zone Alarm set to High, and have no problems. Windows XP's firewall shouldn't cause problems either.
Your firewall may ask questions about allowing an IDENT server. This is not installing any software, it's just a legacy that this type of chat room inherited. It is safe to allow it.
Also, you can use any IRC program to connect to this chat room.
For Windows: I recommend Mozilla Firefox using the ChatZilla extension. (Using Mozilla or Mozilla Firefox, click here to install the latest version of ChatZilla. Firefox will block it at first, but click the warning message and allow the site.)
For Mac: You can use Colloquy or Conversation. I recommend Conversation. Update: Conversation 2.0 had problems with this room, but just released Conversation 2.1 seems to work fine. If you have Jaguar (10.2.x) you'll still need to use the old 1.4.2 version.
If you're going to use an IRC program to connect, you'll want to connect to the irc.icq.com server, and join channel #moretechtalk
However, the new web-page Java-based is designed to keep things as simple as possible, while giving us the ability to maintain open-closed hours, log chats, and more compatibility for non-Windows users.