Communication software

What is communication software?
Communications software is an application or program designed to move information from one system to another. Such software enables remote access to systems and transfers files in a variety of formats between computers. Communication software is part of communication systems with software components that are classified according to functions within the Open Systems Interconnection Model (OSI model). The best-defined examples of communications software are File Transfer Protocol (FTP), messaging software, and email.

The concept of email can be traced back to the early 1960s as a form of communication for multiple users of timeshare mainframe computers. In 1970, text chat functions followed e-mails and appeared on bulletin board systems and multi-user computer systems. In the 1980s, the terminal emulator was introduced, software that allows you to log into mainframes and access email. The first decentralized chat system was the Bitnet Relay from 1985. Minitel was another popular chat system that was introduced at the same time. The CU SeeMe chat system was the first to be equipped with a video camera.

Instant messaging, with a buddy list and the idea of an online presence, was introduced in 1996. Recently, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been on the short list of popular communication software. VoIP enables users to make phone calls over the Internet at a low cost.