In 1996 a video conference room cost tens of thousands of dollars. White Pine Software sold a program that did it on a desktop computer with a cheap camera and a 28.8 kbps modem. The software, CU-SeeMe, came out of Cornell University, and early internet users loved its grainy, jerky video. White Pine held the worldwide rights. It went public in October 1996 and later renamed itself after the product everyone knew.

A Cornell Experiment

Researchers at Cornell developed CU-SeeMe in 1992 as free desktop video conferencing software. In June 1995 White Pine Software of Nashua, New Hampshire, secured the exclusive worldwide rights to license it, along with its multipoint conferencing server. In March 1996 it released Enhanced CU-SeeMe. The bet was that people would trade picture quality for price and convenience. White Pine also sold connectivity software that linked PCs to larger computers.

White Pine to First Virtual

White Pine priced its IPO at $9 a share in October 1996. Video calling grew slowly over the dial-up internet, and the company struggled to turn its famous name into steady sales. It renamed itself CUseeMe Networks to match its best-known product. In March 2001 it agreed to merge with First Virtual Communications, a video networking company. CUseeMe deregistered its shares in June 2001.

Cover: Pheasant on a Snow-Covered Pine Tree, Utagawa Hiroshige. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a pine in snow (White Pine).