When I first selected `Voice over IP in networked virtual environments' as the subject for my thesis, I did not know exactly what to expect from it. I mainly chose the subject because it combined several things that seemed very interesting. First of all, there is the networking aspect. I already had some experience with network programming, but I did not know much about the internals of networking protocols. To me, this seemed an ideal opportunity to learn more about these matters.
Second, the `chat' aspect also sounded appealing: instead of communicating over a computer network using textual messages, you would be able to simply talk to each other. This was relatively new to me, and I really wanted to try to make such applications myself. Creating applications to exchange textual messages was something which I had already done; the VoIP approach presented a new challenge.
Finally, I also found the use in virtual environments very interesting. Reading the description of this thesis subject made me wonder how one could add 3D effects to a sound to make it seem localised. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about it and try it myself.
I learned a lot about these items while working on this thesis. I also found out that VoIP in networked virtual environments is more complex than I first suspected. Furthermore, by trying to develop VoIP applications myself I noticed that you have to do quite some effort if you want to allow good quality conversations. This is especially so since systems often do not act the way you expect them to. Finally, I believe that working on these programs has helped to improve my programming style.
To conclude this section, I would like to say that besides having learned a lot, making this thesis and these VoIP applications also have been a lot of fun. So having come at the end of it, I can say that I am glad I chose this subject.