The Web-Conferencing Dilemma
I really fancy the convenience and usability the real time web conferencing tools offer. Its a lot more 
economical to have a web conference than to fly down all the key persons from all over the country for an in-person meeting. I think web conferencing tools have brought a higher level of efficiency to the businesses.I saw a whole generation of web conferencing tools developing into products that got sold like crazy, and now there are tools which are even free.But do they match up to the front runners in this business or in the other case is the so called QOS worth the bucks we spend on them.
I tried a couple of services, to start with, I used dim-dim, which claims to be world’s first free web meeting service based on the open source platform. It is a browser based web 2..0 app which also got nominated for webware 100, which emphasizes on simplicity and ease of use.It was very easy to set up an account and to start and join a meeting were a breeze.You can have up to 20 people in the room with the free version which is almost good enough even to have a webinar. The only drawback is the fact that the free integrated teleconferencing service uses a US telephone number. So the choices get down to using skype or some other VoIP application.Other than that the free version offers recording sessions, meeting reviews, whiteboard, powerpoint sharing and a big screen sharing window, private chat facility etc. I would rate it 6/10. But its a great tool to get acquainted to web conferencing and e-learning .
I knew I would settle down with a time tested and credible service, before that I wanted to test new players which offer lower cost. Next up was WebHuddle, which is a cross platform web conferencing tool that requires no installation. With WebHuddle, meetings can be conducted either in conjunction with an existing teleconferencing service, or utilizing WebHuddle’s optional VoIP. WebHuddle offers recording of meeting sessions, presentations and performs consistently over different web browsers. The advantage with web huddle lies with the linux users, but I couldnt see any new versions and it wasnt inexpensive, so had to turn it down. Yugma was the next service I was eyeing but turned out that the free version allows only 10 users and does not allow the presenter to transfer control to the viewers. What had got me to Yugma though was the integration with skype which must have made things smoother.
I was next experimenting with Webex Meetmenow. I thought that it was suitable for small-business collaborative meetings. Prices are lower than Pay-Per-Use Meeting and Meeting center versions of web-ex. Meetings take place online immediately after you sign up, and you need to download the WebEx MeetMeNow software to schedule and start a meeting. The download process doesn’t take more than 2 minutes. The person designated as the Presenter can share documents within the meeting space. The meeting initiator can transfer the presentation control to any of the meeting participants and anyone can share documents. Sharing supports documents, presentation, and full-motion video files. Also, with the PC user’s permission, an attendee can remotely control that person’s computer. I feel that this is good value for the money. But the search is still on…I really have high hopes from dimdim.
Image Courtesy Of http://www.advancedmeetings.com/web.html
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