Comments on: Web conferencing tools for Mac, Windows and Linux

By: Forest

Forest — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:00:02 +0000

While on a similar software hunt, I came across Yugma. I’ve only used it once, but it did work for users of all three platforms. (Only the Windows user attempted to share his desktop, so I don’t know how well that works for the others.)

It requires installing a java application, and appears to use the VNC protocol internally.

http://www.yugma.com/

By: Video Conferencing Hardware

Video Conferencing Hardware — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:43:17 +0000

As an event planner I have admired such events where video conferencing system is installed, especially such events that are broadcasted in different cities, this is a good approach of having a live interactive event.

By: Leon Kong

Leon Kong — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:29:57 +0000

I am very sorry to hear your bad experience of using WebEx on you MacBook.

However, I am always standingby here to run a test/demo for you when you have a minute. Hopefully, we could find the rootcause of the issue and get it resolved ASAP.

Thank you and wish you Merry Christmas!

Leon Kong

Email: leon.kong@webex.com

Phone: 86-21-61263221

http://www.webex.com

By: Colin Smith

Colin Smith — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:41:41 +0000

As a Mac user myself, I am sorry to hear you had an issue joining a WebEx meeting. At Cisco interoperability is in our DNA, and we are committed to supporting multiple platforms for both attendees and hosts. In fact, Mac users on WebEx doubled last year and we just recently enhanced Mac support across all our services (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/26/Cisco-improves-WebEx-Mac-support_1.html).

As with any product, user feedback is important to WebEx so I would really like to hear about your experience. I also I invite your readers to give our service a test and let me know what they think. You can find a free trial at http://webex.com

Colin Smith
colismit@cisco.com
WebEx Connect IM: colismit@cisco.com
http://www.webex.com

By: Steve Vachss

Steve Vachss — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:07:06 +0000

Thanks for mentioning PresenterNet. Our system is a bit different since all operations are online. Accessing an online conference room–by a host presenter or an audience member–is analogous to reaching a Web page. Any system with an installed Flash player can connect…Mac, Windows, or Linux. Unlike many others, we do not require download and installation of a plug-in.

Steve Vachss
PresenterNet, LLC

By: Dave Roitner

Dave Roitner — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:20:58 +0000

Thanks for your mention Leslie.

Each Web Conferencing service has it’s own strengths and weaknesses and everyone has different requirements. As transiit points out above, for some, using VNC may meet the client’s needs. A small business or an entrepreneur may have different requirement than a large corporation. First one needs to decide what their requirements are and how important the service is to them. Anthony points out that there may be certain limitations to a free service and if this is ok then it’s a good choice.

Some questions might be:
How many participants should it support? Do I need 2 or 2000?
What operating systems does the service need to support?
Do I need powerpoint sharing, screen sharing, video, integrated audio, recording, etc…
How critical are these meetings?

Make a list of requirements and speak to several providers or someone that can provide the guidance you need to find the right product.

We offer 5 different products, not all listed on our web site at this time. Adobe Connect Pro, Netspoke, Webex, MS Live Meeting and ReadyConference Plus Web.

Dave Roitner
Message Impact Systems Inc.
http://www.messageimpact.com

By: Leslie Poston

Leslie Poston — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:40:06 +0000

I must say I do love the responsiveness of DimDim and GAN Conference. It reassures me that whichever one customers select, they’ll get the help they need to get it going, as opposed to WebEx and GotoMeeting, who STILL have not weighed in.

By: Anthony Russo

Anthony Russo — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:06:32 +0000

Thank you Leslie for including us in this objective writeup. I am going to look into our website load times, but please trust that the response of the web conferencing service is much faster than the experience you had with our website.

We don’t heavily promote a free option as unfortunately with free, there is very little accountability for quality of service. We guarantee our service 100% and that is not something available by any service that runs for free. However there is actually a free option available to try the webconferencing service. Anyone can sign up for it on the right side of the page at http://www.quickvisuals.net to try the software out in a 1-on-1 setting at anytime.

For anyone that would like a personal demonstration and run through, along with full training and support for upcoming events, please feel free to contact me directly.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
http://www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Phone: 312-432-5377
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

By: Kevin Micalizzi, Community Mgr, Dimdim Web Conferencing

Kevin Micalizzi, Community Mgr, Dimdim Web Conferencing — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:19:25 +0000

Leslie, thanks for including Dimdim in your look at Web Conferencing tools. We’re always looking for ways we can continue improving. Let me know if there were any specifics you saw that you think we could be doing better.

Transiit: In my experience people often want a system for collaborating that doesn’t require any download/configuration for attendees. I like VNC (& we use the protocol as part of desktop sharing,) but wouldn’t use it for most of the meetings/collaboration sessions I have — too much work for the “non-techie” people. We’ve designed Dimdim to ensure that attendees don’t have to download and install a plugin before they can join.

Thanks again!

-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
Dimdim Web Conferencing / http://www.dimdim.com
e: kevin@dimdim.com / twitter: @meetdimdim
On Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/dimdim-facebook

By: transiit

transiit — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:51:59 +0000

I’m a little daft when it comes to the requirements you’re looking for here, but have you considered something like VNC? There’s a plethora of clients and servers freely available for just about any platform (and bonus for us non-Ubuntu, non-Redhat type Linux users, source available such that we can get it working on our machines)

Is what you’re looking for just straight desktop sharing, or do you also want/need the rest of the webex experience (built in chat, auto-generated passwords and notifications)?