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Posts Tagged ‘Web Conferencing’

Web Conferencing + Online Gaming = LAN Party of Today?

May 20th, 2010

Love them or hate them, video games are here to stay. The debates about content, benefits and ills will rage on for a long time but certain aspects of the industry cannot be ignored. Video games represent some of the fastest growing areas of technology today.

A Brief History of the Gaming Console before web meetings - magnavox odyssey

The video game console represents possibly the best example of the meeting know how and imagination. Like so many tools being used today, game consoles had a relatively humble beginning with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. This was followed by the Atari Pong in 1975. Subsequent releases by these and other companies included:

Magnavox Odyssey 100 and the Odyssey 200, both released in 1975
Atari Super Pong, 1976
Wonder Wizard 7702, 1976
Atari 400, 1979
Vectrex, 1982

Most would agree that the era of the modern console began with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. This sparked something of a race with other developers such as Sony over the following years. Bringing along and aiding the growth of the multi billion dollar gaming industry today.

Enhanced Communication Capabilities of Consoles

Not satisfied with groundbreaking graphics and enhanced game play, developers sought to take advantage of the growing Internet audience. Online gaming basically means that the game is played over a network. This can be anything from World of Warcraft to Xbox Live. The real time interaction is no different from the collaborative capabilities of web conferencing software.

Gamers have been able to test their mettle against other players on PC and console games for some time. Additionally, headsets allow them to maintain constant voice communication with team members. Like web conference tools many online games played on the PC have a live chat feature. Players can form teams or go one on one using online communication capabilities.

While most players might not stop to think about it, when they go head to head with others at distant locations, they are in fact conferencing.

This overlapping of technology is good not only for the gaming industry but also for web conferencing companies as well. While gamers and web conference users wait for the next big development, one thing is clear, the sky is the limit.

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Posted in Web Conferencing

Tags: Magnavox Odyssey video games Web Conferencing

Web Meetings, Do IT Know Best?

May 14th, 2010

IT departments have become a standard component of many businesses today, especially those that heavily utilize computer and communications technology. In charge of the company’s technology needs, the IT guy is the one you kermit learn more about web meetings call when for are your computer troubles.

In spite of their obvious technical know how, IT staff is sometimes at odds with the company’s decision makers. Not surprisingly most of these little squabbles revolve around money. IT department strive to bring the best products to the company but often overlooking the staggering price tag that comes along with a top of the tier product. With communications technology there are lots of grey areas where cost is concerned. Sometimes it makes sense to go all out, sometimes it doesn’t.

The Web Conferencing Dilemma

Deciding to use web conferencing is not much of a quandary these days. There is ample evidence that supports the idea that this one of the best routes a company can take for communications. However, with there being so many vendors out there, making a decision can be hard. Just remember that certain features are considered essential, such as:

Audio conferencing integration
Screen sharing or remote desktop
File transfer
Text chat

These are pretty much standard with most web conferencing solutions. Just keep in mind that the quality of these features varies depending on the provider.

The Clash over Web Meetings

The thing to remember is that IT staff usually knows what they are talking about. It is what they were hired for. Still, it never hurts to do your own research. A more informed buyer is a better buyer. With web meetings, higher cost does not always translate to quality. Start by defining the need of the company. Once you start out with a clear picture of what your company needs, choosing a conferencing solution becomes simplified.

Choose a solution that is scalable, that is, capable of growing as your company does. You’ll find that on this issue, you and the IT department will be on the same page.

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Posted in How Tos, Web Conferencing

Tags: buyer guide Web Conferencing web meeting

Streamlining Your Work Process with Collaboration Tools

March 25th, 2010

Project management is one of those areas that have been greatly advanced and simplified with the use of web conferencing’s cousin: online collaboration. Collaboration tools enable more efficient use of resources in managing a project. Allowing team members to pull together resources and coordinate on a project, project management tools facilitates and encourages communication among co-workers.

Hear the difference when you collaborate online

Project Management Tools – A Necessity?

There is an entire software industry devoted to streamlining project management. Before the advent and growth of web conferencing, project completion relied on the standard methods of communication. Introduction of collaboration tools helped to streamline the workflow, cutting down the time between stages in projects.

In the current economic environment, even large corporations can scarcely afford to waste money in its operations. Project management allows companies to hold down on spending while ensuring targets are met. Web conference tools allow for greater efficiency in this regard. In a wired world, the ability to manage projects from a single central location means significant cost savings.

Web Conferencing’s Impact

Benefits of web collaboration tools are best exemplified through its features. Some include:

File sharing: team members can share documents easily for feedback and track progress within each stage of the project.
Presentations: this covers any number of files that need to be seen by those involved in the project. During the presentation the presenter can also discuss each slide with attendees.
Recording: collaboration sessions can be recorded and archived for later use.

Web conferencing plays a vital role in all stages of the project, from planning to completion. Keeping in constant contact with all members allows the project manager to monitor the key aspects of the project such as:

Timeline
Cost
Resources
Size and goals of the project

With the right tool in hand, collaboration management software can facilitate the progress of projects easily. Helping a job done right, the first time.

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Posted in Web Conferencing

Tags: online collaboration project management Web Conferencing

Fail Proofing Your Web Conferences

March 12th, 2010

Ever started or joined in on a web conference and realized you were missing something? If lucky, the files or document will be in reaching distance. Worst scenario, you might have to get up and walk a few steps. While this isn’t a big deal for those weekly meetings if all that were forgotten were files, for a client meeting or sales pitch, unprepared is not the way you want to start off. And you certainly don’t want to find yourself without the proper equipment necessary for the web conference. As with any communication tool, online conferencing requires that certain infrastructure be in place.

Making a List and Checking It Twice

Thankfully, making a checklist is as simple as using most web conference software on the market today. The equipment necessary to facilitate the meeting experience includes:

Telephone lines and internet: This is where it all begins since web conferencing takes advantage of existing internet service. High speed internet will make it possible to take advantage of all the features most programs provide.
System requirements: This is not of much concern these days as most software providers try to ensure compatibility with various operating systems. It still doesn’t hurt to make sure beforehand whether your operating platform will pose potential issues for your web conference software. Other things to check for:
- Operating system
- A top-of-line sound card
- At least 128 MB of RAM
- Processor speed of no less than 233 MHz
- A high resolution monitor
Microphone, headset and speakers: These devices are all integral to the web conference experience. As is usually the case with technology, pricier items tend to equal better sound quality. The type of these devices purchases will however depends on the budget of the individual or company.
Web cam: While optional, a webcam makes the difference between a video web conference and an audio conference. Most users are likely to be more comfortable if they can see the person they are talking to. For this reason, consider investing in a web cam.

Attendees in the web conference do not necessarily have to match the presenter’s hardware. Though the quality of their system will still affect the quality of the presentation on their end. Once you have all the necessary equipment in place, you’re ready to start!

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Posted in Web Conferencing

Tags: checklist Web Conferencing

Quality You Can Clearly See

March 5th, 2010

If there is one thing made clear by the current high definition trend, it’s that viewers of are demanding better image quality regardless of what is being watched. You would naturally expect web conference companies to place an emphasis on image quality. Unfortunately, this just isn’t so. Some common web conferencing transmission issues include:

Flickering or fuzzy images
Image distortion
Poor color quality

With the variety of web conferencing solutions available, one would think that these issues were mostly a thing of the past. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. These problems are not limited to software versions dated back early last decade. To this day, even some established web conferencing software vendors have been guilty of poor image quality in presentations. In fact, below you can see an example of a presentation from earlier this year. On the right is a screen shot of a slide shown using TurboMeeting, on the left is the same slide shown on WebEx.

Why Image Quality is Important

Firstly, the quality of any type of content is essential to a successful presentation. Sharp image, however, can definitely make any conference more engaging, and less likely to lose the interest of participants. With charts and graphs often included in presentations, distortion of numbers on the graphs essentially render them useless.

The bottom line is that more often than not numbers and charts will be featured prominently in web conferences. When the information is hard to see this poses problems not only for the web presentation itself, but also for the company’s workflow.

Here at RHUB, we make it a priority to present to users with quality products we can stand behind. We understand the frustration of having to squint your way through an hour long presentation.

Any solution that does not deliver quality images is not serving its purpose. Sharper images make for a much more effective and memorable web conference.