Recently in Web Conferencing Category

If you don't want to pay for a desktop sharing tool, don't despair. Tom Mighell over at Inter-Alia found a free one that allows you to share your desktop with up to 15 participants called Microsoft SharedView. It requires a software download for both the host and participants, and you'll need a Windows Live ID. Apparently, it includes desktop sharing and chat, but no audio.

SharedView isn't the only free tool out there. Yakkle offers instant messaging, voice and desktop sharing. You start by initiating an instant messaging session. Once you've connected, you can opt to share your desktop.

I haven't tried either of these out yet...if anyone else has, let us know what you think.

Do you want to get started with web conferencing, but just aren't sure how? What products are out there? What features do you need? I recently stumbled across a c|net tutorial that walks you through getting your conference up and running, picking the best software and leading a successful web conference.

Typically web conferencing services tout the money that can be saved by using web conferencing to replace business travel. But iLink is also highlighting the environmental savings by is offering a unique tool as part of their software - a green meter! Their green meter is an automatic calculator inside the iLinc Web conferencing software that tracks CO2, in addition to cost and travel reductions accrued by meeting online rather than traveling. The green meter appears whenever you have hold a meeting using iLink. The calculations are based on the location of all of the participants.

Hey, it's actually easy to be green! (Sorry, Kermit!)

I know vendors are using web conferencing extensively. But I'm curious as to how much it's being used in law firm libraries for training purposes; so that's the subject of this week's poll.

You can review the poll results at any time by clicking on the view results link.

In a previous entry I said that Webex didn't offer a convenient method of recording the audio/video of their web conferences. I stand corrected. As of October 2006, Webex has offered Network Based Recording (NBR) . I love the fact that the recordings can be converted to WMV files, making them editable by a number of different editing software packages out there.

Keep in mind that if you're utilizing a Webex reseller, they may not offer this same service.

I've been using web conferencing for several years, and consider it an invaluable training tool. I mean, really, how did we ever live without it? But as with any live training, sometimes the schedule of those who could benefit gets in the way. That's why it's great to be able to easily record your web conferences for the viewing pleasure of those who couldn't attend the live conference. Recordings also provide the attendees with the ability to revisit the session to refresh their memory, or watch sections they may have missed during a momentary lapse in attention.

All web conferencing services aren't created equal when it comes to recording. The granddaddy of web conferencing, Webex, doesn't offer a convenient way to record the audio and video. The audio must be captured using a special phone jack, which is most definitely NOT convenient, and has the potential for a number of different glitches. I keep waiting for them to improve in this area, but so far, no dice.

Luckily there are better options out there. Here's some basic facts on some that I've tried.

Live Meeting

Recording Format: Downloadable wmv file. Can also view recording from Live Meeting site using Windows Media Player
Ease of Recording: Requires sometimes slightly confusing configuration to enable the audio. Essentially, the Live Meeting server must dial into the conference call
File Editable?: Because of a change in codec in their new version, recording is editable in Sony Vegas Movie Studio only. Alternately, I'm told (but haven't tried it) that the file will become editable using other programs after it has been run through Windows Media Stream Editor.
More Information: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HP011426151033.aspx?pid=CH011442321033

ReadyTalk

Recording Format: Flash. Can download files or view from ReadyTalk site. There is a monthly storage fee.
Ease of Recording: Extremely easy. Audio is integrated with conference center. Host just clicks on record button.
File Editing: It's not clear to me whether these files can be easily edited. Luckily, turning the recording on and off is so easy, extensive editing may not be necessary.
More Information: http://www.readytalk.com/docs/brochures/readytalk-recording-brochure.pdf

Raindance

Recording Format: Proprietary. Requries Raindance Media Player. Downloadable.
Ease of Recording: Extremely easy. Audio is integrated with conference center. Host just clicks on record button.
File Editing: Not available.

You'd think I'd get tired of trying out new web conferencing services. The truth is, I am. Still, I get sucked in every once in a while, since none of the services I've used to date combines ease of use with the feature set that I need.

So what do I want? Ease of use on the participant side is absolutely critical. When a participant is having a problem joing the conference, it can be difficult to troubleshoot since the moderator can't see their screen. There's a lot to think about when conducting a web conference, so making things simple for the moderator is important, too. On top of that, I need to be able to record sessions easily so that those who couldn't make the call can play catch up at their convenience.

There are also things that I don't need. I don't need a whiteboard. I've never used it, and probably never will. I don't really need to upload a Powerpoint. I simply use desktop sharing, and I can always open a Word document or run a Powerpoint from my desktop, so who needs them built into the software? Of course, I don't mind if services offer more than I need, but the problem is that sometimes it's hard to dig through all the bells and whistles to find the basics.

At a recent regional ILTA meeting, someone recommended ReadyTalk. It took several months until I was motiviated to give it a try. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised. It offers no more and no less than what I need, it uses java so it doesn't require a download and installation, simplifying things greatly for participants, and the recording works like a charm, with just one click. It doesn't offer too much, or too little. It's just right And it's about time!

I decided several months ago to turn off the Outlook desktop alert feature, and I'm glad I did. In Outlook 2003, the alerts pop up in the lower right-hand side of the screen each time an email arrives in your inbox, which for me was just about every 2 minutes. The brief interruption inevitably messed with my train of thought.

If you're a frequent user of web conferencing software, beware of the Outlook alert. I've been a participant in several web conferences lately where the presentation has been interrupted by an Outlook alert on the presenter's desktop, displaying text from a message that the the presenter would have most likely preferred to keep to him/herself. I won't name any names, but I've personally seen this happen twice in the last week.

You can be forgiven if you don't know how to turn off this email alert feature, which is turned on by default in Outlook 2003, as it's quite buried in the Outlook menus. Select "Tools - Options", then click on "Email Options", then "Advanced Options." and remove the checkmark next to "Display a New Desktop Alert."

So be kind to those who are sending you what they expect are private emails, and either exit out of Outlook before hosting a web conference, or turn the darn thing off forever.

How did we ever survive without web conferencing? Remember when we had to wait until a vendor rep came to town in order to see their new product? No more, thank goodness.

ILTA, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), formerly called Lawnet has been making great use of web conferencing by repeating, via Live Meeting, several successful programs offered at their annual meeting held in August. I attended 2 of these web programs, "Jumpstarting eLearning" and "How West KM Was Won" and they were both excellent, and included a level of technical detail that I've often wished for when attending other conferences.

If you're a member, and you missed the annual conference, AND you missed the webinar, that's okay, because they're recorded. So even if your schedule is tight, you still have every opportunity to view the session from the ILTA web site. (See "Communications - Past Meeting Transcripts.") What a great member benefit.

If you're interested in legal technology, you need to join ILTA. To join ILTA, your firm must purchase a membership, the cost of which is based on the number of attorneys in the firm, then any employee can join at no additional cost. Now if they'd just stop having the annual meeting in Florida in August!

I know you're all sitting at the edge of your seats wondering what's going on with my Live Meeting recording issue, so I thought I'd give you an update. A very persistent gentleman at Live Meeting support went above and beyond the call of duty, and tried producing my recording using several different video editing applications, including Microsoft Producer, and was also unsuccessful. That is, until he tried Sony's Vegas Movie Studio. I downloaded a trial version, and it worked! I had to run it overnight because it took hours and hours (the recording I was editing is about 3 hours long), but I finally was able to finish the recording.

I'm still hoping for another solution, since Vegas costs about $500, but at least I know the Live Meeting videos can actually be edited. Just not by any Microsoft product! :-)

I'll keep you informed if I get any more information on this.

Microsoft gives, Microsoft takes away. Live Meeting, formerly Placeware, is my web conferencing tool of choice, primarily because I could use their recording tool to record training sessions, including the audio from the conference call. (Webex can't easily integrate the audio yet, and uses it's own proprietary video format.) I typically would download and edit these recordings using Camtasia, taking out empty air at the beginning and end, and/or announcements unrelated to the session, then post on the Intranet for those who couldn't attend the live session.

Then Live Meeting when through an upgrade. When I tried to edit the first recording after the upgrade, Camtasia hung up, unable to process the recording. Knowing that we would have major training needs in a few weeks that involved lots of recordings, I started trying to work out the problem. The nice people at Camtasia were mystified. Then I realized that the pre-Live Meeting upgrade tapes processed fine, so I contacted Microsoft.

Several emails to Live Meeting/Microsoft support later, the truth comes out. According to support, the new version of Live Meeting uses a different codec, the ACLEP.net Audio Decoder and the Microsoft Screen Codec video decoder V7 codecs for audio and video, respectively. Camtasia isn't compatible with these codecs. I was instructed to try using the free Microsoft Producer program instead to edit the videos. Okay, sure, I've got plenty of time to learn another software program.

Yesterday was the day. I figured out how to cut clips in Producer, created an intro to the Live Meeting segment I'd edited, and life was, well, if not good, at least okay. Then I tried to produce the file. Producer bombed just like Camtasia. Another day of my life gone, with nothing to show for it. :-)

You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this. The truth is, this entry is really a cry for help. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

In the meantime, we can still make our own recordings using Camtasia, and, of course, those are editable. Though I've also noticed that screen recordings played in Windows Media Player don't fill the screen in 100% playback mode and are slightly fuzzy. This is also a relatively new development. The quality just isn't that good, though it's readable. (I'm recording and viewing at the same resolution.) I thought it was something I was doing until I played one of Microsoft's Producer tutorials, and noticed the fuzziness on THEIR recordings as well. So I'm expecting that we will have to start distributing the Camtasia Player to anyone wanted a clear video. What fun. Installing new software always goes over well with users and technology folks in an enterprise environment.

I hate it when technology takes a step back.

I've been using web conferencing software, namely Microsoft's Live Meeting (formerly known as Placeware) and Webex, for over 4 years now. These are great tools, and honestly, I can't remember how we lived without them!

But trust me, presenting to a group of 10 people in a room is quite different from presenting to 10 people in diverse locations, none of whom you can actually see. I infinitely prefer the first scenario, but I don't always relish spending time and money traveling to a remote location to give a short talk or training session.

I'm still learning how to make the best of these online sessions, but for those of you out there just getting started, I thought I might be able to offer a few useful tips.

If you're not using web conferencing tools for training and/or collaboration, you're missing a great opportunity to connect with people that you otherwise might not reach. Though these tools are quite inexpensive when compared with something like video conferencing, price still can be an obstacle.

If cost and ease of use is holding you back, you've got no more excuses. Take a look at the PC Magazine article, "Instant Meeting" for reviews of seven services including GoToMeeting Corporate, which gets their Editors Choice.

Someone must have made a rule that no one tool is allowed to have EVERYTHING that you need and want. When it comes to web conferencing, the major players, such as Webex and Live Meeting, offer relatively mature products, so it's hard to accept their limitations. Consequently, I've become very fickle, trying new products soon after their introduction. Then disappointment sets in when I learn that the new kid on the block is missing some critical feature.

I have modest web conferencing needs. I typically use these products for training sessions rather than collaboration, so desktop and application sharing are my bread and butter. Not a problem, just about any web conferencing product offers those features. So what are my complaints?

Web conferencing is one of my favorite web tools. The ability to share an application or Powerpoint presentation with people in different physical locations is extremely powerful. It's useful to a wide variety of people such as salespeople, trainers, presenters, lawyers and certainly librarians. And most web conferencing services are easy to use, and relatively inexpensive. So what's not to like! Well, more on that later.

PC Magazine reviews the major players in the web conferencing arena, including Webex, Microsoft Office Live Meeting (aka Placeware) and Raindance in Web Conferencing: Take a Meeting Online.

Dead may be an exaggeration. Let's just say Netmeeting has been pushed into a comfortable, though somewhat sudden, retirement.

Microsoft has announced that Netmeeting will be replaced by Office Live Meeting, aka, Placeware.

I've been using Netmeeting for several years now for training purposes. It's simple and reliable. But there's no question it has been looking a bit long in the tooth lately, and the requirement for a conferencing server to accomodate over 8 connections is limiting, to say the least. Since Microsoft's purchase of Placeware in April 2003, I was wondering what their plans were for Netmeeting. Obviously that question has been answered!