When you work in a company you’ll probably work alongside coworkers with all sorts of technological skills. Some will be geniuses and able to tackle web conferencing like a knife through butter, but there will inevitably be those who struggle with the perceived complexity of it.
I do think that there are image issues with web conferencing. It has a reputation of being difficult to setup and use, when in reality that is mostly an unjustified stigma. So what makes a good web conferencing service?
I like to think that web conferencing should be simple as in, elegant. Easy to use. Feature rich but not bloated. Navigable even for uninitiated users. Compatible with a variety of operating systems. Now obviously many web conference services won’t tick all these boxes (and there’s nothing to say that even if it did it would be the best) but these are the many facets of a good service.
If I was asked right now to recommend a business video conference service for use in an office where there are varied skillsets, here are the services I would feel happiest using. They’re the simplest and the most elegant. They’re also the ones that should mean less time on the phone with tech support!
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It’s hard to beat free as a price point, even if it does mean fewer features and less support. In my humble opinion, coupling free with web conferencing is a potent cause for joy!
So when we say free video conferencing, what do we actually mean? Well typically a free conference service, like those listed below, are applications that you download and install on your computer. However, some of these free solutions are browser-based, meaning you just visit the service’s website with your camera plugged in and turned on, invite some friends to a meeting room and get started.
Just because these are free doesn’t mean they can’t be used in business or the enterprise. However, if you are looking for tools that let you whiteboard, annotate and share specific applications then it’s probably worth thinking about a paid option designed with businesses in mind.
On with the best free video conferencing apps!
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What modern laptop or desktop computer comes without WiFi connectivity? None. Even mobile phones, such as the iPhone, have WiFi built in. It’s a brilliantly simple technology that we’ve become all too familiar with and incredibly reliant upon.
If you are a telecommuter or road warrior then chances are you’ll be even more dependent on wireless internet access than most. How else can you get your job none? Without WiFi emails don’t get sent, clients are left in the dark, web conferences go unattended and phone calls don’t get made.
WiFi: whether you like it or not, you need it. But when you are on the road, how do you find it? You might know that the local train station has free WiFi or you are lucky enough to live in a city with municipal WiFi coverage, but do you know where to go to get online when on the road? Probably not.
So it’s important, even more than knowing how to boost a WiFi connection, to get a good connection when on the road. Here are some tips to get that life-giving WiFi connection!
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When it comes to web conferencing, whether video or audio, you need a service that works as well on Mac OS X as it does with Windows and Linux. In light of strong sales figures from Apple it is now more important than ever that your choice of conferencing solution will work with OS X in what is quickly becoming a world less dominated by Windows.
So here are the cream of the Mac OS X conferencing tools about at the minute. Please do take into consideration that this list will be updated in the future as and when new services are made available.
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We’ve been blogging quite a lot on the subject of video conferencing recently, covering everything from browser-based net meetings to improving screen sharing. And while some of the services we’ve featured offer conference recording as standard, most don’t.
So what do you do if you have an important online meeting with a client who is specifying changes? Like the rest of us you’re probably scribbling furiously while talking, which gets a bit confusing and can make conferencing more stressful than it needs to be.
There is a solution: online video conference recording. Here are some standalone apps that will record your meeting as well as tools provided by conference services.
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