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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Article : Video & Web Conferencing: How To Determine Which Features Will Benefit You The Most

By Dan Richmond

Web and video conferencing technology is becoming more sophisticated with each passing day. A few years ago it was a novelty just to talk with someone online, and view his or her image at the same time. Today web conferences bring together entire companies in complex interaction that rivals live face-to-face meetings. How you might benefit from the latest developments in web conferencing depends on your particular needs. Here are a few points that you should consider.

1. Do you need to make a Powerpoint or other presentation during your conference?

If you answered “yes” to this question, then you will be glad to know that current web and video conferencing services allow the host of a conference to present a slide show or power point demonstration that will be visible on the screens of all the participants of a conference. Similarly, hosts can also open and show other document formats to their attendees. If you need this kind of capability, make sure that your conference provider can give this to you.

2. Do you require telephone conferencing integrated with your web/video conference?

Many organizations have found telephone conferencing to be an effective way to get work done. If you are already connecting with your members and staff via telephone conferences you can expand on this by choosing a web conferencing system that integrates telephone conferencing along with the online conference. The combined service will give you the ease of phone conferencing along with the enhanced visual and presentation features of online conferencing.

Some services allow the host to pay the long distance bill of all the participants (toll free conferencing), while others require each participant to cover their long distance fees.

3. Do all of your conference participants use the same type of computer?

If your participants are going to be using a variety of computers (PC, Mac, Linux) then you will benefit most by choosing a web conferencing system that works on any platform. While earlier conferencing systems required the downloading of complex software that would work only on specified operating systems, newer conferencing formats are delivered online and are browser based. They work on any operating system and if yours in an eclectic audience, then you will get best results with this type of conferencing.

4. Will it be necessary for one of your technicians to “take-over” and operate the computers of any of your participants?

If you wish to use conferencing as a service tool and want to avoid having to send out your service team on physical visits to clients, you can save a lot of travel time and cost by selecting a web and video conferencing system that allows the host of the conference to go online and actually take control of the computer of the client or conference participant. If you are looking at web conferencing as an after-sales service tool, then this particular feature will probably give you one of the most important benefits that you could wish for.

5. Do you want to conduct an online poll or survey during the conference?

If you have a large organization and want to make a quick and accurate poll of opinion or vote on a particular issue then the new polling capabilities of the most advanced web conferencing services will be an important feature for you.

Similarly, if you need to gather demographic information about your meeting participants, obtain valuable input, or quiz and test your participants, then the new online survey capabilities of current web conferencing systems will be an important feature to look for when choosing your conference format. Data from these types of online “surveys” can typically be saved and used for future use.

6. Do you want to brainstorm online, using a “whiteboard”?

Brainstorming is a great way to tap the ideas of a group and to come up with and select new ideas. If this is what you like to do when holding physical meetings, then you will probably want to be able to do the same thing in your virtual meetings as well. This is now possible in some of the more advanced web conferencing systems by using a “group notepad” that enables meeting participants to utilize a shared workspace. The results of these brainstorming sessions can typically be saved in a storage area.

Which of these features will benefit you the most? It all depends on your particular needs. However, one thing is sure: once you experience the convenience of online meetings, you will not want to go back to the era when every meeting required you to pack up your bags and get on an airplane.

source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Video-andamp;-Web-Conferencing:-How-To-Determine
-Which-Features-Will-Benefit-You-The-Most&id=229492
Posted by i interest at 11:41 AM 0 comments

Article : Video Conferencing Will Help Your Business

Submitted By: Robert Michael

Does your business have locations far and wide, with employees who must meet with each other in order for your business to run smoothly? If so, you know how expensive gathering all your employees together in one place can be. Video conferencing could help your business save time and money, as well as increase productivity and employee satisfaction.

If your business is one of the many that must pay employees’ travel time, transportation, hotel, and food expenses in order for them to attend meetings in person, you know how these expenses can add up. And when your employees are on the road or in the air, your business loses hours of productivity.

Video conferencing provides a better option for many of today’s business owners. Purchasing and maintaining video conferencing equipment is an investment on which you can expect to see immediate returns.

Video conferencing is a technology that integrates audio and video, allowing employees to see and talk to each other as effectively as if they were in the same room. The advantage is that they are actually miles, even continents, apart.

And with so many recent advances in video conferencing technology, your business can become video-conference ready at a reasonable price. Ten years ago video conferencing costs could run as high as $50,000 per site! Now, packages are available for less than half of that, and can often be paid for or rented monthly for payments of under $100!

Once your business starts taking advantage of video conferencing, travel time and all the cost associated with it are eliminated. Important decisions can be reached quickly, and meetings can be called spontaneously whenever opportunities arise. No longer do you have to wait for everyone to meet face to face. Video conferencing greatly accelerates the decision making process.

How many times have you arranged for all your employees to be present at a meeting, paying for many of them to travel great distances away from their regular job sites, only to realize all too late some key data or resource was forgotten back at home? Video conferencing eliminates the hassles and headaches that are associated with traditional meeting methods.

One of the biggest advantages of video conferencing is to the employees themselves. No longer is it necessary for employees to spend days, even weeks away from their families and their on-site responsibilities just to attend meetings? If your employees could meet face to face instantaneously, all the benefits of face to face communication could still exist, without any of the drawbacks of travel time and expense.

With advanced technology and reduced costs, your business does not have to be a Fortune 500 company to take advantage of video conferencing. Stop spending dollars needlessly – equip your business for video conferencing today.

source : http://www.isnare.com/?aid=62753&ca=Computers+and+Technology

Posted by i interest at 11:36 AM 1 comments

VOIP News

Posted by i interest at 11:27 AM 0 comments

Friday, March 21, 2008

Article : Why VoIP And VoIP Video Phones Are The Next Ipod

Submitted By: Jeff Cagan

In the 1970's it was the cassette tape crushing the 8 track. In the 1980's it was the VHS VCR putting an end to the BETA VCR. In the 1990's DVD's started the beginning of the end for Video Tapes. And in the 2000's, mp3 players and the iPod specifically are about to start throwing dirt on the grave of CD's. So, which product or service that's been the standard for years, will be the one that sees it's demise in the 2010's... it's one of the oldest technologies you have in your house. Your telephone.

To be able to replace an old product or service, and get in a majority of households, you have to have 3 things.

1. A need or want for a new product.
2. A new product that is better than the original.
3. A price that the majority of people can afford

Even though it's in it's infancy, Voip (Voice over internet protocol) technology passes all 3 of the above questions with flying colors.

1. How would you like to talk to and see a friend or relative, that lives in another State or Country, anytime you wanted to? No more sending pictures or having to wait to see someone every few years. Now you can see them on a video screen, in real time video, while talking to them on the phone. I'd want that.

2. What if you could not only talk to someone and see them, but you could also have caller id, call waiting id, call waiting, voice mail, call forwarding, conference calls, last call return, call blocking, do not disturb and more, all built right in to your phone, with no additional costs for these services. That's pretty darn good.

3. What if you got ALL of the above mentioned features from #1 and #2, for LESS than you pay now with your current local phone company? What if it was so much less, it saved you HUNDREDS of dollars per year? I can definitely afford that!

And that, my friends, is why VoIP and video phones are the iPod of the next decade. You're local phone company knows it's coming and they are preparing for it. The big internet companies (Yahoo, Google, AOL, etc) are all prepared to launch their versions. The Wall Street Journal predicts 70% of all houses will have voip by the year 2010... that's only 4 years from now! 70%!!!

So, unless you still have an 8 track in your vehicle or are still trying to keep those records from scratching when you play them on your record player, it might be time to look into something new for your home phone service.

source : http://www.isnare.com/?aid=23711&ca=Computers+and+Technology

Posted by i interest at 9:41 AM 0 comments
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