Web Conferencing Blog http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog The Blog of http://www.webconferencing-test.com/ Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:19:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Desktop sharing or virtual room? http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/08/desktop-sharing-or-virtual-room/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/08/desktop-sharing-or-virtual-room/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:18:08 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=209 Some online conferencing solutions offer only one option, some offer both. But which is actually more useful?

With desktop sharing the focus is on the participants. The host invites the attendees to have a look at his desktop. This has the great advantage that quick change between documents and applications is possible and that the host can quickly search the file structure for an additional document if needed. If the entire desktop is shared, online meetings with external contacts may be a bit delicate if the entire desktop is displayed instead of selected applications. Also, a “messy” desktop or an unorderly file structure are sources of possible embarrassment. A good online conferencing solution should therefore definitely offer a screen cleaning function.

Web conferencing in virtual rooms focuses on the event. The atmosphere is not as “informal” as with desktop sharing. All participants meet in one room and have access to the same range of functionalities, e.g. presentation tools and a whiteboard. The possibilities of interaction are more restricted in a virtual room since documents must be uploaded and are often only accepted in MS Office or PDF format. Only few online conferencing solutions offer interactive handling of documents so that in most cases it is strictly watch or present.

Considering our focus on web conferencing solutions, desktop sharing definitely is the preferred option. If you think differently we would be glad to hear your thoughts.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/08/desktop-sharing-or-virtual-room/feed/ 0 BeamYourScreen makes a huge leap – from rank 18 to 6 http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/05/beamyourscreen-makes-a-huge-leap-%e2%80%93-from-rank-18-to-6/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/05/beamyourscreen-makes-a-huge-leap-%e2%80%93-from-rank-18-to-6/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:48:06 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=206 Well done! After re-evaluating BeamYourScreen, which is now available in version 3.0, we found great improvements in ease of installation, structure, and security. The missing chat function is a big turnoff though. Still, if the overall trend is carried on with future developments, BeamYourScreen might very well find itself in our top 5 after the next evaluation.

Check out the complete test results here.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/03/05/beamyourscreen-makes-a-huge-leap-%e2%80%93-from-rank-18-to-6/feed/ 0 GoMeetNow and VIA 3 – two solid solutions for web conferencing http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/26/gomeetnow-and-via-3-%e2%80%93-two-solid-solutions-for-web-conferencing/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/26/gomeetnow-and-via-3-%e2%80%93-two-solid-solutions-for-web-conferencing/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:05:03 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=202 RHUB now provides users with GoMeetNow, an online meeting solution remarkably well suited for desktop sharing. The tool made the top ten of our ranking.
VIA3 Professional only makes it into the top twenty. The main reason is its restriction of only allowing users of a VIA3 account to participate in online meetings.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/26/gomeetnow-and-via-3-%e2%80%93-two-solid-solutions-for-web-conferencing/feed/ 0 IBM LotusLive Meeting – formerly IBM SameTime Unyte Meeting – is now in our ranking http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/11/ibm-lotuslive-meeting-is-new-in-our-ranking-%e2%80%93-after-yet-another-round-of-evaluations/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/11/ibm-lotuslive-meeting-is-new-in-our-ranking-%e2%80%93-after-yet-another-round-of-evaluations/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:41:33 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=188 Previously we had included IBM Sametime Unyte Share in our ranking. Since this software does not match all of our criteria for evaluation we have removed it. At the same time we re-evaluated IBM SameTime Unyte Meeting which is now called IBM LotusLive Meeting. The tool showed a solid performance during our tests. The integrated webcam functionality caught our eye, as well as the fact that only the current presenter’s webcam can be displayed.

You can find all other details about the tool here.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/11/ibm-lotuslive-meeting-is-new-in-our-ranking-%e2%80%93-after-yet-another-round-of-evaluations/feed/ 0 Elluminate vOffice replaces vRoom http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/08/elluminate-voffice-replaces-vroom/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/08/elluminate-voffice-replaces-vroom/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:59:13 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=183 We have taken Elluminate vRoom out of our ranking and replaced the tool with Elluminate’s vOffice. vOffice is an interesting web conferencing solution since it originated from an eLearning environment. The tool offers a good solution for virtual team work but has its downsides, e.g. too many features which make usability awkward.

Read the full evaluation.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/08/elluminate-voffice-replaces-vroom/feed/ 0 We have a new number two! http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/04/we-have-a-new-number-two/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/04/we-have-a-new-number-two/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:58:37 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=176 Netviewer Meet is now available in version 6.0 and has beaten WebEx Meeting Center 8.5 to the second place.

Previously the number three in our ranking, Netviewer Meet has improved its features, especially regarding security. The setup of online meetings is now also easier to handle so that the overall user experience definitely has been enhanced.

Read the detailed evaluation here.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/04/we-have-a-new-number-two/feed/ 2 User-friendliness of web conferencing tools http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/user-friendliness-of-web-conferencing-tools/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/user-friendliness-of-web-conferencing-tools/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:22:05 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=172 As is clearly visible in our evaluations of online meeting solutions, user-friendliness weighs in heavily. And for good reason too, because if you want to present information online or have a virtual team-meeting you can’t waste time trying to figure out how to get a specific gadget to work. Meeting organizers and participants need easy-to-use software to operate quickly and smoothly.

User-friendliness does not mean – at least for us – hoarding functionalities in one tool. We favor the less-is-more approach to web conferencing. Packing loads of functionalities into one tool may make for a powerful software, but it takes time and effort to learn to operate it properly (e.g. WebEx). Splitting services into multiple tools with only a limited number of features gives the user an easy-to-use solution for his requirements (e.g. Citrix GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToAssist, GoToMyPC, and GoToTraining)

More details on our criteria for evaluation can be found on our homepage.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/user-friendliness-of-web-conferencing-tools/feed/ 4 Web conferencing appliances http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/web-conferencing-appliances/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/web-conferencing-appliances/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:41:11 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=168 Testing appliances is currently not on our to-do list. And here’s why: To thoroughly test an appliance for online conferencing a complete in-house test environment needs to be set up. That is a very time consuming procedure, which directly leads to the fact that our focus is on easy to install SaaS (Software-as-a-service) solutions, since small to medium sized businesses hardly have the need for any online conferencing tool that requires the installation of hardware within the company’s infrastructure.

So we have to turn down the request for evaluation of the RHUB web conference appliance for now. However GoMeetNow, the SaaS offering from RHUB, is on our backlist of online conferencing tools to be tested.

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/02/01/web-conferencing-appliances/feed/ 0 Saba Centra and Glance are new in our ranking http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/01/28/saba-centra-and-glance-are-new-in-our-ranking/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/01/28/saba-centra-and-glance-are-new-in-our-ranking/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:28:53 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=163 Until recently Saba only offered enterprise solutions. With eMeetings, Saba now offers an online meeting solution which can be utilized by small and medium sized companies. Our verdict: rank 7

Glance also made its way into our ranking. Glance offers easy access to desktop sharing and the basic functionalities you’d expect of an online conferencing tool. But that is pretty much it. Our verdict: rank 23

]]> http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/01/28/saba-centra-and-glance-are-new-in-our-ranking/feed/ 1 Why we won’t evaluate Communique http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/01/08/why-we-won%e2%80%99t-evaluate-communique/ http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/2010/01/08/why-we-won%e2%80%99t-evaluate-communique/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:36:37 +0000 admin http://www.webconferencing-test.com/blog/?p=160 We have been asked to evaluate Communique’s web conferencing solution. Communique does offer web conferencing solutions – developed by other providers. More specifically: Microsoft’s Office Live Meeting 2007 and WebEx. These solutions are both already included in our ranking. And since Communique doesn’t offer a distinct solution for online collaboration we will not evaluate the company’s services.

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