WebConfGuide

Archive for the ‘Free Web Conferencing Software’ Category

In difficult times, saving money on web conferencing is always welcomed

With cost-cutting becoming the mantra of more and more businesses all over the world, the quest is on to find efficient and affordable solutions to the age old concern of data and information exchange within the different components of an organization. The bottom line is the single most important factor that drives many businesses nowadays, and web based video conferencing is only one in the long line of solutions that have been introduced to address these concerns.

Physical distance has traditionally been a major stumbling block in the task of information exchange, and it can be quite a challenge to get key personnel from many different locations on the same page. This is a task for which web based video conferencing is ideally suited, and the wide range of option in web conferencing solutions have taken the business world by storm, mainly due to its affordability.

Web based video conferencing allows you to exchange information and update your staff on key developments as easily and as inexpensively as if they were in the same room together. Of course the technology took a while to get here, with initial attempts plagued by issues such as slow video, audio dropouts, and other technical issues inherent in a new system. However, the advent of improved technology–of which the advent of affordable high speed Internet plays a pivotal role–has made these issues virtually non-existent, and users can now exchange information through web based video conferencing as easily and as smoothly as carrying on a telephone conversation.

Convenience and low cost is not the only advantage offered by such technologies. The same systems that allow for seamless web based video conferencing also allow for a more interactive learning and instruction process, with collaborative writing, collaborative reviewing, and online document sharing being some of the most significant developments of the past several years. These innovations make the process of providing information across vast distances a lot more efficient and affordable to a wider range of users, and the world of online education is all the better for it.

Dimdim is  a great open source solution which virtually brings the free web conferencing experience to everyone, This is no less then a revolution in the way we conduct business.

A non experienced user will definitely get overwhelmed by the sooo many options and features available in this great free web conferencing product.  The interface is literally scattered all over the place so it might take a while to get acquainted with the software before starting to use it

Setting up a meeting in Dimdim is fairly easy. You can start a meeting immediately or decide to schedule it for later (it also allows recurring meetings). It’s very easy to bring PowerPoints, PDFs, and Web URLs items into a meeting once it’s in progress.

The software lets you create online slide shows using PowerPoint presentations and PDFs. You can annotate on the fly and let users mark up, too. You can also work on a shared, and even multipage whiteboard. Or you can share your own screen, which is a useful feature for demos or online collebration.

There are many ways to interact with your viewers. You can send them a Webcam video and audio (or decide on  a two-way conference), chat with all attendees, and send private instant messages to users.

One noticable big benefit of this software is that viewers of any session don’t  have to download or install any application. That advantage will please viewers like me who don’t like to install untrusted applications and junking up their system just so they can join in the session.

The conference host has the control of what people can see as well as what they can say.

However, at the moment the user interface itself is kinda slow with  inputs response. Also, the company neither guarantees speed or high-quality audio or video streaming on this free service. If you decide to  pay for the professional version ($99 a year per presenter) or the enterprise edition (which you can install on your own servers), you can control the quality of service (QOS)  and get online or on call support from Dimdim.

So the product review summary is as follows: Dimdim is a strong free Web
conferencing tool with a price you just can’t beat. It’s definitely good
enough to make you reconsider it as a Webex alternative solution.

Yugma is a a private held company from Minnesota which brings us a pretty innovative and a free web conferencing service that enables people to instantly interact and share content and ideas over the internet. The nice part is that it works on all major operating systems.

Its really easy to use Yugma in order to host study groups or tutoring sessions or to host common interest groups or clubs, to conduct extensive training sessions or use it for online support as a customer care or any other  similar interactive collaboration activities.

Right after a short painless registration and choosing your user ID and password you are able to download the software, based on your operating system, It’s a very quick and automatic download process, and of course as mentioned the cool part is that it’s a free web conferencing process, so no payment is needed – which is always a good thing.

There is no configuration needed at all and it’s all done for you in a snap. Once the installation is done you are ready to invite people to a free online meeting. Since it is a free conferencing service you have some restrictions and limitations that are removed once purchasing a membership: You are only allowed to host a conference of up to 10 people simultaneously and each participant has to register as well prior to using the software.

Yugma meeting room allows people to have PC to PC conversations, watch video session , send SMS to each other, and have document sharing with each other. All documents and sessions are encrypted in order to let you have a secure sessions that is required by companies and other organizations.

In the bottom line, the application has a great value for no money, not many others offer a truly free web conferencing. We recommend starting with the free subscription and to learn and experience all its features, and when needed to upgrade to a paid memersip