Recently, I tested WiZiQ for an online meeting with a client, and wrote about the experience. In the comments, Pierre suggested edufire and andy recommended showdocument.
I took a quick look at both sites. Edufire looks like it would be great for running training sessions and small classes. ShowDocument lets you upload and work on files, so that could be a good way to work with a client, without having to install anything.
Bob Ryan commented that he plans to use DimDim for his business. I set up an account there, and ran a trial meeting, which worked well, but my screen settings seem slightly different, after using their screen sharing option.
For yesterday’s meeting with my client, I tried Office Live Meeting (OLM). Before the meeting, I set up a practice session, the tested the controls and settings. You can upload files, and share the screen, or a portion of the screen. Also, you can share a specific program, so that’s the option I used most of the time.
OLM was my favourite online meeting tool so far. I could pass the controls to my client, so we could both test the Access database that we were discussing.
I had to use Internet Explorer, instead of Firefox, and there are some components to download and install. But, most people have a computer that’s full of Microsoft products anyway, so that might not be too big a hurdle.
Dick had volunteered to be a guinea pig, if I tested WiZiQ again (thanks, Dick!). I’ll be trying OLM again, to see how some of the fancier tools work, so may he’ll agree to join that test session, if I set something up for later this week.
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I’m in. Someday I’ll have a client whose IT department will actually let me install this kind of software. Then I’ll be ready!
Thanks! When’s a good time for a short session? Thursday evening? Sunday afternoon?
I’ll be home ~6pm CST tonight if you like.
I’ll also be glad to join the guinea pig colony!
Thanks Bob!
Hi Debra,
Would you be interested in checking out Mikogo for online collaboration? It is a free desktop sharing app that allows you to share your screen live over the Web with up to 10 people. It includes features such as remote keyboard/mouse control, switch presenter, whiteboard and more. And it’s very easy-to-use. Please drop by our site for more info or feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thanks!
Hsiang-Yi Cheng
The Mikogo Team
Debra – I thought I posted this comment, but didn’t see it, so here it is (again?). After my fiasco with DimDim, I checked out WebEx and have decided to proceed with it. Reliable, simple and with reasonable cost (about $500/year).
Thanks Bob, I didn’t see a previous copy of this comment, so thanks for posting it again. Was there something specific that tipped the scale for Webex?
The lower price – finally – was the scale tipper. I had been familiar with Elluminate and WebEx from experiences two to three years ago, but the price back then was around $250-300… per month! It was just too much. In addition to reasonable price, I wanted something reliable (WebEx backed by Cisco), and simple yet powerful (no download for participants, interface for host fairly straightforward, able to share documents, desktop, websites, etc). We’ve talked about paying for good tools (SnagIt9… thank you :)) and that’s what I’m hoping – scratch that – counting on WebEx to provide.
Elluminate is more flexible, but also harder to use, and significantly more expensive.