Archive for the ‘Web Conferencing Platforms’ Category

Europe’s #1 Web-conferencing Platform – Netviewer

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Clear Skies is always looking to use the best platforms.  The following is article is about Netviewer – specifically Netviewer Meet (up to 100 connections).  Netviewer also has a console, Netviewer Present, that can be used for a couple thousand connections.  If you need help moderating your larger events, please reach out to us – that’s what we do.

Original article posted here: http://www.conferencingnews.com/news/30889

Best Web Conference Solution: Gold Award for Netviewer
toptenreviews.com Carries out Extensive Test of Leading Providers

Following a wide-ranging test comparing products from different providers, Netviewer Meet 6.0 was presented with the Gold Award for the best web conference solution by toptenreviews.com. On its website, TopTenREVIEWS, headquartered in Ogden, Utah, features in-depth technology tests and product comparisons in more than 350 categories. Recently it undertook a comparison of twelve products marketed by the world’s foremost web conference providers. The only product which received the highest rating (“Excellent”) for all criteria and which therefore came out top in the comparison was Netviewer Meet. TopTenREVIEWS’s verdict: “We ranked this product #1 because it is the only service that we felt deserved a perfect score for ease of use”. Netviewer Meet emerged from this test ahead of web conferencing products offered by Adobe, Microsoft, Cisco WebEx and Citrix.

Netviewer is Europe’s leading producer and provider of web collaboration solutions, offering visual real-time communications by means of user-friendly web conferences – ad hoc and without any technical impediments. Netviewer Meet is already available to business clients in software-as-a-service form for a monthly fee of €29.90 (USD 39,90). Netviewer is free for private or non-commercial usage.

http://web-conferencing-services.toptenreviews.com

http://www.netviewer.com

Web conferencing on the go courtesy of Cisco WebEx

Monday, June 7th, 2010

By CXOtoday Staff, Jun 04, 2010 1012 hrs
http://www.conferencingnews.com/news/30786

WebEx has launched web conferencing service on smart phones, enabling users to join Cisco WebEx Meeting Center web and audio conferences on smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900, and BlackBerry Storm from RIM, the Nokia E71, Nokia E75, Nokia N97, and other Nokia Eseries and Nseries, and the Samsung Blackjack II.

Users will be able to launch Cisco WebEx Meeting Center through the browser on their smartphones to receive integrated audio and web conferencing over 3G or a combination of 2G and Wi-Fi. In addition, users will be able to attend a scheduled meeting and to view presentations, applications and desktops with live annotations. This offering is planned to be available on several smartphone operating systems including BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. There is no cost to attend these meetings, but to schedule and host a meeting from a computer requires a host account on Cisco WebEx Meeting Center.

ON24 steps into a new realm of “Social Webcasting”

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

One of the platforms our clients use, ON24, unveils it’s new platform offering:

ON24 Webcast Center next-generation social webcasting

ON24’s open, next-generation webcasting application delivers social webcasting capabilities and enhanced interactivity. It enables our customers to create completely custom experiences for their audiences and to integrate applications developed by third-party developers. Combining advanced virtual event technology with a highly reliable and scalable platform for webcasting, ON24 delivers immersive, measurable solutions to more effectively engage audiences.

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Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Mobile

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

We knew it was coming and didn’t know who would be first to develop it – the webinar app is here!  Check it out.  Way to go Adobe.

Copied from Adobe’s blog: See orginal post

By Steve Adler on February 25, 2010 8:03 AM

The Acrobat Family just got a little bigger today with the announcement of a new mobile version of the popular communication tool; Acrobat Connect Pro.

Many schools and universities already use Connect Pro for online meetings and virtual classrooms to bring eLearning to any desktop. With the release of the new mobile version, users of the iPhone and iPod touch now have access to their virtual classroom from anywhere.

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Communication through Webinars yield Big Business Results

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Online_MeetingsI just read this article in the Conferencing News today – it’s posted here.  I took the liberty to title the post a little differently than the title of the article (call me biased).  As we move into 2010, it’s good to remind ourselves why Clear Skies got into this business.  We, as a company, believe in partnering with you as a company, a group, an author, a product spokesperson, a trainer, a teacher, even a political activist, to facilitate the use of web-conferencing technology as a tool which is a more efficient and, maybe sometimes, even more effective voice in communicating your message than in-person or on paper.  It is certainly more cost-effective than an in-person conference.I also want to highlight that although “software-as-a-service” or “SAS” seems to be one of the buzz words around new technology platforms –> software will never replace service.  And, in our opinion, should never be an “add-on” to software.  We are the only company (that we know of) that offers Online Event Management as a core service.  We think it’s about communication, rather than what platform you use to do communicate. Therefore, it’s communication that can yield big business results.  The content is your focus, let us handle the “through webinars” part, that’s our focus.  A partnership for success in 2010.  Happy New Year.

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Warning! WebEx WRF Player has Security Holes

Friday, December 18th, 2009

WebExPlayerBefore playing/viewing a WebEx recording – be warned! There has been a public announcement made by Cisco that their player that plays back recordings made from a WebEx event has “vulnerabilties”.  Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system of a targeted user.  To see full details from CISCO please click here: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20091216-webex.shtml.  For FortiGuard’s threat research and responses advisory click here: http://www.fortiguard.com/advisory/FGA-2009-48.html.

Cisco has released free software updates that address these vulnerabilities. Prior to deploying software, customers should consult their maintenance provider or check the software for feature set compatibility and known issues specific to their environment.

Microsoft Office Live Meeting’s “WMV Converter”

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

WMV Converter Console, HFP Files, Single WMV file with HFP content included

WMV Converter Console (left image), HFP Files (upper right image), Single WMV file with HFP content included (lower right image)

A Clear Skies’ customer recently asked why the WMV created by the “Recording Converter for Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007″ which you can download here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101215971033.aspx was so big.  This was my reply:

I can see why you might be confused with differences in WMV file sizes.  First, all recordings are available in HFP (High-Fidelity Presentation) format and WMV format, directly from the Live Meeting recording page.  If you are logged in as an organizer in Live Meeting and have download recordings enabled, both formats will be available to you.  However, to see the WMV format as an option, you must be logged in using Internet Explorer browser.

Secondly, this WMV version is smaller because it only captures a flat image of the slides (and does not include builds and animations).  Although it also captures application sharing, it does not capture presenter video, multimedia video, or survey links (if applicable).

And lastly, the “WMV converter” that you used takes the HFP file which includes all the builds and animations, plus presenter video, multimedia video and survey links and converts it into a WMV file with everything still intact.

In general, file sizes increase in size with duration, application sharing, video, and presenter video used.  If you are not using rich multimedia and you can break out your builds into separate sizes, I would advise using the WMV file available from your LM download page.  It will have the smallest file that you need to host.

Webinar Comparison Website

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

web-conferencing-comparisonIn our routine travels on the web, we came across one of the best webinar platform comparison tools that we’ve seen: http://www.webconferencing-test.com/en/webconference_home.html . As you have probably discovered, finding a tool that offers an unbiased comparison of webinar technologies can be hard to find. Most of the time, webinar comparison charts are little more than a display ad for a particular platform, and almost all comparisons are sponsored by a specific vendor. Even worse, we’ve seen some comparisons which purposely exclude platforms that deserve to be ranked and tested – therefore leaving us to question the validity and usefulness of the comparison even more.

publicare_lableThis comparison website has been assembled by a company named Publicare, an online marketing agency based out of Frankfurt Germany. Publicare has taken 22 web conferencing platforms and ranked them on a scale of 1-10, on various categories: User friendliness, Number and scope of features, Pricing/cost transparency, etc. In addition to a numbered ranking, Publicare posts comments about their testing of the product and provides links to the vendor website, or free trial. Publicare’s efforts have yielded a comprehensive, informed and useful comparison of platforms that can be of great benefit. First time users of Webinar technology will admire the overall ranking system to quickly identify various costs and strengths of platforms, while seasoned webinar jockeys can dig deeper to uncover specific features that may help determine future purchasing decisions.

We should point out that this comparison is aimed at the collaboration use-case of webinars – smaller, less structured environments where collaboration is key (note WebEx MeetMeNow 2.3 is tested, not WebEx Event Center; no distinction is called out between Live Meeting Standard or Professional for example). Our use of webinar technology – the “One to Many” model – therefore is not discussed or ranked. Furthermore, we feel it’s this focus on collaborative environments that has lead Publicare to not include some of the streaming platform providers who are doing business in the “One to Many” world, like ON24, Stream57 or TalkPoint. Finally, the creation and maintenance of this website is funded by affiliate partnerships – if a visitor visits one of the ranked platforms and happens to purchase the software, Publicare receives a small finders fee. Publicare is quick to stress that this financial support does not affect their rankings, but is simply a means to recover some of the cost.

Overall, this is a great comparison tool, and we are grateful to Publicare for their time and efforts. While the comparisons are not an exact match to our business model, they none the less provide valuable information and insight into an otherwise cluttered, and noisy marketplace. Take a look, enjoy, and let us know what you think.

Bandwidth Speed – How important is it for online events?

Monday, June 1st, 2009

need-for-speed1
We have been busy ramping up, testing web-conferencing software, adding service offerings and much more! I hope you noticed our Helpful Gadgets page. The first gadget is a Broadband Speed checker. It tests both your download and upload speeds.  Other factors that may effect presenter and attendee experiences are transfer rates, networks, and latency.  It is also very important to note that your bandwidth speed is affected by what web-conferencing platform you use.  Why?  The short answer: Different web-conferencing platforms have different server locations.  The more servers they have, the more likely one is located closer to you physically.  The better the performance.  More on that later.

First in this post let’s understand what we are talking about. The next post will talk about how to improve performance. And finally, a post to talk about the “why this matters” and how this affects which web-conferencing software platform to use for your online event.

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Microsoft Registered Partner

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

officelivemeetingmicrosoftlogoIt’s important to know that we are serious and dedicated in keeping up with technology. As such, we have registered with Microsoft as a Partner in using their web-conferencing platform, Live Meeting. This does not mean that this is the only platform we will use. However, it does mean that we hold high standards of practice. With that in mind, we are aiming to become a Certified Microsoft Partner.  If you are interested in conducting a customer case study, please let us know.