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Free web conferencing solutions for productive online meetings
August 3, 2006
By: Alice Osborn
Finding free web conferencing solutions that are
compatible, functional and secure has never been easier. In
my article, "Free
web conferencing software solutions that are truly free,"
I discuss several free web-based collaboration tools, such
as
SHARE,
Vyew, and
Unyte.
Unyte and Vyew are both in the beta stages, while SHARE
stays a permanent free solution.
In this follow-up article, I discuss three more companies
that offer users a free web-based collaboration tool:
LetsPowwow,
WebHuddle, and
Marratech-Free. Marratech-Free is the free version of
Marratech, allowing users to later upgrade to the premium
service, while LetsPowwow and WebHuddle are in the beta
stages. All three solutions have the ability to host on any
platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) and two of the three come
with 128-bit SSL encryption. These solutions are ideal for
SOHO business, student, or non-profit use since these
solutions will keep costs down, and these groups typically
wouldn't schedule a meeting with more than ten participants.
Features and benefits of three conferencing solutions
that are truly free for users
-
LetsPowwow from Yugma, Inc. and powered by
FreeConference.com is a free online collaboration tool
that is supported on every platform: Windows, Mac, Linux,
OS2, and Unix. Java 2 Runtime Environment (J2RE) is
required, and it's easy to download for free. Let'sPowwow
has full encryption abilities -- 128 bit SSL -- and it has
full desktop sharing capabilities (on or offline), with
simultaneous remote access, and even allows for private
chats among the participants. It doesn’t advertise that
it's in the beta stage, but the beta tag is in the title
bar on the home page.
On the downside, this free software collaboration tool
doesn't give any technical support to its free users, nor
does it offer recording or document storage. However, all
of these features are available on LetsPowwow Premium,
which also allows over 20 participants, with no ads for
$50/month. It's important to note that LetsPowwow is a
shared-document text chatting tool, and doesn't offer
video or audio conferencing (yet).
-
WebHuddle, like LetsPowwow is cross-platform
compatible: Mac, Windows and Linux, and can easily run on
your web browser enabled with Java, without using a large
amount of bandwidth. WebHuddle says that even dial-up
users can access this solution, although I don't know how
well that would work. This beta stage solution also has a
128-bit SSL encryption for all its application sharing
functions. I liked how this solution can be recorded and
how you can upload PowerPoint files, GIF, JPEG, and ZIP
files with both of these image files. However, PowerPoint
animation won't work on this solution. There wasn't any
information on how many participants are allowed on the
chat.
With its text chat, VoIP, annotation, polling and
recording tools, WebHuddle covers all of the basic online
collaboration requirements. Just download the software,
and you're ready to go. Online collaboration expert Robin
Good says, "I think that however limited and modest
compared to many of its more popular commercial
competitors, WebHuddle is a notable first cross-platform
free, open source web conferencing and live presentation
solution to hit the Internet in a long time." He also
mentions how this tool could benefit from a better
designed interface.
-
Marratech-Free features live VoIP and video -- the
only one of these online solutions that does -- in a
cross-platform environment. This beta stage solution also
features an interactive whiteboard for you to paste
information and use the annotation tools, but its
functions are limited. Only with the premium version can
you use the whiteboard to share desktop applications such
as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The system requirements
include DSL/cable Internet, a headset and a webcam.
Unfortunately, this free version of the software is not
encrypted and it only allows five people to participate.
Easy collaboration solutions to get your business
rolling
All of these free web-based solutions allow leaders to
interact and collaborate with their groups without a lot of
set-up time and hidden costs. These solutions also free up
time and money taken by travel. Although the free solutions
discussed above come without the bells and whistles of the
premium services, they have almost everything you need for a
productive conference: security, and online sharing
capabilities -- with Marratech-Free offering real-time video
conferencing, too. In just a few minutes, you can start
conferencing with your group without a lot of hassle!
Only you can decide which free online solution is right
for you by testing each one out -- you may need to host more
than five participants, or may want to forgo security for a
video connection. Most importantly, these solutions will let
you share your files and communication in real-time with
others, so that you can get what you need done today.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Web-Conferencing-Zone.com. Your
definitive guide to
web conferencing services,
online collaboration software and
web meetings for business.
Also See: [
Free web
conferencing software solutions that are truly free ]
[ Group
collaboration software & groupware applications for
collaborative teams ]
[ Finding the
best news & latest trends about online collaboration software ]
Home Page:
[ Web-Conferencing-Zone.com ]
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