New Technology That Isn’t New

Okay, some of you are probably sick of hearing me talk about our new video conferencing system.  I decided to shoot a short video as a final word on the subject.  I promise I’ll shut-up now.

A couple of points not covered in the video:

• Yes, this is different than having two computers setup full time on Skype or iChat. We tried that approach first. You lose audio quality with regular computers which eliminates a lot of the value.
• In my opinion, the screen sharing feature works better than typical web conferencing services like WebEx.  The video quality is better and the refresh rates are much faster.  I’ve even watched someone share a video and it was watchable (don’t try that with WebEx).  You can share the audio from your computer too which works well because the units have such nice speakers.
• In terms of bandwidth, you only need 512kbs upload capability to use the system.  I have a standard Comcast business connection and it works flawlessly.
• My system is configured so that you can plug it into any internet connection and it will work.  Kind of a nice feature if you need to move the unit around the office or if you work from home occassionally  (although the unit isn’t exactly portable).

Also, if you’re curious.  Here’s what the folks in Boston see when they watch me in Boulder. Tango (our amazing designer) came up with the idea of adding the rest of my body to the video.