Section 20.4. Online MeetingsWeb Conferencing

20.4. Online Meetings/Web Conferencing

As efficient as the Web can be at giving people in disparate locations a centralized spot to exchange memos, messages, and flowcharts, sometimes live communications are called forespecially for things like time-sensitive projects or sales presentations. In those cases, the Web can welcome everyone into the same conference call or virtual room, so you can hammer out the details in real time. Conference-call setup on the Web can be less expensive than using an audio- conferencing service, and you can usually have at least 25 people on the linefar too many for an IM audio-video chat.

20.4.1.

20.4.1.1. FreeConference .com

When the time comes to round up everyone in the project for a progress meeting, a conference call (by telephone) lets you cut right to the chase, especially if half the team is in San Jos , the other half is in New Jersey, and the client is in Indianapolis. When it comes time to set up the call for all involved, FreeConference.com (www.freeconference.com) gives you a gathering place. It provides a dial-in number for all your participants to use, as well as an access code to punch in so they can enter the digital conference room and talk to the others.

FreeConference.com has three levels of service:

• Reservationless Standard . This free service is fine for small, uncomplicated group chats. (Free, that is, except for the actual phone calls the participants make.) No registration is required. You pick out your own dial-in number from the site's directorynumbers from a few different area codes are available, but there's no guarantee they can handle your conference at your chosen time, and you may get a busy signal. You also need to make up your own access code to keep uninvited people from accidentally joining your call by mistake. Then up to 25 people can join in and gab away for up to three hours.

• Web-Scheduled Standard . You have to register for a free account and fill out a form online to set up your call, but FreeConference.com takes care of the secretarial work by picking out a phone number and access code for youand making sure there's room for your conference at your chosen time. Furthermore, it sends out the info in email invites to all the people on your list. You can have up to 100 callers on the line for three hours.

• Web-Scheduled Premium 800 . This plan costs 10 cents a minute per conference participant, but everyone gets a toll-free number, saving long-distance charges. Up to 150 callers can be on the line for five hours (although, truth to tell, a five- hour phone call with 150 people talking simultaneously sounds more punishing than productive).

  For additional fees, you can get a downloadable MP3 recording or telephone playback of the call, or even have a transcription service produce a written text of the call.

20.4.1.2. WebEx

If you need to give a PowerPoint presentation or demonstrate a product for someone oceans away, WebEx (www.webex.com) brings the projector screen to the desktop.

Once your team members join you in your online, virtual WebEx meeting session (and install the necessary WebEx plug-in into their browsers), you can play your own presentation on everyone's computer screen. You narrate your slides over the phone, by streaming video, or by typed chat. You can transfer documents and spreadsheets directly to others in the Web-conference to keep everyone up to speed; when it's all over, you can cherish an automated recording of these meetings.

WebEx isn't free (except for the two-week trial). Prices start at $75 a month for unlimited gatherings in the WebEx Meeting Center, but for the budgetminded, there's also a pay-per-use plan that charges 33 cents a minute for each participant.

WebEx also offers traditional video and audio conferencing.

20.4.1.3. Breeze

Breeze blows in from Macromedia, the company that created the Flash software (Section 3.4.4) for Web animations and interactivity. With Breeze (www.breezecentral.com), you can save the plane fare and show your PowerPoints online either in a live session or on demand for people to go find when they have the time to pay attention.

The system can do more than just play back a presentation, though. When you sign up for a Breeze meeting, your desktop can become a multimedia control room with live video windows , streaming audio, and online whiteboards for scribbling ideaswithout getting dry-erase marker all over your shirt. You can narrate and control a full-screen presentation on everyone's screen, exchange files, and carry on Q&A sessions in a text-chat window.

Breeze is rather pricey$375 a month for multimedia meetings with up to five people. But because it's powered by the same Flash software (Section 3.4.4) used by just about every modern Web browser, you don't have to install extra plug-ins or fiddle with hardware. Plus, all the meetings take place on the Breeze servers. There is, however, a pay-per-use plan here, too: for 32 cents a minute per attendee , you can Breeze your way through that sales pitch or product demonstration from the comfort of your own computer.

Breeze and WebEx share many of the same Web-conferencing abilities , but Breeze's use of the Flash player may make it more compatible for use with a number of different operating systems. Its interface is a bit friendlier, too, and many companies have found Breeze's intuitive controls and ability to handle all kinds of audio and video great for online training courses.