Webware

Remember ooVoo, that iChat-like video conferencing and chat tool we took a look at back in June? Today they've launched a new version that has got a handful of useful, powerful tools that make it a viable alternative for small workgroups using conference calls and screen-sharing applications, such as WebEx.

First up is a new recording feature that lets users tape video chats with other participants. Since the video and audio are being recorded to the hard drive, the only time limit is how much free space the computer has. In testing, I managed to get a nearly 15 minute, four-way video conversation down to 95 MB file. The application took about 10 minutes to convert my conversation into workable FLV file that was at a full 1MB/S quality. It can also step it down to 256kb/s or 512kb/s if the file needs to be smaller.

Recorded video files can take up a surprisingly small amount of space. This one is just under 100MB and it's 15 minutes long at full quality. Setting the quality level down another two steps cuts down to just a quarter of the size.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The other really useful feature is a new conference calling tool that gives host and participants a landline number to call. Other ooVoo users who call this conference line get plugged right into the audio that's a part of the video chat, and just like the video recordings, this audio gets archived too. The new call in lines support up to six people, meaning users can have up to a dozen participants--including those on the video side. The call in service is free this month, but it is moving to a by-the-minute model in March.

Besides the video recording, the other new feature that I think people are going to like is an optional piece of software that's a companion for ooVoo's video player. The companion has two main uses. The first is a screen sharing application that lets users show off an entire screen, or certain zoom levels, to other video chat participants. Users can also drop media files, such as music, pictures, or video into the stream for other users to view. Secondly, it's got a built-in facial overlay tool, like Fix8, that applies digital overlays either to users faces or to replace backgrounds. It's great fun.

Paying users of WebEx's remote desktop service now have the added bonus of Mac support. The service has been upgraded to be cross-platform in time for next week's Macworld Expo and throws in a couple other goodies like a remote Webcam viewer (so you can spy on your home computer from the office and visa versa), and a guest pass system that lets you send someone a one-time coupon to use your computer from wherever they are.

It's kind of surprising it's taken WebEx this long to get a Mac version of its remote client service together, but with Mac's marketshare climbing past 7 percent last month (according to Net Applications), it's clear bigger companies are starting to pay attention to the pleas of Mac users. As a start, WebEx released an iPhone-compatible version of the PCNow service in late August of last year that included mobile file access, and integration with Skype and Outlook. Similar services like LogMeIn and the Java-based RealVNC have been offering cross-platform services for quite some time now, although competitor Citrix seems content to rest on its laurels with a still PC-only version of its GoToMyPC service.

WebEx's PCNow retains its starting rate at about $13 a month for one computer, which goes all the way to $60 for 10 machines. There's also a 30-day free trial if you want to give it a spin. Personally I think casual users who only need a remote desktop service to grab the occasional file, or get a lengthly download started are probably better off with LogMeIn Free, which Rafe and I both use on our home machines with great success.

Webex's core product MeetMeNow was quietly updated last night with some new features. New on the list is support for Webcams (both PC and Mac), which will automatically be detected and let the conference host know who's got video-conferencing capabilities. They've also condensed all video into one area of the interface, where the host can choose which cameras get broadcasted to others in the meeting. It's a quirky system, and not nearly as advanced as some of the collaborative services that offer up multiple user Webcams at the same time like Octopz (review), or even chat service ooVoo (review) to a degree, but it's fully capable of serving up video with audio to everyone in your meeting, which the company hopes will give them an edge over some of their competitors.

As host you can control everyone's video feeds through a drop-down menu.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Surprisingly, video chat is not a mainstay for many of these SMB business conferencing services. While Adobe's Acrobat Connect service offers multi-user video conferencing as part of the package, Citrix's GoToMeeting, Yugma, and Vyew do not. The one thing that really sticks out with Webex's implementation of video is that as a host you can't preview someone's Webcam before switching them live for everyone to see. It's a business-friendly feature that could help avoid awkward nose-picking incidents, but is sorely missing. We also found that in order to share your cam with everyone else, and begin transmitting, the host first needs to pick you out from the drop-down menu of folks with Webcams (which incidentally is separate from the general user list) that queues up that oh-so-familiar Adobe Flash Webcam security message--a process that would be nice to be initiated by attendee and not the host.

With the update, Microsoft Office users are also getting new quick-launch buttons to start conferences from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that show up in the add-ins section. While this is just a quick launcher, it doesn't tie down the conference to just that app, or even set it to automatically share the application.

After giving this a spin a few times, I'll echo what Rafe has said in numerous posts about Webex being less friendly to users than desired. Both of us run dual monitors in the office, and for some reason the service just can't handle it. Trying to move it over simply makes the conference manger disappear. Furthermore, separating the user chat and the video feeds (which it does) is splitting the focus of people in your meeting and forcing them to switch back and forth while trying to keep up with whatever you're sharing on the screen. While there's a "pop-out" option for the video module, why complicate the basics and clutter up people's screens with one more floating window?

Start Webex meetings from right inside MS Office apps with the new plug-in.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

What this product needs is a nice and simple UI overhaul. The core technologies are still there, and screen sharing works great and as advertised. Adding video is definitely a nice start, but as mentioned above, putting everything into one communication tab and tightening up the host controls a little more would really make things shine.

With the new features the service remains $49 a month, with annual subscribers paying $39 instead. To give it a spin, the service offers a 14-day trial that only requires your e-mail address. You can sign up for it here.

Octopz (pronounced 'Octopus') is a Web-based, online collaboration tool for small groups. It's one of the many companies presenting at next week's Web 2.0 Expo here in San Francisco, and is making its public launch on Monday.

Octopz runs in its own browser window and uses Adobe Flash to mix a whiteboard space with live text, voice, and video chat. The workspace has an area to upload and share files with other group members. Each uploaded file gets its own folder, which houses any edits made by group members. For example, if you're making notes on a digital photograph, other members can create a copy of that photo and add their own notes. Each version is neatly stacked underneath the original. All group edits are saved and stored, and can be shared and edited later for asynchronous collaboration.

Things get a little tricky with Octopz's multiuser controls. Anyone can grab control of the workspace at any time, which in testing led to some minor power struggles. There's also not a way to keep track of which group member made which edits, either with a history or differentiating colors per each user. Despite these issues, Octopz handled a four-person conference from three different geographical locations smoothly.

Where Octopz excels is its simplicity. It's incredibly easy to pick up and use. It reminds me a lot of Acrobat Connect, a product Adobe launched in January, although sans screen sharing.

Octopz comes in at $99 per month per license, which is twice the cost of the standard version of Adobe Connect. However unlike Acrobat Connect, Octopz lets businesses create an unlimited amount of rooms and users, something you don't even get with Adobe's professional level of Acrobat Connect service.

See also: Vyew, Conceptshare, and Webex for Web-based collaborative tools.

Update: Fixed pricing clarification regarding comparison to Acrobat Connect. Also, Octopz was picked as one of our Top 5 favorites from the Web 2.0 Expo earlier this month.

You can add stickies to the canvas, and mark up the page with a drawing tool.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

For more screenshots of Octopz in action, keep reading.

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(Credit: CNET Networks)
• NCAA tournament clips on YouTube. Just because Viacom has gone lawsuit-happy with YouTube, that doesn't mean CBS wants to keep its content off Google's video-hosting service. CBS will be adding highlights, press conferences and specials available "immediately" following live TV coverage. YouTube users will also be able to vote on and rank their favorite game clips.

• Google adding search privacy protections. Google will be "anonymizing" search queries connected to your IP address and browser cookies about 18 to 24 months after they were created. Currently, all three pieces of information are grouped together and archived indefinitely. The new policy will be in effect by the end of the year. (CNET News.com)

• The New York Times to provide "reader" service for non-subscribers. The The New York Times reader, a small application that serves up a digital copy of the newspaper's printed version, is rolling out the service to the general public later this month. The The New York Times reader service has been available as a free beta app since September. From now on, the service will be free for paid print subscribers and will cost $14.95 a month for everyone else. (The New York Times)

• SkypePrime and SkypeFind now out of beta. Ether-competitor SkypePrime and social bookmarking tool SkypeFind have left beta and gone into the most recent version of Skype as built-in features. SkypeFind is the more interesting of the two for the casual user, adding a user-built directory right into the service, complete with user reviews like you'd find on Yelp or InsiderPages. (CNET News.com)

• Cisco serves up $3.2 billion to buy WebEx. Cisco Systems is purchasing WebEx, the business communications company. Cisco intends to utilize WebEx's technology to serve small- and medium-size businesses with its hosted collaboration tools, a subject we've ranted about previously. (CNET News.com)

I normally don't comment on industry financial dealings, but this morning I was surprised by the news that Cisco is acquiring the remote meeting services company WebEx, for $3.2 billion (official news release). When I first read this, I thought I was reading a news story that had gotten stuck in the tubes for five years and was only now surfacing on the Web. In the online market five years ago, before the Web 2.0 hype bubble began--and in the wake of crumbling airline finances--it would have made a lot of sense. Today, it's less clear.

While it makes sense for Cisco to add to its collection of communication tools, and Web conferencing certainly fits that bill, WebEx's main Web-conferencing offering is an old-fashioned product that's in serious danger of being technically eclipsed by products from Web 2.0 start-ups such as Vyew, Yugma, SlideShare (writeup coming soon), and others. WebEx is overpriced and awkward to use. Like other busy Web 2.0 bloggers, I get a lot of WebEx meeting requests--and in fact just finished with one--with the presenter and me cursing WebEx the whole way through.

WebEx does generate nice revenues (although not enough to justify this purchase price) and it does have a solid customer base. These assets are worth acquiring. But the main product itself is creaky, cumbersome, and overpriced. Cisco, if it's smart, will rewrite and reprice the offering soon.