No. 1 

June 14 1999

 Technology:

A company called ActiveTouch, Inc. started WebEx Meeting, an innovative, ad-supported service that allows anybody with a Java-enabled browser to host or attend real-time online meetings with slide presentations, Web tours, document sharing, live software demonstrations, collaborative whiteboard, and chat. These basic features are offered at no cost to the user and require no specialized software except a small Java plugin that installs itself automatically at the time of the first session.
After registering with the site to obtain a login name and password, any user can easily launch a meeting and send invitations to potential participants, notifying them of the date and time, as well as of the unique, numerical ID of the meeting they are expected to join. The participants can communicate via the textual chat or use a standard phone for the audio portion of the meeting. The latter option has its drawbacks: if more than two participants are involved, setting up a costly phone conference will be necessary (ActiveTouch offers this service for 15 cents per minute, per line), some participants may have access to only one telephone line - the one used by the Internet connection, and, finally, long distance charges may apply. However, in many situations this might still be a better option than trying to use the highly unstable, difficult to setup Internet telephony.
Premium services can be purchased at a surprisingly steep price of $150 per concurrent user, per month and include:
  • added security
  • no advertisements
  • application sharing  (where participants can actively work on the same document, as if it resided on their computers).
  • video transfer
WebEx Meeting is still being developed and new features are added every few weeks, to both the free and the fee-based versions.  It is currently compatible only with Windows computers, but the Mac version is in the works.

WebEx screenshots (click on a thumbnail):


Collaborative browsing
Whiteboard (annotating a photograph)

For more information please visit the WebEx site or search the ACT database of Groupwork Tools.


Initiatives:

HandsNet

The San Jose, California, based HandsNet, whose target audience are human services professionals, strives to "provide leadership and support to the human service and public interest communities by enhancing their communication, information sharing and collaboration capabilities. In doing so, [it seeks] to strengthen the capacity of these organizations to improve policies and programs for the people they serve." Supported by membership fees, government grants, and occasional corporate donations, it offers a wide range of services, from e-mail accounts to online discussion forums, to newsletters, to seminars and workshops. Its two major projects: the Virtual Training Institute and the Training and Resource Center bring hands-on training classes to nonprofit organizations around the country. It maintains a private network (Handsnet on the Web) for its members, as well as a specialized Web crawler known as WebClipper, which scans the Web for information tailored to its subscriber's interests. More information on HandsNet can be obtained from its well maintained Web site. You may also send an e-mail inquiry to hninfo@handsnet.org , call them at (408) 291-5111, or send an old-fashioned letter to: 2 North Second Street #375, San Jose, CA 95113

Conference:

  • 1999 National Neighborhood Networks Conference
  • Held July 20-24, 1999 in Kansas City, MO
  • From the brochure: "Plan to participate in three and one half days of activities focusing on this successful Initiative that has brought the information superhighway - and with it jobs, training, health education, and other community benefits - to American neighborhoods since 1995. Meet the people who can make a difference to your neighborhood - center directors, staff, and residents; owners and managers; representatives from partner organizations; and HUD staff including Neighborhood Networks Coordinators, Community Builders, and other Initiative staff. Hear engaging speakers in plenary sessions and workshops and meetings that address the needs of Neighborhood Networks centers in all stages of development - from start-up to fully operational, of all sizes, and in all types of settings. Peruse exhibit hall displays, visit some local Neighborhood Networks centers, and enjoy all that Kansas City has to offer."
  • Registration fee: none

Online event:

Held 9 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. EST, June 29, 1999 Location: Data Beam's Virtual Meeting Center From the Web site: "Join Jim Hollahan from Essential Solutions Inc., in this class on making online training simple, effective, and engaging. Learn basic strategies for interactive instruction in an online virtual classroom." Registration fee: none Technical requirements:
  • Java-enabled browser (4.0 or better)
  • Internet connection (33.6 kbps or better)
  • Separate phone line for audio portion

She said, he said:

"The Internet will catastrophically collapse in 1996" -- Robert Metcalf (inventor of the Ethernet), who, in 1997, ate his words (literary) in front of an audience.


©1999 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology