[Cialug] OT: Teleconference Providers

[Nathan C. Smith]

I would agree with Jeff's assessment: the state of the art in dedicated video conferencing is pretty amazing.

I probably would have made Dave's recommendations, if it had not come from a specific request.  The state of the art in Skype, etc. is pretty amazing.

Thanks to all who contributed.

-Nate

-----Original Message-----
From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Ollie
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2012 2:56 PM
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [Cialug] OT: Teleconference Providers

On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 2:08 PM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there really any reason to go somewhere for teleconferencing? You 
> can do it now with a computer and a webcam, a lot of laptops come with 
> a built-in webcam, or even a smart phone.

Yes, but the quality can be limited:

1) The video quality of webcams is limited, especially those built into laptops and the front-facing cameras on smart phones.
2) Webcams built into laptops and smart phones have an odd angle of view.
3) Microphones built into laptops pick up a lot of environmental noise, especially from the keyboard.
4) You can use a headset to overcome the audio limitations of laptops but seeing everyone with headsets on can be distracting.
5) Broadband internet speeds aren't universally available, which further limits quality.

> Seems to me that a teleconferencing service is obsolete.

Video conferencing using laptops/smart phones has come a long way and may meet your needs, but services that provide higher quality options aren't dead yet.

--
Jeff Ollie
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