Wide World Of Web Design

Brio - web conferencing made easy.
The advancement and availability of software tools in recent years has greatly assisted the plight of those working remotely, especially when you still need to communicate with co-workers and/or clients. We all know how time consuming using email can be, and conference calls by phone just don’t cut it either when collaborating on a project, so it was particularly satisfying to have a program like Campfire (by 37Signals) around. Group conferences online with filesharing and multiple chat rooms, and of course the fact that it’s free to use . . . well, what more can you say ? The nerd in me just goes all aquiver . . .

But of course, there’s usually some kind of limitation, and as good as this free program is I always thought it would be cool to have the same kind of thing but with video conferencing, being able to share a desktop view, you know, a virtual boardroom meeting just like those cool OnDemand Seminars hosted by Adobe (using Acrobat Connect) where I can participate in Live Product demonstrations while sitting in my pajamas eating a banana . . .

Well what do you know, now even humble freelancer web designers like moi can have virtual meetings and collaborations with the same professional and corporate flair simply by downloading the Beta version of Adobe’s next generation of Acrobat Connect, currently called Brio.

If this doesn’t make your pants dance, I don’t know what will. Needless to say it sure does impress the clients because the presentation is like that of a corporate boardroom web conference, and the tools are just wonderful and easy to use. You can send an email inviting the recipients to join the meeting with a link for access, and once you’re all together you have the option of using your webcam, sharing Notes, a Whiteboard for diagrams, etc .., you can turn the meeting over to a guest who can then do the talking and share their desktop view.

But like I said, there’s usually a limitation, especially when something’s free, and in this case it’s the fact that this version only allows 3 guests in on the meeting, but that’s more people than I usually need to conference with, me being an independent player and all.

Also, I’m not sure how long this free version of Acrobat Connect is going to be around, so hop on board the Brio train, cos’ this slick little program is all that and a bag of chips . . . heck, I even use it to show my parents how to do things on their computer, something that a phonecall could just never do !