Shareware Web Conferencing
In the summer of 1994, there were only two web conferencing products in the market and they were primitive at best. Offered as freeware packages, they were nevertheless adopted by some enterprising business minds who foresaw the need for it in the near future. Now, more than a decade later, web conferencing has branched out from under the freeware and shareware category of products.
There are now well over 60 commercial and shareware web conferencing products available and many of them are quite sophisticated enough to support conferencing on the web in one form or another. Among the pioneers in shareware web conferencing are giants, such as WebEx, PlaceWare, Microsoft, Macromedia, and a few more.
Web Conferencing Defined
Web conferencing refers to a software system where you can connect with other people from different locations with the use of the computer via the Internet. It is used for group discussions, whether sales presentations, training, e-learning sessions, quarterly meetings or the like. The most basic feature of web conferencing is screen sharing, which essentially allows users to view and control the computer screen of others, including that of the presenter.
Web Conferencing as a Service
Web conferencing is often sold as a service, either in-house through the customer’s intranet or through an external server hosted by the vendor. Either way, you will have to pay for the service according to the pricing plans, which can either be pay-per-use or pay-per-seat. Sometimes, license for web conferencing software may also be purchased and the user will just have to maintain a yearly fee in order to keep the license registration up-to-date.
Shareware Web Conferencing
Shareware products have always been available in the market. It is a way for vendors to increase the number of subscribers or users of their products. Usually, in shareware web conferencing the service is free. But because it is essentially free, certain limitations to the service do apply.
For one, shareware vendors may only offer their product for free for a limited period of time only. During this set period, you can make full use of the shareware product’s features without paying any fee. This can be considered as the trial period where you are allowed to get a feel of the product, however, you must eventually purchase it for continued usage.
Another method is offering shareware web conferencing products with limited features. Generally, the paid version has all the full features, including the unique extra ones that may provide perks to the whole web conferencing environment. The shareware usually only includes the basic features. That is, shareware web conferencing may only have basic capabilities such as screen sharing, file sharing, slide presentations, and voice.
|
