VoIP : What You Need to Know

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may seem like a frightening topic beyond your grasp, but it is really not that complicated. Here are some small things that you need to know about VoIP if you’re considering it for your home or office.

VoIP does just what the name suggests. It transmits voice data via IP packets over the Internet. This is done either through the computer alone (with special software and a microphone and earphones), or with a computer and extra hardware or web conferencing software.

The extra VoIP hardware usually consists of a network adapter (that allows you to plug any phone into it to use over the VoIP network) or an entire phone built to make the most of VoIP technology. Price depends on the hardware, and web conferencing system that comes with the complete phones typically costing more than the simple adapters.

The whole process is rather simple when broken down. Your voice (through software on your computer or in the phone or network adapter) is translated into small digital packets. These packets containing small bits of your conversation and they traverse the Internet to their destination. There, they are decoded and turned back into your voice.

And all of this happens in real time, just like a normal dedicated voice line. Granted, Quality of Service (QoS) is still a worry with some providers, but as the technology matures and more and more people make the switch, these problems are becoming few and far between.

This is a simple web conferencing technology, but it’s caused changes to a lot of businesses, saving them money by consolidating their voice and data networks into one system. It’s also brought down the price (considerably) of long distance calls for home consumers.

Old Vs. New

To better understand VoIP, you have to know a little bit about PSTN (the Public Switched Telephone Network.) With this method of phone communication (that has been around since the telephone was invented on a large scale), when someone calls another person, one continuous route is made between the two phones. Traditionally, the longer the route, the more expensive the cost of the call.

VoIP and web video conference is different in that it sends out small packets of information rather than one long continuous string of information. Because of this, the Internet (also a packet based network) can be used to transmit phone calls. It doesn’t sound like a big thing when you break it down like that, but it’s actually quite a breakthrough in the 100 or so year history of the telephone. Internet telephony is still a relatively new thing. As such, we can expect a lot more innovation in the VoIP space over the next ten to twenty years. Hopefully this small peek at VoIP has whet your appetite for more information.

The New Face of Meetings- Web Video Conferencing

One of the most inevitable part for all types of businesses is Meeting. Despite the increased efficiency of email, instant messaging and mobile phones, a meeting of the minds and resources is often essential to get to the next step. Before the days of the Internet and web conference software, meetings were much more difficult to coordinate.To schedule personal meetings involved making countless telephone calls, sending confirmation letters and coordinating travel arrangements for all parties. One meeting could cost clerical staff and executives hours of valuable time. Even if businesses had an advanced telephone system to conduct conference calls, often it was confusing to use. Connecting parties was a challenge and often someone was disconnected along the way. Only three decades ago, the only options businesses had were physical meetings or telephone conference calls. Physical meetings were the norm since most offices did not have the advanced telephone technology to initiate or support conference calls.

Instant text messaging and web conference calls are quite effective, many people prefer to handle business face-to-face. Sharing physical documents, creating drawings and having a face to go with a voice are all possible web video conferencing and nobody has to leave their offices. When parties from around the globe meet through web video conferencing, it makes the interaction more personal. Everyone is face-to-face and interactive by simply using the web video conferencing software.

Putting together a web conference call is much simpler than using traditional telephone lines. With a few keystrokes, everyone is ready talk. Instead of reading manuals, pressing hold buttons and remembering secret formulas, parties can effortlessly coordinate web conference calls from anywhere in the world. Impromptu meetings are a cinch because everyone has ready access to web conferencing software from any browser.

Without major hardware changes or spending hours to learn new systems, SaaS users are able to make web conference calls and conduct web video conferences in moments. The convenience of SaaS solutions is unsurpassed. For a set fee per month, businesses have access to hosted solutions to boost efficiency. Because of its scalability, multiple users can take advantage of SaaS solutions. Upgrades are instantly made over the Internet so everyone has access to the latest services. Users can participate in conferences from any Web browser, anywhere in the world to achieve their goals instantly.

Sophisticated applications are desirable but many businesses are unable to bear the cost. Taking time away from daily operations, updating hardware and making other necessary updates is not always feasible. For this reason, many small, mid-size and large businesses are taking advantage of software as a service (SaaS). With SaaS applications and services, businesses gain instance access to the latest advances without losing time and money to remain competitive in the modern business environment.

Web Conferencing Equipment

As the importance of web conferencing has increased, the popularity of the web conferencing equipment has also increased. Three commonly used equipments for web conferencing are microphones, headsets and web cameras. If you are going to communicate with any person with the help of web conferencing service,make sure that your web conferencing equipments are working properly. Success of a web conference depends on the equipments used too. The quality of the network used also matters. So, you must have a high speed internet connection. As it involves data transfer, the speed of the internet connection must be good.

You can also set up a web conferencing server. This server will help you to make sure that your web conferencing equipment do not suffer from any kind of problems. There is a chance that your web conference may get interrupted due to some troubles. In such a situation the server will help you get out of all such problems. You can do different types of web conferences like audio, video or both combined. The type chosen also depends on the equipment available with the user at the other end. If you interested in audio conference then you must have two web conferencing equipments with you. They are microphone and headset. You can also use speakers instead of headset. Headsets are used for privacy. Web camera is required if you are interested in video conference. If you want to do both then you must have all the three web conferencing equipments.

Web conferencing facility has helped many people to improve their business. The main advantage of this facility is that more number of people can interact with each other simultaneously. It also facilitates sharing of data and application. You can also share presentations. We conferencing is now used in many fields other than business. Online teaching is possible with the help of this facility. For online teaching, you may require two additional equipments along with the common web conferencing equipments. They are scanner and light pen. Pen is required to write down the necessary notes or during online examinations. So, it is required for both student and teacher. Scanner is required if some pages in a book are to be sent to the student for reference purpose. The teacher can teach many students at a time with the help of the web conferencing facility. Audio-video conferencing is used for online teaching. Simple text messaging won’t be effective in case of online teaching.

Some people do not know how to use this facility. They can either ask for their friend’s help or may contact any companies for setting the web conference system. If you are planning to start a business then you can hire the services of any good web conferencing company to set the necessary facilities in your computer. They will help you to choose the right web conferencing equipments. With the help of web conferencing facility you can communicate with more number of people and thus you can improve your business.

Web Conferencing Service

Web Conferencing Software Service  helps us to conduct live presentations through the internet. They are mainly used for two purposes. It includes business conferencing and general group discussions. With the help of web conferencing service it is easy to communicate with people in different areas. A person can communicate with the other person with the help of a computer connected to the internet. You can use VoIP facility for audio communication. Text chat can also be used. So, it helps to save your money and time. Video conferencing is also used. In certain cases, video-audio conferencing is used. It is just like talking to the person sitting in front of you. For web conferencing you will require certain equipments like microphones, headsets and web cameras.

Now, it is much easier to conduct discussions in an organisation with the help of web conferencing service. Discussions can be done in different ways. You can either use text based conversations or video based discussion or audio based discussion. All these discussions can be done in real time. For better interaction during the discussion video conferencing can be utilised. The main advantage of web conferencing is that you can conduct your business meetings from your home or any other place as you wish. Some web conferencing services are free and for others you will have to pay. You can select either of them depending on your choice. Some of the free web conferencing services include Yahoo Messenger, Google talk and Microsoft Net meeting. You can communicate with different peoples simultaneously with the help of these services.

It is possible to transfer files, presentations and other documents using these services. Lots of money can be saved if you use web conferencing service. You don’t have to spend any money on tickets or accommodation as you can directly contact the person. The work can be done in a more efficient manner. You can choose any web conferencing service depending on your budget.

It also ensures that your messages are delivered efficiently. In order to develop your business, you must have good relationship with your clients. Web conferencing can help you to do that. So, success of a company depends on this. Strong relationship with the clients is the key to success in any business. You can contact your clients in different parts of the world by using the web conference service. You can conduct virtual meetings, which is similar to the normal meetings.

People at different places can share their ideas with the help of this powerful communication service. The feature provided in the service varies for different models and versions. Some support all the three basic features which include voice chat, text chat and video conferencing. You can share files by using the web conferencing tools. Certain services also support many other features. Some organisation requires certain other features in addition to the normal features. With the help of web conferencing service it is possible to manage different works going inside an organisation. You can easily coordinate the works by sitting in front of your computer which is connected to the network.

What is a Web Conferencing System?

Web conferencing Software system allows you to communicate with different people living in different parts of the world. It can be used for business purposes, educational purposes or recreational purposes. There are many types of web conferencing systems available in the market. You can choose any one from these according to your choice. But there are certain factors to be considered before purchasing the conferencing system

The first factor is regarding the location. The location can be a fixed one or a variable one. If the location of the person whom you want to communicate is static then you can go for the fixed connection system. If the location of the person whom you want to communicate varies locations then the web conferencing system must be selected in such a way that it permits the addition of users from any place.

Most of the organisations are using firewalls to prevent unauthorised access of their files. Certain web conferencing system will be blocked by the firewall. In such a case you must ensure that the selected conferencing system does not suffer from this problem. Firewalls are required to prevent the attack from hackers.

Certain web conferencing system requires some extra hardware to be added along with the software module for its working. Other conferencing system only uses a software module and is compatible with all browsers and operating systems. So, this factor should be considered before selecting a system. Some may require video conferencing facilities. Each video conferencing system has got a maximum limit for the number of individual video windows that can be opened simultaneously. So, you must ensure that the system selected must provide the necessary number of simultaneous windows. Sometimes, you may have to share your applications online. In such a case, the conference system should be selected in such a way that it is capable of sharing applications. Certain organisation requires voting facilities in the conferencing system, which can be used to register the votes of the participants.

Most important factor is your budget. The cost of the system selected must be within your budget. It must contain all the necessary features needed for you. If its cost exceeds your budget then better go for some other model. You can buy a web conferencing system from a normal shop or from an online store. It would be better to purchase it from an online store. You can compare different models of conferencing system available in the market. Thus, you can select the right one at the right price. It also helps to save your money.

Certain people require both audio and video capabilities in the web conferencing system. They must ensure that the number of windows that can be opened simultaneously for the selected system must be greater than the requirement. If it is less then it won’t be much useful to you. If you select the system which contains the exact number of simultaneous windows which are required then it may not be possible to increase the window number if you need to increase it in the future. So, these factors should be kept in mind before selecting a web conference system.

Web Conferencing Tools

Different types of web conferencing softwares are available in the market. You can select any too depending on your requirement. Each tool has got its own features. Some tools are available as freeware and for others you will have to pay. If you are going to use the web conference tools for recreational purpose then you can select a free tool. If you are looking for a web conferencing tool for business purpose then you can purchase any model depending on your needs.

Some of the popular web conferencing softwares include Microsoft Live Meeting, GoToMeeting, Central Desktop. Adobe Acrobat Connect, Ready Talk , Yugma and Glance. There are many other conferencing tools too. You can select any one of the tools from these. Selection should be based on certain factors. The type of chat required, like text chat, voice chat and video chat. Other factors include pricing, browser compatibility, application sharing, file sharing, session recording and the number of individual windows allowed.

Adobe Acrobat Connect is a popular web conferencing tool. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. At a time, it is possible to do video conferencing with 15 peoples. It also provides whiteboarding capabilities. Another tool is the Acrobat Connect professional. It is actually the rebranded version of Macromedia Breeze. With the help of this tool you can do web conferencing with 2,500 people maximum. It also supports various other features like session recording and embedded quizzes. But, it is not a freeware.

Another web conferencing software is Central Desktop. It has got a number of features. It includes wiki style editing, tracking of project status, and document archiving. By using this tool you can conduct web meetings with 10 attendees maximum. It supports almost all browsers. But in order to conduct the web meeting you require Java Runtime v1.1 or higher. It is also integrated with popular Instant Messaging networks like MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, AIM and ICQ.

Dimdim is another web conferencing tool and it is available in four versions. They are free hosted version, hosted enterprise version, open source community version which is free and onsite enterprise edition. In order to use the video conferencing feature you have to install flash player only. Some of the features included in Dimdim include application sharing, presentation, session recording, annotations, video chat, desktop sharing and video chat. The free version offered by them does not have too much features. Most of the features listed in the free version are demo ones. So, it would be better to purchase any of the premium editions.

Glance is another tool. But it does not contain any extra features. There will be a live desktop screen alone. It is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. Some popular free web conferencing tools include Google talk, Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger and ICQ. GoToMeeting is a web conferencing tool which supports Windows only. It does not support Linux or Mac operating system. Some of the features in it include chat, screen sharing and attendee permission. It is also possible to record the meeting sessions. Microsoft Live Meeting supports features like video sharing, VoIP, audience feedback, file sharing and video recording

For more detailed information, reviews and comparison on web conferencing software, I highly recommend you to visit http://www.webconferencingsoftware.org/