The Worlds Your Office: Realtime Collaboration

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The Worlds Your Office Realtime Collaboration

• Internet Collaboration Tools

LIFT Forum Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences
Library, University of Utah Health Sciences Center
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• Sharon Dennis
• Sdennis_at_lib.med.utah.edu
• Claire Hamasu
• Chamasu_at_rml4.utah.edu
• Susan Roberts
• Sroberts_at_lib.med.utah.edu

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Overview

• Videoconferencing
• Voice over IP (VoIP)
• Instant messaging
• Group software

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The Worlds Your OfficeVideoconferencing
Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences
Library University of Utah Health Sciences Center
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Videoconferencing Overview

• Access Grid demo
• What is videoconferencing?
• Uses for videoconferencing
• Hardware and software
• VRVS demo

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What is Videoconferencing?

• Real time interaction (seeing and hearing) with
  other people located with one or more remote
  sites
• Components
• Viewing equipment (computer or TV)
• Camera(s)
• Microphone(s)
• Network or phone line

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Does It Work?

• To paraphrase Mae West
• When its good, its very, very good.

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Uses for Videoconferencing

• Collaboration with colleagues
• Education
• Distance learning
• Collaborative learning with 2 groups of students
  at different schools
• Telehealth
• Patient care
• Family support

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Types of Videoconferencing

• Multi-point
• Multiple sites
• Point-to-point
• One-to-one communication

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Hardware Spectrum
WebCam attached to a computer 50
Polycom ViaVideo attached to a computer 500
Polycom ViewStation Standalone unit 5000
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Software Single-Point Systems

• Chat programs
• Yahoo, MSN, iChat
• NetMeeting

• Polycom proprietary software
• Both users have Polycoms

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Software Multi-Point Systems Access Grid

• Internet II videoconferencing system

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Software Multi-Point Systems Breeze

• Macromedia Breeze
• Commercial product
• www.breeze.com
• Users access from any Web browser
• Audio, video, application sharing, collaboration
  tools

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Software Multi-Point Systems Bridge

• Telehealth Bridge
• Schedule with telehealth department

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Software Multi-Point Systems VRVS

• VRVS
• Virtual Room Video-conferencing System
• www.vrvs.org
• Free
• Audio, video, application sharing

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Demonstrations

• VRVS

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Resources

• Videoconference Cookbook
• Dale Alversons talk at InfoFair
• See handouts at http//medstat.med.utah.edu/
• collaboration/handouts.html

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The Worlds Your OfficeVoIP
Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences
Library University of Utah Health Sciences Center
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What is VoIP?

• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
• aka Internet Voice, Internet Telephony
• a category of hardware and software that enables
  people to use the Internet as the transmission
  medium for telephone calls instead of a regular
  (or analog) phone line.
• VoIP converts the voice signal from your
  telephone or
• headset into a digital signal that travels over
  the internet
• then converts it back at the other end so you can
  speak to
• anyone with a regular phone number.

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What kind of equipment do you need?

• A broadband (high speed Internet) connection is
  required.
• This can be through a cable modem, or high speed
  services such as DSL or a local area network.
• Voice is sent via a
• Microphone attached to your computer and send
  your voice through a cable modem
• or a phone connected directly to a telephone
  adaptor.

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Types of VoIP services

• Skype
• PC to PC or Phone Anywhere (Skype is
  for calling other people on their computers or
  phones)
• Just need to register with Skype and you can call
  other Skype registered users online

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VoIP Skype features

• Use with a microphone headset
• Can search for users online
• IM feature available
• Conferencing calls (limit 5 participants)
• SkypeOut
• Additional service that lets you call traditional
  landlines or mobile phones anywhere in the world,
  but with a charge (which is minimal
  cents/minute)

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VoIP Skype features contd

• Supported platforms
• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux
• Pocket PC

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Demo

• Skype
• http//www.skype.com/

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The Worlds Your OfficeInstant Messaging
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Instant Messaging What is it?

• Software
• Two people communicate via text messaging
• Real time
• Developer
• Mirablis
• 1996
• ICQ (I seek you)

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Instant MessagingWho offers it?

• AIM www.aim.com/
• MSN messenger.msn.com/
• Yahoo messenger.yahoo.com/

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Instant Messaging

• Softwarefree downloads
• Hardwareany system
• More immediate than email
• Presence!

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Cross Group Messaging

• Trillian http//www.ceruleanstudios.com/

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Added Features

• Conference Chats
• Webcam
• Voice
• File transfer
• Games
• Mobile IM

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The Worlds Your Office Group Software
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Group Software-What is it?

• Web based communication technologies that allow
  interaction of team members as they perform
  interdependent tasks to accomplish a common
  purposeCharles Steinfield, Michigan State
  University
• Asynchronous (calendars, shared files etc) and
  synchronous (Videoconf, whiteboard etc)

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Is it for my Group?

• Are members of your project team separated by
  time and space?
• Do you have a core group actual work team, plus
  other stakeholders, such a department head or
  funding agency who wants to occasionally monitor
  the projects progress?
• Is your teams email volume overwhelming? Need a
  private place to hash out questions and answers
  without playing catch up on email?

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Ideal Infrastructure

• supports synchronous and asynchronous
  interactions
• provides shared workspaces and archives
• supplies needed awareness information
  (participant availability and activity)
• enhances distributed activity
• structured workflow - no overwriting
• decision support - who said what
• project management-who is responsible, deadlines

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Products

• IBM Lotus Team Workplace (Quickplace)
• Yahoo Groups
• WebCollab
• Open Source
• Microsoft SharePoint

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Cost

• License
• Lotus Team Workplace (incl year maintenance)
• 12,735
• Unlimited number of users
• SharePoint 5-25 User/device
• 1,000-4,000
• With external users up to 8000
• Free

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Demo Lotus Workplace (Quickplace)

• Member Access
• Rooms
• Creating/Importing documents
• Workflow
• Forms
• Discussion
• Calendar
• Project management

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WebCollab

• Project management oriented
• Tasks with deadlines
• Calendar

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About Yahoo! Groups features

• Some features
• Messages
• Calendar
• Database- contact lists, etc.
• Photo albums
• Poll
• Search Archive
• Owner vs. Moderator
• News Feeds
• Demo
• http//groups.yahoo.com/group/healprogram/
  

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Our Experience

• Beneficial only when all team members use it
• Training-in context
• Access equal vs hierarchical
• Room vs Folder vs Page

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Summary

• Choice of collaboration tools
• Integrated Stand alone
• High cost Shareware/Open Source
• Improving constantly
• Virtual approaches reality
• Distance
• Cost

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For more info.

• See handouts at
• http//medstat.med.utah.edu/collaboration/handou
  ts.html