James over at our sister site jkOnTheRun has been trying the latest version of Skype (version 4.1 on Windows, 2.8 on Mac). This new version includes screen-sharing features that allow you to share your desktop with other Skype users. James tested it out while collaborating on a document editing session with co-writer Kevin and was extremely impressed with its simplicity and the way that it allowed real-time collaboration with very little lag. He says that using it enables “true collaboration; it is just like looking over the host’s shoulder to see what they are doing.”
Earlier today, I had a Skype call with James. Initiating a screen-sharing session during the call was as simple as pressing the “share” button and selecting whether to share the whole screen, or just a portion of it. It worked very well; James was able to see every detail on my screen with minimal lag, even though I am in the UK and he’s in Houston. Here’s a screenshot of my desktop he took during the call:
This new version of Skype provides a very easy (and free) way to share a screen with a colleague for collaboration or tech support. Check out James’ post for more detail.
Note: You might need to go to the Skype web site to grab the latest version; clicking “Check for Updates…” didn’t work for me.
Have you tried Skype screen sharing for collaboration? Let us know how it went in the comments.
I’ve long been a fan of the CrossLoop screen-sharing application as it provides an easy way to remotely provide support to clients, friends and family. Its straightforward setup and secure interface make it a great choice in a crowded field. However, its usefulness has been limited somewhat, because it was only available for Windows — a situation being remedied today by the availability of CrossLoop for Mac.
A compelling reason to use CrossLoop is the innovative Marketplace, which is a great place to find and offer tech support services. With thousands of registered support experts, you can get help with just about anything you can think of. The CrossLoop folks facilitate the connection and transaction, and handle the payment processing. The latest figures released show over 5 million sessions have been conducted through CrossLoop. With the Mac version available, support providers can now offer their services to Mac users, or use their Mac to provide services. As more households are switching to Mac, or going multi-platform, being able to support everyone makes a lot of sense. Obviously, for Mac users needing support, this also makes the full Marketplace of support providers available to you.
In the CrossLoop community, the demand for a Mac version has been loud and strong. With this milestone reached, they can now work to appease the Linux crowd.
The CrossLoop client is a free download for Windows 2000 or later and, now, for Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Costs for using Marketplace services vary, depending on the services required and choice of provider.
Have you used Crossloop for screen sharing? Does the availability of a Mac version make it an option for you?
Screen sharing can be one of the most daunting tasks for online workers. Granted, if you’re working with someone as knowledgeable as yourself, there’s generally no issue, and any number of solutions that will work. But in many situations where you need screen sharing, like tech support sessions, that’s not the case. Being primarily a Mac user, I generally just go for the built-in feature in iChat, although I’ve also used Windows Live Mesh a few times, among others. New startup Oneeko actually boasts “The World’s Easiest Screen Sharing,” though, so I wanted to test the claim and see if it wouldn’t solve the problem of an ability gap between users.
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Yuuguu is a favorite amongst Web Worker Daily’s writers, with new features being added continuously to the popular screen-sharing service, largely driven by the real needs of its users.
Around a month ago the company added Linux and Flash clients, but I suggested that this perhaps needed to be enhanced with Yugma-style plugins for existing social networks.
Fortunately, Yuuguu’s been thinking ahead and at this week’s The Future of Web Apps in London, announced that Gmail and Google Talk users will be able to invoke Yuuguu screensharing sessions with existing contacts, rather than those within the Yuuguu client. Coupled with the earlier launch of a Flash-based viewer, this helps to broaden the usefulness of the service as its reach extends beyond previous technical barriers. Read the rest of this entry »
Web Worker Daily has previously covered ongoing developments around screen-sharing tool Yuuguu (apparently the Japanese term for fusion!), but Aliza’s post on PalBee and a bunch of new Yuuguu features in recent days makes for a good opportunity to revisit the Liverpool-based startup’s take on screen-sharing, collaboration and web conferencing.
At the Office 2.0 conference, earlier this month, CEO Anish Kapoor launched Linux editions of their software, directly providing supported clients for SUSE, Ubuntu & Fedora. Though the company has a modest user base, providing support to Linux can only help to enhance it’s utility as a collaboration bridge between Linux, Windows and the Mac community, to whom Yuuguu launched it’s product at Macworld earlier this year.
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Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
