The marketplace for Web conferencing products, aimed at mid-sized to large companies, is becoming increasingly crowded. If you want to stand out from that crowd, your product needs to offer something very special and using that measure, Netspoke Conferencing does not deliver.
Netspoke Conferencing is a combination of traditional teleconferencing and information delivery using a Java-enabled web browser. The software was developed by Netspoke Inc. of Woburn, Masachussetts, U.S.A., and includes a number of Web conferencing components that I would expect to find in any reasonably specified software of this type.
Teleconferencing (also known as audio-conferencing) is a well-established way of communicating with a group of people by voice, so I will not dwell on this part of the application except to say that a full set of teleconferencing features is present, including reservationless and operator-assisted conferences.
The Netspoke web conferencing does not need to be installed on presenter or participant PCs, however users do need to have a Java Virtual Machine installed, and JavaScript must be enabled in the web browser. Presenter machines have to have Windows as an operating system AND Internet Explorer. Participants on Linux PCs are also supported.
A browser-based control centre, called a Meeting Hub, provides the management functionality for the product. From here, PowerPoint presentations, files and bookmarks for web touring can be uploaded for use during the meeting. Also, polling questions and feedback forms for gathering attendee registration and evaluation information can be created.
Presentations, files and bookmarks that have been uploaded before a meeting, from a dedicated area, can be selected from a drop-down list, but there is no way to upload additional presentation material from within the live meeting space of NetSpoke.
PowerPoint presentations that are uploaded are automatically stripped of all PowerPoint animations, and so appear as a static slideshow. The presenter is able to annotate the slides with some basic drawing tools.
Once inside the conference space, a toolbar is situated along the top of the screen allowing access to the conferencing functions. Each function opens in it's own Java applet window.
There is a text chat facility that provides a window through which attendees can communicate by typing messages. A list of meeting attendees is displayed, and a (P) next to the persons name indicates who is a designated presenter.
The chat window contains the following tools:
- Co-star allows presenter to appoint co-presenters
- Q&A lets attendees ask the presenter questions
- Dismiss expel participants from the meeting
- Font size change the font size
- Invite invite other people by email or phone call
I found the Q&A facility particularly difficult to understand, and my confusion was compounded by the fact that there is no context-sensitive help.
The Invite and Dismiss functions would be better placed on the main toolbar so that they are accessible all the time and not just when the chat window is open.
A whiteboard function is present, again with a very, very basic set of annotation tools, including text, freehand and straight line drawing, circle, rectangle, image insertion and arrow tools. Once again, nothing to be really taking note of.
The application sharing component enables presenters to either share their entire desktop with participants or to share a single application. There are annotation tools available for the presenter here as well, and control of applications can be granted to participants as well as removed from them. (This component consistently took over 20 seconds to open on my PC which could create an embarassing interruption in the flow of a presentation.)
Webcam images of the presenters can be displayed with the ability to adjust the image size between small, medium or large. Presenters can also decide whether they want to show a live feed or just a snapshot image.
NetSpoke also integrates a useful recording function capable of capturing both voice and web interactions at the click of a button. When playback of the recording is required, the proprietary Netspoke Conferencing Player must be downloaded and installed to be used in conjunction with Windows Media Player or Real Player.
Meetings can be scheduled to take place at some future time or can be
started spontaneously. Scheduled meetings allow a greater number of meeting
management options, such as the use of feedback forms. Meeting invitations are sent by email and participants join a meeting by following a link embedded in the message.
You can customise the look and feel of the interface with your own branding, and administrative functions let you manage users without having to rely on Netspoke. In addition, conferencing and user activity reports can be generated.
In general, the design of Netspoke's user interface is poor. It looks dated, has no context-sensitive help and it is difficult to arrange the different conferencing components so that two or three can clearly be viewed at once.
NetSpoke is being offered under different brand names and it is also integrated inside other existing collaboration services like Intranets.com.
Sad to say, but after having tested NetSpoke with Robin Good, we have convened that this product is definitely not going to make a splash in the web conferencing pond.
Pricing is excessive and not comparable to more capable tools which much better functionalities and interfaces.
Ease of use leaves lots to be desired and according to us, Chris Duncan and Robin Good, nothing short of a complete user interface overhaul is needed to save this tool from other negative reviews and shameful comparison with the new breed of competitive technologies out there.
For now: Not recommended.
More info: http://www.netspoke.com/service/features.asp
Pricing: US$0.32 per minute/participant or US$125 per seat/month
Free trial: http://www.netspoke.com/contact/form.asp
Full system requirements: http://www.netspoke.com/service/sysAdmin.asp
