Photo credit: Miguel Ugalde

1. Web-based shareable calendar launched by Google
2. Manage audio conferences with up to 500 users on Skype
3. High-performance new videoconferencing tool
4. Share anything from video to text
5. Direct share of media files

This week also, I am glad to showcase some little new media gems that will surely attract your attention. I have personally selected these tools, strongly believing that they can indeed help you find new ways to enhance your online communication skills.

Online collaboration, P2P, file sharing, groupwareweb and video conferencing, instant messaging, e-learning, social networking, privacy and security are the key areas on which I will maintain strong focus on.

Therefore, I invite you to take some time to try out my discoveries: the tools listed below are either free to use or very cost-effective, which certainly adds them an extra value.

Here is what I have found this week:

1. Google Calendar
   
   
   
Google Calendar is a web based calendar service, offering a wide set of features that makes it easy to keep track of your own schedule and share calendars with others. Google Calendar displays a clean interface: a "mini-calendar" on the left side of the screen shows the current month, and a view to the right shows either the current day, week or month view, the "next 4 days," or a list of all of your scheduled events. You can also import calendars that use the common iCal or CSV formats. The new Google Calendar is available to anyone who has a free Google account. To access the calendar, visit http://www.google.com/calendar and sign in, or register for a free Google account if you don't have one.

http://www.google.com/calendar





2. High Speed Conferencing
   
   
   HighSpeedConferencing allows any Skype user to manage audio conference calls with up to 500 users including people that do not have to Skype digital lines. In other words, HighSpeedConferencing allows to conference together both Skype and land-line based users. HighSpeedConferencing base service costs 3 euro cents/minute per participant on Skype while the Plus+ solution costs 5 euro cents/minute per participant on Skype and also includes web controls, recording, storage and playback. Registration is free and you get a personal Skype conference number for life.
   http://www.highspeedconferencing.com/





3. WigiWigi
   
   WigiWigi is the first public release of a video over IP application that is built on a completely new and unique protocol. Unlike other desktop videoconferencing applications, WigiWigi one does not require any specific DLLs, drivers, codecs, DirectX or dedicated third-party libraries. It doesn't even require an installation. WigiWigi has just entered its beta-testing phase and the GUI (user interface) is still crude and semi-functional - but the results on your screen may indeed surprise you very positively. Download WigiWigi here.
   http://www.wigiwigi.com/
   





4. Multiply
   
   Multiply offers you an easy way to share all kinds of digital content, including photos, blogs, videos, music and more, all in one convenient place. With Multiply, you can share and discuss your files with everyone in your "social network" and also be alerted whenever they have something new. Your personal web site on Multiply - http://yourname.multiply.com - is the one place where you can share many different types of content. There are no system requirements and there's no need to install anything. Multiply comes with free unlimited storage space and also provides accounts suited for higher monthly activity levels.
   http://www.multiply.com





5. PixPo
   
   PiXPO is a P2P software application that allows you to connect directly with your friends, family and co-workers to share and view pictures, video, and audio online without the need to first upload image files to a server. PiXPO provides also privacy settings for all of your images allowing you to decide who gets to access what. To use it you just create a media album in PiXPO and add video, audio, and picture files to be shared with others. You then select the email addresses of the people you want to share your media with, add a personal message, and send invitations out. The people in your email list get a link to your album and, once thet have downloaded and installed PiXPO, they can start viewing your image albums.
   http://www.pixpo.com/