Yuuguu is a tiny software that allows you to perform one-on-one screen/application sharing on both PC and Mac computers.

Yuuguu also integrates the basic features of an instant messenger, since it lets you message individuals and groups whilst you screen share. You can see when your contacts are online - thanks to the possibility to manage online presence - and you can switch them "on" when you want them, and "off" when you don't.

The ease of starting a screen/application sharing is remarkable and although Yuuguu joins a very populated crowd of online collaboration tools - among which there are CrossLoop, GoToMeeting and Yugma - it is characterized by its approach to usability and the free cost.

I have spent some time testing Yuuguu both on Windows-based computer and Macs and here is what I found out:

Yuuguu: key functionalities

Yuuguu is a tool that fits small groups of people who need a simple and easy-to-install tool to perform basic screen/application sharing activities.

Text chat

The text chat has a very simple design and at the bottom of the chat window the user can see three buttons: the first allows her to start a screen sharing session in one single click; the second lets her add a new contact and the third enables the user to edit her contact details. The look of the buttons is very intuitive and certainly helps the user identifying them easily.

While typing a message in the chat window, the user will be able to visualize two time stamps that show the start and end time of the chat session. The auto-url feature is also enabled, making it possible for the user to click on links. Despite the fact that Yuuguu stores all the conversations on its server, it is not possible to copy and paste the conversations. The only way I could do it was by selecting the text with my cursor and pressing CTRL+C - which is not a very intuitive operation.

The navigation within the main window, though, is not very easy: it seems that when the user is talking to multiple people there is no way to open other conversation windows: all the messages appear in the main window and whenever the user needs to switch between different conversations she has to click on the red "back" button at the bottom of the window. The same issue happens whenever the user is visualizing the most recent messages (sent and received) and when she is looking at the contacts list.

Screen sharing

Screen sharing with Yuuguu is very easy and it is possible by pushing one single button; the user who receives the invitation to watch the screen visualizes a pop up window on her screen and can either accept or deny joining the session.

Yuuguu screen/application sharing works differently if compared the other screen sharing tools we are used to know; instead of sending a continuous stream of screen updates, Yuuguu sends a full screen refresh every few seconds. This certainly requires much less bandwidth (which is good) but in the same time it deeply limits those instances where you may need to show your live cursor moving.

Speaking of cursors, Yuuguu does not allow the presenter to see the cursor while controlling the screen of another user: this is something that certainly penalizes the presenter and doesn't allow her to make accurate movements on the screen.

The screen/application sharing quality is very good in terms of screen resolution, due to the fact that it saves bandwidth. I noticed that despite the fact that I had broadband connection, the pages refresh was very slow and some times a bit frustrating.

Mac support

I have first tested Yuuguu on two Windows-based computer and then I have spent some time checking out how it performed when a Mac and a PC were connected: the results have been disappointing so far.

I invited my team mate to watch my screen but he did not receive my invitation at all; so he tried inviting me and I wasn't able to receive the invitation either. Additionally, it was impossible to exchange text messages, since we were not able to see them.

It may be due to an error on behalf of me and my team mate, but this is what resulted from our experience with Yuuguu.

Invitation management

Adding new contacts is very easy: users simply need to enter the email address of their contact and YuuGuu will either send them an invitation via email (in case they were not Yuuguu users) or send them a request to which they can reply within Yuuguu.

System requirements

Yuuguu requires download and installation and works both on Mac and Windows-based computers.

Price

Yuuguu is free to use

Learn more

Read Yuuguu blog to stay updated with the latest news

Visit Yuuguu forum to report bugs and ask questions

Check out the Yuuguu help section to find answers to your questions

Try it out

Download Yuuguu for free

Editor's comments

Yuuguu is a newcomer in the over-populated world of screen sharing and it certainly has a lot of room for improvement, like many of its competitors.

Among the positive traits that I was able to identify, there is the particular care for certain details that seem to be not taken enough in consideration by similar products: along with the very simple and straightforward installation procedure, Yuuguu allows users to start a screen sharing session in literally one click, with no fuss and no complications. Asking for controls is also a very simple procedure that requires no particular operations.

Speaking of the negative aspects of Yuuguu, I have to mention the program navigation, which is a bit convulsed and sometimes frustrating - especially when trying to manage multiple simultaneous chat conversations. Also, it is not possible to copy text from the text chat or save it, although conversations are always stored on the server.

The screen sharing performance does not reflect the standards that characterize most of the screen sharing tools available nowadays: the streaming is not continuous, there are no annotation tools and the lack of a real-time cursor certainly penalizes the screen sharing performance. All these characteristics make Yuuguu stand out of the crowd heralded by Yugma and GoToMeeting.

In conclusion, I think Yuuguu has potential for further improvement and the fact that it has understood the importance of providing a cross-platform tool by releasing a product that is meant to work both on Macs and PCs is certainly a good sign.