Screen Sharing; why we're using Glance

The annual invoice arrived for paying for our screen-sharing services. In these times of economic hardship we've had to do some testing to check out value for money etc. There are many screen sharing and conferencing tools available that are free. So why are we not using them?

Well, I spent the better part of a morning testing out a number of the freebies.

YUUGUU, Crossloop, Gotomeeting and a few others.

a) All those I looked at required the person accessing the conference to download software. I don't mind downloading it onto my computer. However, most of the businesses we work with have strict controls that do not allow employees to download software. So that was the biggest limiting factor.

b) A couple of the trials ended up with all of us losing the plot. Either the file conflicted with Google Chrome or some other rather minor yet annoying thing that didn't go to plan. I feel that it only takes 1 small irritation to put someone off web conferencing and I would prefer not to put participants though any hassle whatsoever

c) Some tools have more facilities than Glance. For us, the cost of those facilities outweighs the experience. They take longer to load, longer to log on and then everyone needs some degree of acquaintance using them. Unrequired hassle.

So like a really good washing machine - I need only those programs I will use, it needs to do the job I ask for it, and needs to be so blindingly obvious in it use that if I have to refer to a manual then there is something wrong with the design.

So, we'll pay the invoice for Glance now...!