But what happens when some members of the league cannot meet for the draft?

Similar to companies and business meetings, owners need to get together regularly for a draft. And just like hundreds-of-thousands of businesses around the world, fantasy football owners have discovered that Mikogo is the solution that allows them to save time, money, and hassle, while interactively participating in drafts from any location – even out of town.

With Mikogo, owners can create a desktop sharing session with other members in their league who are out of town, and consequently are able to remotely view the league’s draft results live over the Web. Not only can an owner view another league member’s screen from a distant location, Mikogo includes remote keyboard/mouse control that enables an owner to take remote control of the presenting distant computer. Very helpful for distant owners to interact in the draft and get the job done. So it’s no wonder that Mikogo is fast becoming the number one choice for drafters, such as John:

“We have 1 owner who’s in the military and wasn’t able to physically attend the draft, but he uses Mikogo to connect.”
“Last year we used other netmeeting software but it wasn’t as easy to use. Mikogo was so easy to install, and it only took a few minutes for the rest of the owners to download the Mikogo software and connect to my Mikogo session on my laptop.”

“Here’s a picture of a few laptops that show how we used Mikogo so that everyone could connect to my laptop and view the FanDraft software in action.”

John's draft with both Mikogo and FanDraft

Getting Started with Mikogo for your Drafts

Going to be out of town and looking to get started with Mikogo for your drafts? Here is what we suggest:

• Appoint one draft owner as the “organizer” of the upcoming draft session. This organizer will need to register for a free Mikogo account. Registration is necessary due to some features being associated with a user account, such as the Mikogo scheduler.
• The organizer can download and install the organizer software from here. Both Windows and Mac software are available.
• The organizer starts a session and receives a 9-digit session ID.
• Other league members who want to join the screen sharing session, can go to https://join.mikogo.com/ and enter the 9-digit session ID upon receiving it from the organizer. This will prompt a very quick download. The joining members can run the downloaded file and will then join the Mikogo screen sharing session.

Here is what it looks like when an owner joins a session from a Windows computer and views the organizer’s screen who is using a Mac:

Now, all the league members can view the organizer’s screen live over the Web. Anything the organizer sees on their screen, the other league members will also see.

So it seems like everybody is finding great ways to benefit from desktop sharing and remote support software. Thank you to Randy for getting in contact with me about the powerful combination of FanDraft and Mikogo. And thanks to John for sharing his experience of Mikogo along with providing such a great picture!

Any Mikogo users or Fantasy Football owners preparing for the upcoming season? If so, please let us know by leaving a comment below if you are using both software programs together and how you find it.

Posted by Andrew in Collaboration, share your story | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: fantasy sports, online draft

Screen sharing benefiting companies

In a nutshell, screen sharing software enables companies to conduct business meetings virtually from multiple different locations, whether it be in the same city, state or even country. This means that a company with offices in New York and California can both be viewing the same presentation made by the same person without having to fly the presenter from one location to another. This saves the company time and money and allows the presenter to only make the presentation once instead of multiple times. The Mikogo software also offers the option of recording the screen sharing, which allows employees who missed the meeting to view it at a later date or time instead of needing somebody to take notes, which may be incomplete or hard to understand – as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and what better way to explain something than show it to them visually.

Benefiting college students

Many college students are required to participate in group presentations. In these presentations, one person normally creates the presentation slides, but all members of the group are required to present. For this reason, this software can be used to share the presentation slides between members of the team and have everybody in the team viewing the same slides while discussing the presentation. Furthermore, when college students are assigned to a project in a group, screen sharing enables the group members to meet online and work remotely on their project and presentation files together in real-time.

Benefiting individuals

For many people, sending documents over email is too much of a hassle. The question “What if they don’t have the correct software to open this?” is the most common issue. Or on the other hand, “how much do I need to write in the email to explain this document to them so they can find the right information straight away?” Screen sharing software allows the user to show the document to others without worrying about formatting issues or any other issues that may come up.

If you have other experiences of screen sharing software for web presentations, please share them with us by leaving a comment below.

Posted by Andrew in Desktop Sharing | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: screen sharing

The What

So if you’re new to the Mikogo Blog, then you might be asking yourself: “what exactly is remote desktop software?” Put simply, this software allows a user to directly connect to another computer over the Internet. Not for peer-to-peer file sharing, rather something else. Read on…

Once a remote desktop connection has been made, the user can see any screen content on the remote desktop computer live over the Web. Furthermore they can potentially access all the services, software, and files stored on the remote computer, as if they were sitting right in front of it. This type of software has revolutionary implications for both businesses and individuals; employees can quite literally work on their office machines from halfway across the globe. However as with any Internet service, there are certain security steps that one should be aware of. Today, we’ll be looking at how you can get the most from your Mikogo sessions using our security features, along with the advantages of using remote desktop software.

Be safe online

As mentioned, there are always security questions when using the Internet. That is why with Mikogo we have incorporated many security measures to ensure the safety of the users’ data and computer. For example:

• Session Password – usually when you start Mikogo, you are assigned a random 9-digit Session ID that your participants use to join the remote desktop session. But for those who want even more, you can add a password this is needed on top of the session ID.
• Explicit consent – nobody can remotely control your computer without you first allowing it. And furthermore you are able to stop the technician from remotely controlling your computer with the use of a shortcut key: Ctrl+F12 (for Windows) or Ctrl+ESC (for Macs).
• Lock Session – after your participants have joined your remote desktop session, whether it be for remote support or an online meeting, it is advised to lock your session. This means nobody else can enter your session and view your screen, even if they have the correct session ID.

Of course there are many more security features in Mikogo (AES encryption, session password, etc) which is why we have provided details about them on the security page of the website. I simply mentioned the above three as examples because I think these are so great but perhaps not everyone is aware of these.

The Why

As mentioned, this kind of collaboration software has a tremendous impact on businesses, especially when dealing with sensitive data. For example, instead of sending copies of a sensitive project with a traveling employee, remote desktop software allows that employee to work on his or her project from anywhere on Earth, while still keeping the project located on company servers. Remote desktop solutions aren’t just for companies, though. Install it on your own personal machine at home, and you’ll be treated like a god after fixing your family and friends’ computer problems from afar.

The Bottom Line

Mikogo remote desktop software is secure and this is something we pride ourselves in, but it’s important for users to be aware of the security features – for peace of mind during your next remote desktop session. With the proper attitude and awareness, remote desktop software is safe, secure, and above all else, very useful.

Posted by Andrew in remote desktop | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Remote desktop software

Say Hi to Web Conference Software

Web conference software allows employees from across the country to connect together. Most web conferencing software, including Mikogo, supports application and document sharing so that all attendees can view and share relevant reports, charts and other visual aids. Because of the high quality (in terms of speed and picture quality) of desktop sharing used in web conferences, the “attendees” still have the valuable eye-witness point of view of any presentation material that may be needed during the conference. This creates a situation similar to being in the same room as each other.

For those of you who have familiarized yourself with the Mikogo conference solution, you’ll have no doubt realized the wonderful benefits of meeting online as opposed to face-to-face. There is no stress about packing or traveling. Attendees log in to web conferences from their desks and partake in the meeting. One of the greatest things is that attendees can still be connected to the rest of the office. This allows you to have all your files and folders at hand and readily available, all while still participating in the conference at hand. You can review reports, find that vital email, edit documents, etc… Once finished attendees simply log off and go back to their normal work.

Web conference software supports all types of meetings, whether it is a web training session with only one speaker followed by a question and answer period, or a full meeting with discussion and visual aids; web conferencing software can fill a company’s needs while saving money. Of course, web conferencing software has one downside, you no longer have as many excuses to travel to exciting places on the company dime – but from the point of view of management, this is a strong incentive to use web conferencing.

Posted by Andrew in web conferencing | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: web conference

The Benefits of Teaching Online

In the educational books of the future, this particular time period in history will probably become known as the digital age. For example, instead of going off to college or flying away to a seminar, students can receive the same information via online teaching programs in the form of a presentation online. The benefits include:

1. Maintaining current employment
2. No traveling expenses
3. Going home at night
4. Convenience learning
5. Immediate ROI for the company

Why send a valued employee to another location, in order to learn something that will benefit their current job situation? Instead, the same valued education can be made available via online teaching programs. The sessions are after regular work hours or scheduled into the regular workday. The time away from regular duties is kept to a minimum. The information learned one day can influence productivity and employee growth the next.

Real Time or My Time Online Teaching Programs

One of the best benefits of online teaching or training programs is having the option to select real-time or my-time learning. Whether the instructor is actually lecturing, during the learning process, or participants login at their convenience, online learning is now the most effective means of advancing employee knowledge, without losing productivity.

What are your thoughts? If you have participated in an online learning course recently at your workplace or used Mikogo for online training sessions, let us know how you found it by leaving a comment

Posted by Andrew in online teaching | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: elearning, online teaching

No, nothing quite so dramatic. . . . And to jump to the bottom line and quickly put your mind at ease, when involved in remote customer support scenarios with Mikogo, you are always the one with the most control over your computer. (More on that at the end of this blog post.)

Now back to the above example. Your IT support technician has likely used remote desktop software to view and control your computer. This type of software allows customer support to troubleshoot your computer remotely, from anywhere in the world. It negates the need for in-person tech support, and it saves the time and cost of commuting. A member of the remote customer support team can connect to your computer, run software, de-glitch your system, and leave without a trace.

Understandably, this kind of conduct causes uneasy feelings in some people. . . . “It’s an invasion of my privacy!”, they yell. However, if they stop and think about it, it’s no less an invasion than normal technical support. In-person support must still log into your computer, and they still have complete access to all of your files and under-the-hood workings, and they still (more than likely) know far more than you do about your system. A couple of the benefits of remote customer support have already been listed, but here is a list of the top five:

1. It saves time. There is no need to wait on customer support to arrive and get settled, or for you to travel to the customer support center, where you might have to leave you computer for a few days even.
2. It saves money. While the initial cost of the software may be expensive, the money saved by avoiding travel and service fees will pay for the software in due time. (Note: free desktop remote access solutions exist as well.)
3. It protects your workspace. There won’t be workers in and out of your area, consulting with others and potentially messing with your files and organization scheme.
4. It’s safe. No one likes to be alone in a building with someone else that isn’t known. Many work places are populated during the day, but quickly clear out at closing.
5. It’s awesome. Admit it, you like watching your computer do weird things and go through processes that you didn’t even know existed.

Finally a note about Mikogo remote support. If you’re new to using Mikogo, be sure to read about the remote keyboard/mouse control feature. As a technician controls your screen, you can always disable control with a keyboard shortcut that will immediately disable remote control. And a technician can never have control without your explicit consent.

Do you have any experience with remote customer support? Do you have any thoughts about the privacy factor? Please share them with us.

Posted by Andrew in Small Business, remote desktop, remote support | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: remote support

Cerebro in a Nutshell

You may have already heard of project management solutions however the first point to note about Cerebro is the fact that this solution is specifically developed for people looking to manage media projects. If you work in web design, gaming development, advertising or video production (in fact, I’m aware that Mikogo has been used in some of these industries, which makes the integration of Mikogo with Cerebro such a good fit) and are managing multiple projects with several team members all contributing simultaneously, then Cerebro is the solution for you. Cerebro includes Mirada, a video and picture viewer that enables easy viewing of high-resolution files, and supports a wide range of graphic and media formats – a strong plus for media projects. On top of that, there are many features for project navigation, contacting team members and clients, file management, time management, and evaluation of the project and media files.

Cerebro and Mikogo

To get started with Cerebro, go to their download page, select your operating system, the Cerebro Installer, and then click on Download Cerebro. That will download the installer and when opened will prompt the Cerebro Setup. After you follow the setup steps, you will be asked for your account details – You can sign up for a trial account on the Cerebro website.
The trial version provides for:

• a maximum of 100 tasks within one universe;
• up to 5 users;
• 1Gb space on Cinesoft’s server or files can be stored on your facilities;
• no time limits

Enter your details and your Cerebro user interface will open. You’ll find the web conference menu located at the top of the UI that allows users to access Mikogo.

For further information on using Cerebro, they have an easy-to-read crash course document to read, which you’ll no doubt come across as you install the software. Alternatively, you can check out this video:

We are very pleased that the Cerebro Team approached us and had selected Mikogo as their number-one choice for desktop sharing solutions to be integrated along with their software solution. If Cerebro sounds like a solution for your business needs and you go ahead to check it out, please feel free to leave your feedback for others by writing a comment below. Thx!

Btw, Cerebro has already assisted greatly in the creation of several films, and will no doubt continue to do so in the future as the media world learns more about this software

Posted by Andrew in Collaboration, partner | Permalink | No comment
Post tags:

The Winner:

As mentioned in the initial blog post about the competition multiple people would be expected to pick the winning country. Therefore we will use random.org as our tool for a lucky draw between the people who selected Spain, either via tagging themselves on the Spanish flag or leaving a comment below the Facebook photo as of the 30th June 2010.

Using their very easy True Random Number Generator, the number 46 was delivered to us. That means that the 46th person from the people who selected Spain in our Facebook competition is our lucky winner!

Congratulations to Jeroom Decroock for predicting that Spain would win the FIFA World Cup 2010 and for being our lucky winner to receive a brand-new Apple® iPad™.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our competition and to random.org for providing such an easy-to-use tool that played a part in the final stage of the comp.

Posted by Andrew in Mikogo competition | Permalink | No comment
Post tags:

Celebrate with us!

If you’re a Mikogo user and been enjoying our software for the last 3 years, or even just the last 3 days, we would really appreciate it if you could send us a birthday message next Tuesday. We would love to hear from all the Fans on Mikogo‘s birthday and turn Tuesday into an online celebration.
Simply leave us a post on our Facebook wall, either on our profile page or product page, or send us a tweet to @Mikogo, or leave a comment on our LinkedIn group page. Just a short tweet or message to say hi and happy b’day – thanks! I look forward to hearing from you.

The Last Three Years…

With a few standard screen sharing features, Version 1 of Mikogo quickly took off and over the next 6 months was suddenly attracting the attention of many businesses. With this in mind, we looked to enhance Mikogo’s functionality and reach out to the growing Mikogo Community. Since then, the following took place:

• We provided a forum for all users to contact us and get some help, along with tutorials and videos to help the new users familiarize themselves with the software.
• We released a Skype Extra to combine free calls with free screen sharing.
• We launched our first blog along with the newsletter to keep everyone in the Mikogo-Loop.
• We released Version 2 with several new features, and later released the Mac version, and later again, Version 3 of the software.
• New-look logo, website and software – we reshaped Mikogo to meet the needs of business users, after they gave us their feedback on the original look of Mikogo.
• We launched the website in another 7 languages, in addition to the original English website.
• And so much more that would make this blog post TOO long if I listed them

From 2007 to 2010:

Now we’re working on Mikogo Version 4 – an innovative release that will take the web conferencing industry by storm. Look out for it when we announce its release on our blog.
If you have any other Mikogo milestones in mind that you want to share, please do so in a comment below or via Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks and looking forward to your tweets and messages!

Posted by Andrew in General | Permalink | No comment
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With the ready availability of pc remote control software, technology has lessened the need for on-site tech support meaning that those computer problems that used to result in pulling at your hair and steam from the ears can now be solved almost immediately. In the case of work at home employees, pc remote control software provides a convenient and easy helpdesk solution. This is beneficial to the larger corporations, and especially valuable to the smaller companies who lack the funds for full time tech support.

Quick and Ready Accessibility

The slow and clumsy Internet of old is gone. PC remote control is as quick as a software download and a resetting of user permissions. We’ve developed and tweaked Mikogo to ensure that the users’ remote support sessions are easy to get started. Any home or business user with a reasonable Internet access speed can surrender their computer to the skills of a distantly located computer software technician. Of course, surrendering your computer during pc remote control sessions is not an issue with Mikogo’s explicit consent security features.

PC Remote Control Application

Consider the startup problems of a small home security firm that specializes in remote, home visual surveillance. The process uses multiple installed surveillance cameras linked in to a special pc video card and then accessed through a remote laptop. Though home surveillance in itself is a prime example of using remote software, this particular application of remote control actually developed into a separate yet major remote pc support situation.

The company owner used his own home as the first test site. After running cables, mounting cameras, and installing the special video card and software into the home computer the project dead-ended. The cameras worked. The home pc displayed the visuals. But the remote process would not function.

After two hours of fruitless efforts, the installers concluded that the included software setup instructions were incorrect. They called the software developer. Using remote pc control, a technician from the developer’s site, working also out of his home, took remote control of the troubled system. Within minutes, the problem was resolved.
What about you? What is your use case for pc remote control software?

Posted by Andrew in Small Business, remote support | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: remote control software, remote support

For a moment, just think about all the organization and resources that are required to organize a group training session. Scheduling changes have to be made, conference rooms reserved and a whole group of employees would not be available to perform their regular duties while the training is taking progress. You could easily dismiss the idea due to the costs involved and making sure you meet the monthly budget, on top of the loss of time. However while ignoring the problem may seem easy, it certainly won’t make it go away.

Online teaching Software – Valuable and Innovative

Online teaching software can help reduce or eliminate the problems caused by traditional teaching methods. It allows workers to study the required materials from anywhere with an Internet connection, without them all needing to be in the one room at the same time. Consider that loss of time mentioned above – with online learning sessions, employees can participate from their very own desks, sometimes even joining the session from other cities or countries. Online teaching software can be a tremendous help to your company if you have limited resources, as your employees can take turns to take the course, while others continue doing their regular work.

With advances in software technology, online teaching software can offer users a full multimedia and interactive experience, such as recordings, live web presentations, advanced graphics as well as options for user input, such as when trainees wish to ask the presenter/trainer questions or when taking assessments of the materials learned. Due to this, businesses are reaping the benefits from online teaching software in order to better educate and train their employees, while cutting down on wasted time.

On the other hand you may think that the words “teaching software” would be more affiliated with high schools or universities. And you would not be wrong. While businesses are most definitely benefiting from this technology for company trainings, many universities and colleges around the world are also using this platform to let their students take their courses from the comfort of their own homes.

If you’ve dabbled a bit in online teaching, either as an instructor or alternatively as a trainee/student, let us know your feedback by leaving a comment.

Posted by Andrew in online teaching | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: online teaching software, online training

Online collaboration tools are a great way for companies to manage their technology and business software infrastructure. They can help you manage your time, your team, work processes, and a lot more. Online collaboration software offers functionality such as project management, web conferencing, online calendar tools (including functions such as group & shared calendars), tasks lists, and email. The applications are delivered to end user desktops through tools such as web browsers or small Web 2.0 applications. Software-as-a-Service, otherwise known as SaaS, providers are increasingly becoming commonplace (Mikogo is also provided as SaaS, for example), and are a known source for the development of online collaboration tools.

As bandwidth increases, more and more computers are being constantly connected to the Internet. So basically having Internet in your workplace is Step 1 – something that a high majority of workplaces have these days. If you’ve already passes Step 1, then next you need to consider how web collaboration tools could assist you.

Get ready because Online Collaboration Tools are here to stay

• Eliminating the need to update software – with online software, updates to the software are done at the service provider level – a key factor the to the SaaS model. This means that small companies will not have to dedicate internal resources to perform tasks on individual computers. Because updates are performed on a proactive basis, businesses will not only receive critical updates but also automatically receive upgrades to functionality as well.
• In reference to online document management systems, information is automatically backed up. Saas providers not only provide the application functionality but can also store your data as well. The benefit of engaging a SaaS provider is having the ability to leverage a third party’s expertise in data management. This eliminates having to worry about backing up individual user files.
• Ready when you are – online collaboration tools provide a way for you to gain access to your online data from any computer with an Internet connection. And if your data is not online but rather on another computer, remote desktop solutions allow you to remotely access that computer live over the Web just as if you were sitting next to it.
• Managing remote users with ease – most SaaS providers include tools for managing user accounts. This functionality can serve as protection against losing proprietary data (i.e. laptop thefts), and control company data from misuse (i.e. salespeople can be controlled and managed by effectively locking down company data). IT Support people can also use this technology to assist clients or colleagues remotely with their computer problems.
• Save time and money – if online collaboration tools mean that you can save software upgrading costs, meet over the Web instead of face-to-face, reduce labour costs, access files and computers via the Internet, then just consider the costs that can be saved.

If you add more of your own reasons to jump onboard the online collaboration bandwagon, then please do so by leaving a comment below.

Posted by Andrew in Collaboration | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Collaboration

People traveling with laptops find this especially helpful, as they can access their personal and business files on the road, or while stuck at an airport. Executives and other businesspeople use free remote desktop software to collaborate with personnel still at the office, from a location of their choosing (home, hotels, train stations, etc). IT professionals use it for off-site training and troubleshooting.

Free Remote Desktop Solutions for the Executive

Remote desktop software allows ambitious business executives to keep working, from any location. Travel time is no longer wasted time when using a wireless Internet connection. A free remote desktop program eliminates the need to install personal copies of business software, saving both time and money. With the Mikogo remote desktop solution, we have provided a way to adjust the speed and quality settings to best meet the users’ needs and so they don’t notice a difference in speed and responsiveness when working away from the office.

Executives or a trainer can direct an employee’s work by sharing desktop screens. The employee can be physically alone, while still receiving real-time feedback from the supervisor. Some might say that this provides a more relaxing work environment for the employee because no one is watching from over his or her shoulder. However one would be wise to ensure that remote workers send regular updates on their work, so that the company knows that time is not wasted at home.
If you have experience in working or managing a remote team, leave us your opinion on this experience in a comment below – would be great to hear.

IT Professionals and Free Remote Desktop Solutions

A free remote desktop solution literally widens an IT professional’s world, eliminating geographical location from the supportive equation. When folks have trouble, the IT professional can remotely fix the problem, and/or provide personalized training. This gives IT professionals a wider client base from which to choose, and also allows computer users to watch the repair in real-time. Users need not wait for the IT professional to arrive when a deadline is looming, and IT professionals need not travel from one job to another. And don’t we all need a bit more time in our lives?

Posted by Andrew in remote desktop | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: remote desktop

Photo by cote on Flickr

The Competition:

We have uploaded 8 images to our Facebook Fan page including all flags of the competing countries. (Click on the image to the left to see a full-sized example.) The idea is to tag yourself in Facebook on the flag of the country that you think will win the World Cup. If you tag yourself on the flag of the winning country, you enter the chance to win the iPad!

It is likely that multiple people will have tagged themselves on the flag of country that will win the World Cup. Therefore, at the end of the World Cup, all those who are tagged on the flag of the winning team will enter a lucky draw to win the iPad.
For example, if 8 people tag themselves on the flag of CountryA and that country wins the World Cup, then we will hold a lucky draw using random.org between those 8 people.

Important Points to Note:

• You might be thinking, “Easy. I just wait till the 89th min of the final game then I’ll tag myself on the flag of the team that is obviously about to win.
  Well to avoid this, we will not accept any more tagging after 30th June 2010. This is between the Round of 16 and the Quarter Finals.
• The flag images are already on the Mikogo Facebook Fan page in a photo album. As with any image, there is limited space for tagging. According to Facebook, there can be up to 60 people tagged in any one photo. Therefore I suggest you check out the photos sooner rather than later, and make sure there is space for you to tag yourself.
  Facebook Photo Album: Mikogo World Cup Football Fever Competition
• All correspondence and announcements about the competition will take place on the Mikogo Facebook Fan page.
• You can only tag yourself on one flag. We will be forced to remove tags if we find the same people are tagging themselves on multiple flags.

How to Enter:

1. Login to Facebook
2. Go to our Mikogo World Cup Football Fever Competition photo album
3. Tag yourself on the flag of the team that you think will win
   (In order to tag yourself in our photos, you will have to “Like” Mikogo on Facebook. Go to the Mikogo Facebook page and click on “Like” to become our Fan).
4. That’s it – you’ve now entered our competition for the chance to win an iPad!

Announcing the Winner:

We will announce the winner on the 12th July (the World Cup final is on the 11th July).

Any questions? Drop us a comment below if you would like further info.

Posted by Andrew in Mikogo competition, mac | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: competition, football fever, ipad

Many employees could feasibly enroll in on-site courses or attend on-site job training. Setting up time in an employee’s busy schedule can be difficult. However some employees have no nearby options for learning new job training, which makes on-site job training all but impossible. Furthermore for employees who work remotely – how are they expected to attend an on-site training session with the rest of the office? In both scenarios, online distance learning should be considered as an option for the employee to learn new job skills.

Do it Your Own Way with Online Distance Learning

The benefits of online distance learning have already been proven in college environments. Many students with full-time jobs are unable to attend in person classes because of work or other obligations. By signing up for online classes, students are able to learn at their own pace and at their own schedule. Many colleges have already implemented online learning into their educational environments. These courses are led by college instructors. Students can even ask questions directly to professors immediately live over the Internet via instant messaging. And to assist the students, the instructor can present class material to the group from within a web presentation. With all of its benefits, online distance learning is sure to become more popular in upcoming years.

When choosing online distance learning, either to learn new job skills or earn a degree, students and employees should take certain things into consideration. For example, does a person have the discipline needed to set their own schedule? Can they fulfill tasks? Do they work well alone? Most know or can imagine if they are well suited to take on online distance learning. Those that are will most likely be the ones to receive the greatest benefits while avoiding potential obstacles.

Posted by Andrew in online learning | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: elearning, online distance learning

Email is the easiest example of collaboration technology. It has become a business standard form of communication. There are many different methods though for corporate users to collaborate in the workplace. Desktop sharing has become another key piece of technology allowing people to interact in real-time without having to travel. This cuts expenses, yet still allows users to work together as if they were in the same room.

Collaboration technology is not all about business

Home users are also benefiting from this same technology. By using desktop sharing collaboration technology, home users can help each other out by getting together to share information from the screen or for the sake of supporting someone remotely. That is just one example. Home users often forget that their instant messaging conversations are a form of collaboration. When they add in VOIP and document management, they are performing the same functions as their corporate counterparts. Many of these tools came out of the corporate environment.

And let’s not even get started on just how many hours people must be spending day, after day, in front of their computers collaborating and communicating with friends via MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and more…

The last part of collaboration technology is also something many of you will be familiar with. Shared calendars can be a powerful and yet easy collaboration tool. In a corporate environment they can be a form of project management, though depending on the complexity of the service, can have many features beyond a shared calendar. Home users often use them to synchronize schedules with friends, family, and colleagues.

So as you can see, collaboration technology is very much a part of our daily lives and enhances many parts of it. After reading this blog post and as you sit at your computer, think of the applications you are currently running and if you are actually making use of some of those tools. Then think about different ways to use them. You might be surprised at just how “corporate” you are becoming.

Posted by Andrew in Collaboration | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Collaboration, collaboration technology

iPad courtesy of cote on Flickr

And the winner is …

With over 3,000 “thumbs up – Like” votes for his Mikogo video (and not to mention that his video received over 30,000 views!), the winner of the video competition is Kamil Scheicht.
Congratulations Kamil – you will be soon be the happy owner of a brand-new Apple iPad!

You can view Kamil’s video here: Mikogo #1 Fan – winning video entry

Also there have been a couple of recent video entries (including TheMacShui video entry as well as “The Quantum of Mikogo”). You’ll find all entries to the video competition on our YouTube channel playlist.

To reiterate what I wrote in the first paragraph above, we would like to thank everyone who submitted a video to our competition. Thank you for taking the time to enter our competition and for sharing with us what Mikogo means to each of you!

P.S. Stay tuned by subscribing to our blog for new upcoming Mikogo competitions!

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Get onboard – Why Consider Remote Assistance Technology?

There are two distinct circumstances where corporations can leverage the power of this system in order to save money. The first use involves providing IT support to the company’s own employees. Whether a business employs an in-house IT department or outsources it to an IT consulting firm, the business saves money by optimally locating the IT department and requiring less resources in terms of the number of employees needed to achieve the task, as well as time and vehicles to reach employees who need assistance.

The second situation involves corporations that provide any manner of PC-based technical support to their clients. Remote desktop software can be custom-tailored to meet the specific needs of your company, in turn allowing you to provide a more cost-effective support system. In the future, one’s business will only need to send a technician to the client’s home or business as a final effort to rectify the problem or when new hardware is required.

The list goes on…

In addition to the large corporations, small businesses and even homeowners can leverage the power of remote desktop assistance. From the Mikogo user base, we have heard from many people who have utilized the Mikogo software to secure customers when first getting their business started. Others have used Mikogo to expand their client base to parts of the world that would not have been possible without remote desktop technology. Desktop remote assistance is the future of technical support.

Moreover, remote desktop assistance has more uses than facilitating business-to-client technical support. For instance, imagine the son who provides technical support for the family leaving for college. The son can still help mom and dad with their computer issues by connecting remotely and making the necessary repairs. This is a much simpler solution than having to walk mom and dad through the process over the phone. Anyone who has done that before would no doubt be a big fan of Mikogo!

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What is Remote Help?

Remote help is the process of administering IT assistance for software related problems by accessing the troublesome computer over the Web, instead of actually going in person to the computer in question. Thanks to remote help software, the concept of a remote help desk has been established and on the rise in the business world by allowing companies to outsource their tech support. This tech support can be both for their intercompany needs and to meet the needs of their clients. When a technical problem arises, the customer can access the help desk online and receive remote assistance. The help desk technicians often assist the customer by remotely controlling the troublesome PC and they communicate with the customer via telephone, chat, or even email.

How can Remote Help Help My Company?

One of the most difficult aspects of providing tech support to a large company or large client base is organization. Modern remote help desk companies support their work with advanced incident tracking processes. In this way, technical problems faced by your clients or company develop elaborate histories.

These histories save money long term by eliminating problem sources that the customer can then rectify. In addition, services normally send their customers monthly help desk and phone reports. The customer can use this data to track IT expenditures, evaluate performance, and project growth. Adapting to new growth may be as simple as sending an email.

Additionally, remote help allows companies to offer support during non-peak hours. Twenty-four hour, seven days per week support is something clients demand but that small businesses cannot afford. A remote help desk service is able to pool the needs of its customers and therefore provide 24/7 help desk solutions that would not otherwise be affordable to a small company.

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Whether the policy makers are in different buildings, time zones, home sick or in the hospital with a broken leg from their skiing holiday, when you have something that needs everyone’s attention, you can get it with an online meeting. Time and money are the obvious savings. Traveling takes both. By the time someone has traveled across the country or continent you could have had successful meetings over the web and be moving forward. Not to mention airline tickets, hotel rooms and wear and tear on valued employees who would rather be home with their families.

What Makes a Successful Online Meeting?

In successful meetings decisions are made and actions are assigned. The most important thing to consider in an online meeting is that everyone who is needed to attend is indeed available. Ideas can be expressed for all to hear and feedback will be immediate. Documents can be shared and updated, slide presentations shown, brainstorming expressed and even differences resolved. No postponements or procrastination necessary – real-time online collaboration will save you further time, on top of the saved travel time, by addressing important issues there and then.

Etiquette for Successful Meetings

• Depending on how many attendees there are at your virtual meeting, you should always say your name before you start speaking. If everyone knows your voice, that’s fine, but don’t assume it.
• When others are speaking, mute your mic so that no irritating and impolite background noises interrupt someone else’s points.
• It is good if there is a webcam for the meeting and you should often make eye contact with the camera. If there is no webcam it’s nice to send a link to a photo of yourself to add a touch of personal contact.
• With audio calls sometimes there is an announce feature when someone exits or enters the call. You may want to disable this feature as it can be disruptive to speakers.
• As the meeting begins and all participants are ready and viewing the presenter’s desktop screen, start by opening (or have it already open – even better) a presentation file or slide show that gives the agenda or details everyone should know about the meeting.

Any other handy tips that you have come across to produce successful web meetings?

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