One of my pet peeves as an analyst is briefings that occur over web conferencing software. I much prefer that the vendor, standards body, or whatever send me the actual presentation, not least so I can refer to it later. For some tasks, of course, demoing a product for example – web conferencing is a necessity. But I still am not a big fan. Obviously I’m not singling any enterprise or ISV out here – it’s pretty much standard practice. I simply find the typical experience cumbersome, awkward, and not very user friendly. I’m stuck on the same slide, can’t go back or forward, it’s tough to copy diagrams or pictures into something like OneNote, etc.
Given all that, it irks me even more when the web conferencing software used forces me to do something I prefer not to. Support for Firefox, for example, is spotty. IE is often a requirement. And neither Webex nor Live Meeting have worked for me on Linux.
Today, however, I did a session with a vendor over Macromedia’s Breeze. I talked to the Breeze folks way back when, but haven’t seen it much since outside of the briefings that I’ve had with Macromedia. In preparation for today’s briefing, I by default shifted over to my Windows desktop, and then thought that I’d see whether Breeze might work on Linux. And as you might have guessed by now, it did. Seamlessly.
So thumbs up, Macromedia, for at least letting me take the briefing on my normal machine. Would that I could do that more often.
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