I'm retiring this blog on New Year's Eve 2010

Hey, if anyone's still reading this, be advised it will be going away as of New Year's Eve 2010. This whole field is now so incorporated into daily life for so many people that the blog is now more a curiosity than a help. See Skype.com.

Wow, Long Time No See!

Okay, I'm embarrassed. I've been so into my own general blog, my education-in-second-life blog, and my classroom blog, not to mention my podcast and my day-to-day-teaching, that I've sorely neglected this poor orphanblog.

Well, I have to say that part of it problem is that I haven't really seen very interesting newsnotable items. This morning, however, via vcinsight (itself a quirky little site dedicated to IVC and sponsored by the "big guys," I discovered a most interesting post about Sony's new desktop "Walkman for Videoconferencing" system. Read about that, and whilst reading, note the new theme of IPM (IP Monitoring) that seems to run through the site's posts. For network-connected folks, it seems that QOS (Quality of Service) settings are (duh, slapping my forehead) absolutely key to performance. Perhaps a little intro to QOS might help. I'll look for that soon. Meanwhile, perhaps the best tack to take is to bake a batch of yummy chocolate chip cookies for your system administrator, or perhaps gift him/her a nice bottle of scotch :)

For those watching trends in the high end players, you can also read at vcinsight.com about Tandberg's purchase of Codian. That's significant for a number of reasons. I'm sure the Calista-rooted Codian folks are feeling quit pumped about the sale of their project to Tandberg. This team of developers may now move on to the next big project. Wonder what it will be...

I'm rambling. See what you get when you make me feel guilty?

Cheers!

Learning is Messy -- Videoconferencing in the Classroom with Skype

One of my favorite blogs, The Infinite Thinking Machine, shared this today and I want to spread the love. Head on over to "Learning is Messy" to view a VERY cool video about how a class of 4th graders bring a classmate who suffers from leukemia into their classroom with the aid of Skype videoconferencing. Priceless.

My own class did a similar thing using Skype earlier in the year to chat with a 4th grader whose family was in Holland for the first several months of the school year. If you missed that, here's the link to its "celebration" posting. There's a brief movie clip there for you, too.

Possibilities are endless, dontcha know?

High Definition Telepresence from Polycom

This is a news article from a couple weeks ago, so is it still news? I dunno, but I found it so interesting that I dragged it to my links bar to make sure I blogged it. Von Magazine ran an article about Polycom's new HD telepresence solution that I simply must share: Its claim that the RPX HD "family" is "backwards compatible with the million-plus video systems already deployed on desktops and in conference rooms around the world" just makes me want to run out and buy one, especially if it'll help me facilitate meetings that look as good as this one!

Oh, yeah, I forgot. It's probably pretty pricey!!! Oh well, one can dream...

(A reliable inside source tells me the entry-level unit that can accomodate groups up to four people is around $250,000.)

See ya!

Top 10 Videoconferencing Systems of the Year

Ignore this post if you're only interested in desktop solutions, but even if you are you might want to check out this article at eMediaWire that summarizes the recent awards bequeathed by vcinsight newsletter to the top 10 improvements in high-end IVC. This article, and the one it references, provides a very quick-and-dirty summary of the rapid improvements in the field. They're both worth a look!

Cheers from cold Nashville to cold wherever-you-are!

Out on Janine's Lim Again with Videoconferencing

My friend Janine, blogger of "Out On a Lim" IVC blog, has put up a stellar video stream of a ~40 minute multi-point videoconference she conducted recently. While this was obviously an IVC that was carried out over the high-end stuff (Polycom, Tandberg, etc.) there's absolutely no reason why many of these projects can't be carried out with a hunnert dollar webcam at each end and Skype (or any other free or low-cost solution) doing the work.

I discovered this stream via Roxanne Glaser's "VC Rox" blog, dingdingdingding new blogroll addition!

Here's the link to the stream. Ah, Janine strikes another solid blow for adoption. This video stream is an excellent potpouri of ideas for classroom IVC and also a beautiful example of a master thinking on her feet during an interaction. Note the way Janine shifts tactics during the question and answer session to encourage more participation. Share this with every teacher you know!!! (Is that a call for spam? Nawwwwww...)

Pic from the Learning Technology 2006 Speakers page, but it seems to be all over the place so I'm not sure that's its original source!

Digital Lifestyle Interactive Videoconferencing Article

Just across my desktop today, an interesting and well-done little post that wonders aloud, "Do I need to upgrade my ISP in order to do desktop videoconferencing? Give it a read.