Are you concerned about reducing your carbon footprint? Are you finding that the price for traveling is rising sharply? Are you busy all of the time and struggle with meetings taking too much time out of your schedule?

If you answer yes to any of these then you need to look into web meetings software like GoToMeeting. Just think for a moment how much it costs to attend a meeting across town. There's the cost of gas, usually food and the time before and after the meeting wasted traveling. With a web meeting solution like GoToMeeting, you can sit down at your computer with a cup of coffee, join the meeting with all of your office at your disposal and it is really easy to quickly add someone into the meeting at the last minute instead of the logistics of getting them there which usually results in another meeting being scheduled.

If you have questions, just check out the other articles in this blog for information on how it works and how it compares to its competition.

Participants who join the meeting via VoIP need speakers or headphones to hear the GoToMeeting session and a microphone if you want them to speak.

When using VoIP for your meeting, audio quality can vary based on your audio software/hardware manufacturer as well as your operating system.

 Listed in order from best quality to poor quality

USB headset connected to your computer

Headphones and USB microphone connected to your computer

Analog headset connected to your computer

Headphones and analog microphone connected to your computer

External speakers and USB microphone

External speakers and analog microphone

Laptop built-in microphone and speakers

External speakers and USB Webcam microphone

 

Avoiding Call Echo

• A USB headset is recommended
• Built-in or external speakers can cause echo. We recommend reducing the speaker volume to a low level.
• Webcams with microphones can pick up additional noise and cause echo. Using a Webcam for your audio is not recommended.
• Laptops with built-in microphones: Built-in microphones can pick up noise and cause echo. Using a built-in microphone for your audio is not recommended.
• Echo from an attendee: If you suspect echo from an attendee, check who is talking at the bottom of the Audio pane and mute that attendee or ask the attendee to lower his or her speaker volume.
• Reduce background noise

 

Avoiding Background Noise

• A meeting is best presented from a quiet location.
• If using a microphone, move the microphone closer to your voice and away from competing sounds (i.e., computer fans).
• Avoid moving or touching the microphone during your meeting.
• A good quality headset is recommended. Webcams and built-in microphones can pick up noise and are not recommended.

 

Dropped Words, Delay, Robotic Sound

Dropped words, delay or robotic sound is often due to poor network performance, lack of memory or high CPU usage.

• Close all applications you are not using for your presentation.

A dial-up Internet connection can cause poor performance. For optimum performance when using VoIP, we recommend a broadband Internet connection.

You've finally gotten a serious bite on that commercial property you've had on the market forever. However, it's quickly become a logistical nightmare. The buyers agent is very accomodating but there is also three lawyers, the client company's representative and (dear God no!) the need for a minor zoning change. That's quite an orchestra to conduct but the result could be the largest commission of your career so far. You're ready to throw a significant amount of money at this to make it happen but you don't have to.
All of these people have access to the internet both at home and at work. GoToMeeting is a perfect solution for this situation. All the other people need, is access to a computer with a web browser on it like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Think for a moment about this. How often are all of these people at their computers at the same time? Send an email today and you are all meeting tomorrow morning. The power of getting people together to hammer out the zillion tiny issues that come up in a deal like this is incredible. Is it worth $50 a month to you? It is to me.

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Differences are highlighted in hot pink
Citrix GoToMeeting	Webex MeetMeNow
Flat monthly subscription	Annual subscription (pre-paid)
$49 per month or $468 annual(pre-paid)	$468 per year
Single license for unlimited meetings with up to 15 participants	Single license for unlimited meetings with up to 10 participants
Windows	Windows
from Windows 95, 400 MHz processor with 256 MB RAM	Windows 98, NT 4.0 SP6, 2000, XP (Home and Pro), 2003
Browser: Internet Explorer 5.0+, Netscape 6.0+, Mozilla 1.0 or higher	Browser: Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.x, Mozilla 1.6, Netscape 4.7 / 7, Firefox 1.0
Mac
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
128-bit SSL encryption	128-bit SSL encryption
128-bit AES/ Blowfish encryption	128-bit AES/ Blowfish encryption
Integrated VoIP for free or
telephone conferencing service	Integrated telephone conferencing requires US telephone number
(with local telephone number option incurring additional costs)	(with local telephone number - incurring additional costs)
Easy Install	Easy Install
1. Register account	1. Register account
2. Install software (4.4 MB)	2. Install software (11 MB)
	lack of differentiation between am and pm makes it difficult to specify time
Schedule meetings	Schedule meetings
Schedule recurring meetings	Schedule recurring meetings
One-click meetings (ad-hoc meetings)	One-click meetings (ad-hoc meetings)
Meeting calendar	Meeting calendar
Invite participants after meeting has started	Invite participants after meeting has started
Expel an attendee from the meeting	Expel an attendee from the meeting
Transfer mouse and keyboard control	Transfer mouse and keyboard control
Access to desktop	Access to desktop
Access to selected applications
Clean screen (hide task bar etc.)
Instantly change presenters	Instantly change presenters
Annotation and drawing tools	Annotation and drawing tools
Chat	Chat
Full screen/partial screen mode
Instant Messaging
	Webcam Video
Audio Conference Call Control	Audio Conference Call Control
Mute participants	Mute participants
Participant reporting
Meeting recording
Inactivity time-outs
Outlook	Outlook
Lotus Notes	Lotus Notes

We started using GoToMeeting with the free trial. We did a few meetings with it and it really worked well for us but we really didn't do many meetings at all that would justify it. Cut to three years later and we were looking for a solution to our post-implementation troubleshooting. It became necessary to do an email and phone dance with the implementation team, the sales team, the client and the developers. This would take weeks of emails and phone calls. All of a sudden I was like, why don't we just use that GoToMeeting software. We know it workls because we tried the free trial successfully and this way we can get everyone together at the same time and do in days what used to take weeks. We did and it worked. What a great tool.

The new GoToMeeting 4 is now 100% Mac-compatible, allowing Mac users to host a screen-sharing session or to receive presentation rights from a PC user.

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Probably too long-awaited to have the impact and the benefits that this was planned for, the addition of VoIP to GoToMeeting is probably the second most interesting feature in this new release. Being this the first release of the voice feature for Citrix, one cannot expect it to be perfect from day one.

As a matter of fact in my own initial tests of GoToMeeting 4, I have had to give up on using the native G2M VoIP facility and switch back to Skype which offered much better audio quality and performance.

I would expect Citrix to refine and improve VoIP markedly in the coming weeks, but again my sensation is that this has been done too late and not with a killer solution.

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G2M v.4, integrates like its previous version a full recording facility which is capable of memorizing both the visual sessions as well as the audio from your presentation.

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The new GoToMeeting 4 sports a fully floating control panel which can now be easily moved to any position you want on the screen.

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A new site service from Citrix makes it also easier to log in into any G2M-based presentation.

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Annotation and markup have remained the same.

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The new GoToMeeting 4 confirms its leadership as the best screen-sharing tool on the market. In My opinion, and after having tested hundreds of competitors remains unchanged: Citrix GoToMeeting has the best performance and screen-sharing quality you can find around.

has all of the basic features you may need to do a professional screen sharing session, including text chat, voice over IP, teleconferencing, invitations, recording and moderator tools.

The addition of VoIP offers greater collaboration opportunities to those who do not have access to a phone line or who didn't want or like to use Skype or similar tools in tandem with G2M.

The element which still offers the greatest opportunity for extending GoToMeeting competitive edge is the annotation and markup facility. This is an area that will see lots of growth in the near future across all of collaboration tools.

All in all, GoToMeeting consolidates its screen-sharing position as a leader offering a well-rounded, solid, reliable and highly performing tool for a reasonable price ($49/month for up to 15 users).

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GoToMeeting Too Expensive ?

A month ago, I would have argued that for small groups or infrequent use for meetings among peers would not warrant the purchase of GoToMeeting. A combination of teleconferencing and tools that nearly everyone already has like Netmeeting would be sufficient. For large meetings, meetings with VIP's or meetings with important clients I would have said that it was the best at the best price however, I still didn't like the fact that it required a phone conference in addition to the online meeting.

Now it has all changed. A very good product has become a great product. GoToMeeting made some changes early in July that address its shortcomings head on.

First, they added VOiP. This eliminates the need for a second phone conference being used as long as the participants have microphones and speakers on their PC's or laptops. It is very easy to use and does not require any technical knowledge to implement.

Secondly, and this makes my graphics and design department ecstatic, they have added full support for Apple Macintosh. Now Mac users can organize meetings with the same ease as Windows users. With these new additions to the product while keeping its price below $50 a month is incredible. It is a tiny tiny fraction of the cost of our old conferencing system. Now we can put together a meeting and have everyone together and comfortable at their own workstations in under half an hour. There is nothing out there that comes close for the price.

That's right, GoToMeeting added VOIP standard to their products. This makes it just as good as its competitors at half the price.

Also, Apple Macintosh is now supported fully. With the old version a Mac user can only attend a meeting. Now you can organize and run a meeting on a Mac.

Try the free trial and see if it fits your needs.

GoToMeeting offers a personal account and a corporate level. The GoToMeeting Corporate Plan contains a module to manage online organizer accounts, to view the currently active meetings and to generate usage reports.

GoToMeeting allows users to have one of three different functions:

Organizer - Organizers have accounts with GoToMeeting enabling them to scheduling and conducting meetings. The organisers are also hosting the meeting and Presenter initial meeting and they are the ones who can pass the Presenter role than any other assistant. The organizers also have the power to grant or Assistant revoke privileges, and invite attendees or dismiss during a meeting. The organizers can also make other attendees organizers.
Assistant - An assistant is any person who attends a meeting of GoToMeeting -- this includes the organizers and presenters. Attendees can be given the right to control the presenter keyboard and mouse, if given the privilege. If allowed, attendees will see and use the service's chat and text Assistant see the list.
Presenter - A presenter is any assistant who is giving a presentation and actions of their computer screen with everyone else. Whoever starts Default meeting is also the first meeting Organizer. Those assigned with the role of presenter can determine who gets to control the keyboard and the mouse away from the presenter screen displayed.

GoToMeeting is generally an excellent product offering in its entirety so that claims to offer, while improving significantly to its direct competitors tenders.

 

Download The Free Version of GoToMeeting here.

More reviews of GoToMeeting can be found here.

Go to Meeting is set up so you can easily conduct these meetings right on each attendee’s computers. Once the meeting is scheduled and all the information is put together all you have to do is make one click in your email or instant messaging applications and the meeting begins. It’s just that simple. With this program it’s easy to switch presenters in the middle of a meeting. You can even share your keyboard and mouse with other users. It also allows you to share your desktop with other people in attendance in a safe and secure way. All the meeting attendees can interact on the screen. With the drawing tools available through Go to Meeting anyone can highlight, point to or draw attention to any item on the screen at anytime. This gives everyone a chance to voice his or her opinion and stay on top of the meeting at all times.