2. COMPARISON OF REMOTE TECHNOLOGIES

Transcription

1 2. COMPARISON OF REMOTE TECHNOLOGIES 2.1 Overview While the use of remote technologies has been shown to be successful in continuity of service provision in a variety of disability populations (Marshall et al., 2008), literature examining the efficacy of using these technologies to provide early interventions services to children with ASD is limited, and has been described as being in its infancy (Liebert, 2009, p.419). A number of remote technology software programs were researched and trialled prior to the intervention program commencing. The programs trialled were: Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre Citrix GoToMeeting Adobe Connect Skype A detailed comparison between these various remote technology software programs based on key variables (e.g., features, cost, benefits, limitations, system requirements) is presented below. Based on this comparison, Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre was chosen as the preferred software program to be used for delivering the early intervention program. 2.2 Software Features Key features of each of the 4 remote technology software programs was reviewed and this information is presented in Table 2.1. Table 2.1. Software Features of Each of the Remote Technology Programs. Remote Technology Software Program

2 Features Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre Citrix GoToMeeting Adobe Connect Skype Meeting Set-up Invite Participants Meeting Participants Start a meeting instantly or set up one ahead of time through web browser. Can setup WebEx productivity tools on desktop for easy access. Invite participants in advance by , phone call or SMS text message. Ability to invite participants to a meeting that has already started via , voice conference or instant messenger. Ability to send reminders if participants have not joined. Supports up to 25 attendees. Attend meetings on multiple platforms while remote, using a desktop, iphone, ipad, Android, or other wireless, 3G or 4G mobile phone and tablet devices. Start a meeting instantly or set up one ahead of time (e.g. Meet Now or Meet Later). Can install a desktop application (takes a few minutes to set up) for easy access. Invite participants in advance via phone, or instant message. Ability to invite participants to a meeting that has already started by clicking Invite Others in the control panel. Supports up to 25 attendees. Attendees can join from a Mac, PC, ipad, iphone or android device. Required to complete the meeting creation wizard and enter meeting room. Invite participants from the meeting menu. Set up any number of individual meeting rooms and store work-in-process in each room so that teams can pick up immediately where they left off. Invite participants through or instant message. Invite up to 15 participants to a meeting. Participants visit an internet URL to join a meeting. Fully host, present, and collaborate on virtually any mobile device - including ios, Android, and BlackBerry Playbook. Create a Skype account online by entering in personal details, log in and password. Download Skype for Windows or different version (installation takes a few minutes). Sign into Skype Account Find contact Create Group Video-call Can only do group video calls on the Skype Premium account (AU $10.99 per month). Up to 10 participants on a group video call (Skype only recommends 5 participants at a time). Audio Connect via computer microphone and speakers or telephone. Connect via computer microphone and speakers or telephone. Advises you to switch to telephone when experiencing network connections difficulties. Adobe Connect users have a variety of technology options to enable audio communication with web conferences. These options include Voice over IP (VoIP) communication, advanced integrated telephony, Universal Voice, and hardware-assisted options. Can use Skype to call mobiles and landlines. Uses integrated VOIP.

3 Video Screen Sharing Instant Messaging Share multiple, simultaneous webcamvideo feeds with 640x360 resolution at up to 30 frames per second View up to seven webcams at a time, or scroll through to see all webcams being shared Watch multiple webcam videos while sharing content, or switch to a full-screen view for a true video conferencing experience See who's talking automatically with Active Speaker technology, which displays the current speaker's video in a separate panel above the participants list Full range of screen sharing options (including desktop, application, file & whiteboard). Share keyboard and mouse control to cooperatively edit files on screen. Instantly change presenters to see each other's work. When screen sharing, application goes full screen except for a small menu bar at the top of the screen. Full whiteboard available with drawing tools. Instant messaging function available. See meeting attendees in High Definition (HD) video Share up to six video feeds per session. See six streams at a resolution of 640p x 480p each for a total maximum resolution of 1920p x 960p. Can choose display format for video (e.g. 4:3 (Normal) or 16:9 (Widescreen) Share your whole screen or just a specific application. Option to show screen clean (e.g. hides icons, background and taskbar). Share keyboard and mouse control to cooperatively edit files on screen. Instantly change presenters to see each other's work. Mark up tool available (e.g. pen, marker, highlighter) however, these do not alter the document. Instant messaging function available. Alerts the host when there is an unread message. Integrated web cam functionality allows you to view all the attendees of the meeting. Share advance slides and control animations, share documents and other media-rich content, take shared notes, run polls, and drive meetings with active tools and pods. Invite attendees to share their desktops. Annotate the screen with white boarding capabilities. Instant messaging function available. Host is notified when there is a new chat message. Connect with participants using video sharing. Screen sharing is available on a video call or group call through Skype Premium account. Send photos, videos and files of any size. Instant messaging available.

4 Control Panel Recording Can hide parts or all of the control panel. Host can use or mute microphones and webcams of participants. Record meetings and playback using WebEx Player (need to install during set up). Simplest control panel amongst competitors. Can hide parts or all of the control panel. Host can use or mute microphones and webcams of participants. Record meetings and playback in GoToMeeting or Windows Media Player. Each small window or pod on the screen allows you to take advantage of the many features. You can assign roles to your participants and mute them or adjust their volume if there is a communication problem. From their screen, participants have the standard option of raising their hands, which notifies the host that there is a question. Public and private chat pods enable hosts and their audience to stay involved with each other. The participants are also able to click on buttons to agree or disagree with the meeting without taking the spotlight off the host. Record meetings and republishes to the content library for widespread ondemand access. Simple control panel enables you to call landlines and mobiles, create a group, send messages and files, and add new contacts. Skype does not have a built in recording feature. Security/ Privacy 128-bit SSL encryption on all communications. Control access by requiring attendees to present PKI certificates. Optional password protection to restrict entry to meetings. 128-bit encryption on all meeting communications. Optional password protection to restrict entry to meetings. All communications are encrypted using SSL technology. Apply a password to the meeting. Host has to accept private meeting request sent by participant when they join. Digital identity and encryption. Password protect individual Skype account. Help/Support 24/7 and phone support. 24/7 call centre and support. 24/7 phone and support. Online support available. Compatibility Use WebEx on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris platforms, as well as with all popular browsers. Hosting compatibility with Windows and Mac. Windows and Mac compatible. iphone or ipod touch compatible (with free Connect Pro Mobile software). Versions available for Windows, Mac, OS & Linux.

5 2.3 Costs Information regarding free trials and costs for the 4 remote technology software programs is provided in Table 2.2. Table 2.2. Costs of Each of the Remote Technology Programs. Remote Technology Software Program Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre Citrix GoToMeeting Adobe Connect Skype Free trial Free 14 day free trial available Free 30 day trial available. Free 30 day trial available Free Costs Below is the pricing for a single license of Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre for up to 25 attendees with VoIP + Toll and Toll free. Ex GST AUD $138.3 each month. 12 month term. Break Up of $138.3 : $65.00 for web portion + $13.30 for 25,000 minutes of VoIP + $60.00 for the audio card ( Similar to a pre-paid card ) the first 410 minutes of the toll free number is free. After that toll is $ per minute/attendee and toll free is $ per minute/attendee. GoToMeeting Single User Plan Ex GST AUD $65.00 per month, including VOIP. GoToMeeting Single User Plan does not include option for integrated toll free number. GoToMeeting Mult-User Plan (5 Users). $330per month, including VOIP. Toll free-number option base plan is an additional $100 per month. Cost for toll free-number is 15c per minute per line. Annual Plan US $45.00 per month. Monthly Plan US $55.00 per month. Purchase online through Adobe Connect (1 Host; up to 100 meeting participants). Includes VOIP. Purchase through Adobe Connect does not include toll-free number. Need to contact Australia re-sellers to find out toll-free number options. Skype is completely free to download and use to call other Skype users. If you require group video calls (up to 10 participants) you must sign up for a Skype Premium account (AU $10.99 per month).

6 2.4 Benefits and Limitations A number of benefits and limitations were identified while trialling the various remote technology software programs. These are listed in Table 2.3 below. Table 2.3. Benefits and Limitations of Each of the Remote Technology Programs. Remote Technology Software Program Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre No software installation required. Citrix GoToMeeting Adobe Connect Skype Easy set-up of meetings. Benefits Able to watch participants video while screen sharing. Sharing video via screensharing proved to be more reliable than with GoToMeeting, although it still suffered slight delays. Host and participants can work on documents together, host just needs to give keyboard/mouse control. Participant must have same program installed on computer in order to screen share. User friendly and easy to use for host and participants. Simplest control panel. High definition (HD) video Highly professional software. Allows for a great deal of integration. It is Flashbased software that can run video, audio and chat well on any internet browser. The application is completely customizable and its appearance can be changed to fit presentations for training, collaboration, demonstrations and sales. Easy to sign up for an account: Visit: Enter your details and download the application.

7 Complex installation and meeting set-up process for host (approximately ½ hour). Instead of one-click meetings, a profile creation document must be filled out to start and join meetings. Limitations To play a WebEx recording you must use the WebEx Player (requires installation). A java download is required the first time you use the system. Need to install GoToMeeting on computer. Doesn t allow participants to view other participants of a meeting via their webcams No whiteboard application. Mark up tools available (e.g. pen, marker, highlighter) however, these do not alter the document. Video disappears when you share your screen. Host is able to click to get video back however, you need to move this around the screen so it doesn t block view of what you are sharing. Required to install Adobe Connect Add-In for Windows or Mac, Adobe Connect Add-In for Microsoft Outlook/Microsoft Office. Required to complete the meeting creation wizard and enter meeting room. Invite participants from the meeting menu. Complex installation and joining meeting process for participant (approximately 20 minutes) Participants need to login to , complete computer test, install any software required (e.g. Flash Player 10.3 or above is required). Also need to install Adobe Connect Add-In. Host has to allow access for participant to join the meeting, and for the participant to connect video & microphone. Error messages current bandwidth may not be high enough to offer high quality screen sharing. Skype currently does not offer the ability to share your screen. It is available in the beta version of the Mac application and may be rolled out across all versions in the future. Unable to call multiple parties. Unable to record sessions through Skype. Need to download external software. Takes a long time to upload file for screen sharing. Discussion notes viewed by both people (prefer to be confidential).

8 2.5 System Requirements System requirements for each of the remote technology programs are lists below Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre Version: 1.1 Date: November 30, 2011 These release notes describe the WebEx 1.1 system requirements. Cisco WebEx Meeting Centre is only compatible with Windows 7 currently, not Windows 8. System Requirements Windows support Intel Core2 Duo CPU 2.XX GHz or AMD processor. (2 GB of RAM recommended) JavaScript and Cookies enabled Active X enabled and unblocked for Microsoft Internet Explorer (recommended) Java 6.0 or above Mac support Intel processor (512 MB of RAM or more recommended) JavaScript and Cookies enabled Plug-ins enabled in Safari Java 6.0 or above Linux support WebEx will support any Linux distribution as long as it meets the following minimum requirements: Kernel: 2.6 or later X Lib: X11R6 or later compatible; C++ Lib: libstdc++ 6 Desktop Environment, XFce 4.0 or later, KDE, Ximian, Gnome GDK/GTK. version: 2.0 or later Glib: 2.0 or later Sun Java 1.5 or later Mobile support

9 WebEx supports starting or joining a meeting from your mobile device. The WebEx web pages are also accessible on the mobile device default browser. Mobile applications are available for ios(iphone/ipad), Android and Cius devices. See below for additional details. Cross Platform Support Windows Mac Linux Version XP Vista See above Internet 6 Partial Explorer Firefox Chrome Latest - Safari WebEx Meeting App Device Type Versions Supported iphone ios 3+ ipad ios 3+ Android v 2.1+ Cius All Known Issues / Limitations

10 This section contains known issues and limitations that affect WebEx. Windows Internet Explorer 6 is only partially supported - Some content in the WebEx site may not render correctly and some functionality may not work properly when using IE6. It is highly recommended to use of the fully supported browsers listed above. Chat is not available in Internet Explorer 7 - User logging in to their WebEx site using Internet Explorer 7 will not be able to sign in to Chat and their presence will remain offline. Mac Animations and transition support for presentations. - Animations and transitions are not supported when sharing Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote presentations Productivity Tools - WebEx Productivity Tools are not available for Mac users. USB headset support - Users using a USB headset to connect to audio using the computer may experience problems. Linux Webcam video is available in view only mode - Users starting or joining a meeting on Linux are not able to share their webcam video; they are only able to see the current speaker video, if it is being shared Video file sharing support - Users starting or joining a meeting on Linux are not able to share video files using real-time video file sharing are not able to view video files shared by others using this steaming mechanism. Productivity Tools - WebEx Productivity Tools are not available for Linux users. Invite by - Users starting a meeting as hosts on Linux are not able to invite users by using the invite & Remind dialog. Integration with a local application is not available. Localization - The WebEx Java application for Linux is available only in English Local Recording - Local recording is not available on Linux Mobile Pre-and Post-Meeting Experience - The WebEx mobile applications allow users to loin and host meetings, but it will not provide access to shared files or other out of meeting content. This content is accessible on the mobile device default browser. Browser Limitations - Accessing the WebEx site from a mobile browser may not provide the full functionality available on desktop browsers. The exact functional differences depend on the mobile device and browser capabilities Citrix GoToMeeting Windows Operating System Windows 2003 Server; Windows XP; Windows Vista; Windows 7; Windows 8

11 Processor 2.4GHz or more RAM 2GB or more Internet DSL or better Bandwidth 700 Kbps or more for simultaneous screen sharing, video and audio conferencing Browser Internet Explorer 7.0 or newer Mozilla Firefox 4.0 or newer Google Chrome 5.0 or newer Additional Software Java Script Java 1.6 or higher recommended Mac Operating System Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard ); Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion ); Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion ) Processor 2.4GHz Intel processor (Core 2 Duo) RAM 1GB Internet DSL or better Bandwidth 700Kbps or more for simultaneous screen sharing, video and audio conferencing Browser Safari 3.0 or newer Mozilla Firefox 4.0 or newer Google Chrome 5.0 or newer Additional Software JavaScript ios Device ipad 1 or newer; iphone 3GS or newer; ipod Touch (3rd generation) or newer Operating System ios 5 or newer Internet WiFi recommended for VoIP Additional Software Free GoToMeeting App from the App Store Android Operating System Android 2.2 or higher Processor 1Ghz CPU or higher recommended Internet WiFi recommended for VoIP Additional Software Free GoToMeeting App from the Google Play Store Windows 8 and Windows RT

12 Operating System Windows 8 or Windows RT Processor x86, x64 or ARM Internet WiFi recommended for VoIP Additiional Software Free GoToMeeting App from the Windows Store. Organizer must be on GoToMeeting v5.0, build 799 or higher What equipment do I need to use GoToMeeting? All you need to start using GoToMeeting are the following: Windows or Mac computer Internet connection (broadband is best) Microphone and speakers (built-in or USB headset) Webcam to use GoToMeeting with HDFaces Most computers have built-in microphones and speakers, but you will get much better audio quality if you use a headset or handset. You can also make calls on your landline or mobile device Adobe Connect Client system requirements: Hosted and licensed deployments. The following tech specs are for Adobe Connect 9. Windows 1.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 or faster processor (or equivalent) for Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8; 2GHz Pentium 4 or faster processor (or equivalent) for Windows Vista Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended) for Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8; 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended) for Windows Vista Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, 10; Mozilla Firefox; Google Chrome Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Mac OS 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo or faster processor 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended) Mac OS X, 10.5, 10.6, , 10.8 No Adobe Connect Add-in support for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Users on Leopard can attend meetings in the browser.* Mozilla Firefox; Apple Safari; Google Chrome Adobe Flash Player 10.3

13 Linux Ubuntu 10.04, 11.04; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; OpenSuSE 11.3 No Add-in support for Linux. Users on Linux can attend meetings in the browser.* Mozilla Firefox Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Chrome OS No Adobe Connect Add-in* * If an OS above is noted to not be supported by the Adobe Connect Add-in, it means that users can still join, host, and present in meetings within the browser, but will not be able to use functionality enabled by the Add-in, like screen sharing. For more information on this, see this Tech Note. Mobile Apple supported devices: ipad, ipad2, ipad3; iphone 4 and 4 S, ipod touch (3rd generation minimum recommended) Apple supported OS versions summary: ios 4.3.x, 5.x, or 6.x (5.x or higher recommended) Android supported devices: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1), Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1), ASUS Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab (7 ), Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom 2, Nexus 7 Android supported OS versions summary: 2.2 and higher Android AIR Runtime required: 3.2 or higher Virtual environments Citrix XenApp 6 Additional requirements Bandwidth: 512Kbps for participants, meeting attendees, and end users of Adobe Connect applications. Connection: DSL/cable (wired connection recommended) for Adobe Connect presenters, administrators, trainers, and event and meeting hosts Skype The system requirements for running Skype on different operating systems are described below. Please ensure that your system meets these requirements, and that you have the equipment you need, before downloading the latest version of Skype. Windows

14 Version Windows XP Service Pack 3; Windows Vista; Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit versions supported); Windows 8* Processor At least 1 GHz RAM At least 256 MB Additional software DirectX v9.0 or above Mac Version Processor RAM Additional software Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard ; Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard ; Mac OS X v10.7 Lion ; Mac OS X v10.8 Mountain Lion At least 1 GHz Intel processor (Core 2 Duo) At least 1 GB The latest version of QuickTime Linux Version Ubuntu ; Debian 6.0+; Fedora 16+ ; OpenSUSE Processor At least 1 GHz RAM At least 256 MB Qt 4.6 D-Bus Additional software libasound Pulse Audio 1.0 (recommended) BlueZ 4.0 (recommended)