* Watching Ugly Betty vs. a work-related videoconference
No, this is not a commentary on the writer’s strike (currently still on as we write), although Steve does really miss not having new episodes of “Ugly Betty” and “The Office.” Thursday night just isn’t the same. The issue today is how you define the “good” vs. the “bad” applications? Last week, we mentioned recent research by Jim that found that videoconferencing was a hot topic for next year. But how will this videoconferencing be accomplished? Maybe in some unconventional methods.
Let’s go back to Skype as the example. Again returning to Jim’s study, Skype was the least worrisome of the various consumer technologies queried. But if we think back three or four years, and even with our recent discussion of the port 80 black hole, blocking Skype, which could be considered to be a malicious program, was a major issue.
Consider the following:
1) Skype works. No matter the consumer-oriented firewalls or even many business applications, Skype seems to be able to blast through almost anything.
2) It’s almost impossible to buy a notebook computer that doesn’t have a built-in video camera.
3) Add-on Web cams are almost free.
4) Skype now supports video calling.
5) Though unverified personally by us, we understand that if you do a Skype conference call, you can have multiple video sources as well. (So much for the days of expensive equipment to control video feeds!)
We just tried a video call and the quality was pretty darn good. The ability to “see” the other person does indeed add to the overall quality of the calling experience.
So now the question is when is the video “good” and should be allowed on the corporate network and when should it be considered to be malicious? Skype could be considered quite good for a quick, off-the cuff conference. In the last newsletter we supplied a URL to a Nova program about applications for superconductors. But how do you control somebody like Steve watching those reruns of Ugly Betty and The Office while they’re supposed to be working?
We’re looking forward to hearing your war stories on how you’re solving this dilemma.
