WebEx and Comparison

of WebEx, Centra,
PlaceWare, Latitude
Sangyoon Oh (soh@csit.fsu.edu)
and Hasan Bulut (hbulut@ecs.syr.edu)

Florida State University

CSIT (School of Computational Science and Information
Technology)
400 Dirac Science Library
Tallahassee
11/11/09 1
 WebEx: Introduction
WebEx is meeting-enabling Web Tool.
(www.webex.com)
WebEx is on-line Collaboration tool ,which needs
only Internet Connection and Browsers for both
Host and Attendee
WebEx is pay-per-use (limited capabilities for free
meeting) “ASP” (i.e. provides service not just
technology)
WebEx has many meeting/class enabling features

11/11/09 2
 WebEx: Features I
Presentation Sharing : Document
presentation
Application / Desktop / Web Tour Sharing :
Share control of the Application / Desktop /
Browser. Attendee given control by Host
Audio-Video Conferencing : Teleconferencing
utilize the conventional phone or Internet

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 WebEx: Features II
Quiz / Live Polling : Give Question to or poll
attendee
Chat Room : Chat allows different level of
privileges
White Board
Shared “export” features virtual printer model
that enables separate scaling on each client

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 WebEx: Architecture

Host Attendee

WebEx Server

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 WebEx: Example
11/11/09 6
 WebEx: Usage for Education

WebEx is appropriate tool for small size

distance learning class.
Host doesn’t have to be a expert at
Collaboration tools

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 WebEx Centra Placeware Latitude
WebSite http://www. http://www. http://www. http://www.la
webex.com centra.com placeware.com

Access Browser Browser Browser Browser

Any printable
Shared Only Power point Only Power point
document can be slides supported. slides supported.
PowerPoint,
Export shared. Excel, Word
No resizing or No resizing or
Anyone can zoom
in or out.
zooming. zooming.
Uses vector based PPT slides PPT slides
image format. converted to gif converted to gif
Anyone can images. images.
annotate (no pointer Anyone can Anyone can
problems). annotate annotate

Annotation
11/11/09 Y Y Y Y8
 WebEx Centra Placeware Latitude
Any application or Any application or A selected
Shared entire desktop can entire desktop can rectangular area on Y but
Display be shared. Anyone be shared.
can share Presenter or co-
the desktop is
broadcasted to
client
applications given presenters can clients. Anyone can software
permission. share do shared display
Annotation is applications given the required
possible (only .Shared application permission.
drawing curves, no can be any size. No No annotation. No
text or geometric annotation. No remote control. The
shapes) Remote remote control. The quality is good.
control is supported.quality is good. The The performance is
The quality is fair. performance is fair. fair.
The performance is
best.

N N
Shared Limited support. It
does not provide a Not
synchronized web tour Evaluated
Web nor does it pass
events such as page
Browser down or up. Only
points the browsers to
a common URL
initially.
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 WebEx Centra Placeware Latitude

Text Chat Y Y Y *
Whiteboard Y Y Y *
Audio Uses either Built in Audio
Half Duplex
No audio N
phone or third except Phone
party audio (CentraNow)
such as Full Duplex
(CentraOne and
Lipstream Symposium)

Video Y (presenters Y N N
only)
Polling/Voting Y Y Y N
Q&A(student- N N Y N
presenter)
Automatic Y Y N Y via Fax or
email
notification
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of schedule * Integration with standards-based T.120 applications, such as Microsoft NetMeeting,
 WebEx Centra Placeware Latitude

Recording WebEx Recording &Centra Recorder™ Voice played back

Playback enables lets users to record either using Real Y
of Sessions recording and
playback of live
live sessions and Player or Windows
Centra Producer™ Media Player and
sessions. lets users edit content is shown on
All annotations, recordings frame- the browser as gif
shared display and by-frame. images
whiteboard We did not test any synchronously.
discussions are of these. Gif images are
recorded and static and no
replayed during the movement is played
playback. back.

Client Java-enabled Java-enabled Java-enabled (The MeetingPlace

Data Conference
Requirements browser. browser for browser. Option)
Automatic Centra - One of the
following T.120
installation of Conference. applications:
client when Separate client NetMeeting,
accessed for for Centra SunForum,
HP Visualize,
the first time. Symposium. SGImeeting
- Java-enabled Web
browser
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