iChat AV - The Answer is.... it worked!
We had a conference today to talk about technology
in higher ed. Keith, my boss, was in Japan for a different conference though he
needed to be present here for our conference. iChat AV came to the
rescue.
I set up my TiBook with an iSight camera, the built
in microphones (one in the TiBook and one in the iSight) and a set of Altex
Lansing external speakers. I use an LCD projector to through Keith's image up
on a screen for the presentations and discussions. I pointed the camera at
various people as they talked and switched microphones depending on which one
was closet to the speaker.
All told, it went very well. Keith could hear most people. He could answer questions and join in the discussion when needed. The iSight's video isn't good enough for him to see the presentations but he could get the gist of the conversation. I filled in the gaps in the conversation and presentations using text chat with Keith.
Pretty amazing - a laptop, a $150 firewire camera, a pair of $100 speakers and we could bring an attendee across the Pacific to a meeting in Wisconsin.
Now that is cool and useful technology.
All told, it went very well. Keith could hear most people. He could answer questions and join in the discussion when needed. The iSight's video isn't good enough for him to see the presentations but he could get the gist of the conversation. I filled in the gaps in the conversation and presentations using text chat with Keith.
Pretty amazing - a laptop, a $150 firewire camera, a pair of $100 speakers and we could bring an attendee across the Pacific to a meeting in Wisconsin.
Now that is cool and useful technology.
Posted: Fri - September 26, 2003 at 04:56 PM
