Show HN: Video conferencing web app with positioned audio(inthelocus.com)
inthelocus.com
Show HN: Video conferencing web app with positioned audio
https://inthelocus.com
4 comments
Thanks for the feedback!
Btw. Locus is "room" in latin. Our goal is to make conferencing feel more like being together in a room.
We do recognize that the design and messaging can be crisper. We are a team of 2 at the moment.
The service is up and running well. Now we're looking for feedback on whethe the problems we're going after resonate as important.
Btw. Locus is "room" in latin. Our goal is to make conferencing feel more like being together in a room.
We do recognize that the design and messaging can be crisper. We are a team of 2 at the moment.
The service is up and running well. Now we're looking for feedback on whethe the problems we're going after resonate as important.
I've used the product a few times and I love it. Super easy to create/ join a room and the image and sound are really clear.
Other co-founder here. We built this out of frustration with other video conferencing solutions, and pretty much use it exclusively now.
Here's some background on our motivations:
Audio & video conferencing have improved a lot in the last few years, especially when it comes to voice and picture quality, but most conferencing still feels stiff. People go into "presentation mode", and it's much less interactive than an in-person meeting, especially if you’re brainstorming, or having a group discussion or a casual catch-up.
We're building a tool to make freeform meetings more comfortable, more possible, more useful. We call it Locus.
In Locus, conversation takes place around a room or other natural space. And we’ve improved the audio so that you hear people talking from where you see them (like in real life). Accidental interruptions no longer destroy conversation flow, and you can tell who’s talking even if faces aren’t visible. Say goodbye to the typical distracting, hyperactive mode of conferencing, where faces move around every time someone new starts talking. Locus rooms are also easy to create and share: just copy the link from your browser. And when you join a room, we verify your audio and video are working, so you can skip the “can you hear me?” ballet.
We'd like to go even further. There are so many ways to make Locus better for everyone, and in some cases better than being in-person. For example, wouldn't it be nice to know who's looking at you? Wouldn't it be nice to present a polished face even if you just woke up?
Also nice: sharing a virtual document everyone can see and draw on. Perhaps using a tablet or phone that lets you use your hands to draw and share a quick sketch? And don’t you want to see people's reactions -- or what they're looking at -- when you share your screen?
Years of working on the hard problems of transmitting voice and video have paid off. Now it’s time to work on new hard problems, to create a conferencing app that works with you to make better meetings. Our long-term vision is to increase the productivity of real-time remote collaboration through more natural meetings, and Locus is a first step. Try it and let us know if you like it and use it -- or if you don't, what's missing?
Here's some background on our motivations:
Audio & video conferencing have improved a lot in the last few years, especially when it comes to voice and picture quality, but most conferencing still feels stiff. People go into "presentation mode", and it's much less interactive than an in-person meeting, especially if you’re brainstorming, or having a group discussion or a casual catch-up.
We're building a tool to make freeform meetings more comfortable, more possible, more useful. We call it Locus.
In Locus, conversation takes place around a room or other natural space. And we’ve improved the audio so that you hear people talking from where you see them (like in real life). Accidental interruptions no longer destroy conversation flow, and you can tell who’s talking even if faces aren’t visible. Say goodbye to the typical distracting, hyperactive mode of conferencing, where faces move around every time someone new starts talking. Locus rooms are also easy to create and share: just copy the link from your browser. And when you join a room, we verify your audio and video are working, so you can skip the “can you hear me?” ballet.
We'd like to go even further. There are so many ways to make Locus better for everyone, and in some cases better than being in-person. For example, wouldn't it be nice to know who's looking at you? Wouldn't it be nice to present a polished face even if you just woke up?
Also nice: sharing a virtual document everyone can see and draw on. Perhaps using a tablet or phone that lets you use your hands to draw and share a quick sketch? And don’t you want to see people's reactions -- or what they're looking at -- when you share your screen?
Years of working on the hard problems of transmitting voice and video have paid off. Now it’s time to work on new hard problems, to create a conferencing app that works with you to make better meetings. Our long-term vision is to increase the productivity of real-time remote collaboration through more natural meetings, and Locus is a first step. Try it and let us know if you like it and use it -- or if you don't, what's missing?
Would love any thoughts.
Agree that conferencing products are all the same and can use improvement?
Or are you happy with your current experience?
For more on our motivation for creating Locus: https://medium.com/@chris_82106/https-medium-com-chris-82106...
For more on our motivation for creating Locus: https://medium.com/@chris_82106/https-medium-com-chris-82106...
- Love the name, I find it clever (location, locution, pocus) and easy to remember
- Website is a 4/10: look is not very appealing, does a poor job putting your main feature forward.
Good luck!