Ask HN: Feedback on webapp, online meetings for group collaboration(almostmeet.com)
almostmeet.com
Ask HN: Feedback on webapp, online meetings for group collaboration
http://almostmeet.com?ac=hnbetatester
24 comments
"I can't find anything that I wouldn't pay for". Had to read that a couple of times coz it sounded too good to be true :).
Most consumer firewalls won't block it, but most corporate ones will. Eventually we'll implement a server-based fall-back, but that would suck in a few ways.
Edit: That's really surprising that your voice and video are getting cut up. It usually either works very well or just doesn't (if it's a firewall issue). thorax, can you email zhyder AT dabbleboard DOT com?
As for the desktop sharing, we'll be releasing the feature to allow you to choose which rectangular region to share. But we probably won't have the ability to select specific applications to share though; limitation of a browser-based solution.
Most consumer firewalls won't block it, but most corporate ones will. Eventually we'll implement a server-based fall-back, but that would suck in a few ways.
Edit: That's really surprising that your voice and video are getting cut up. It usually either works very well or just doesn't (if it's a firewall issue). thorax, can you email zhyder AT dabbleboard DOT com?
As for the desktop sharing, we'll be releasing the feature to allow you to choose which rectangular region to share. But we probably won't have the ability to select specific applications to share though; limitation of a browser-based solution.
>That's really surprising that your voice and video are getting cut up
It is strange. All the Flash P2P tests I have not had choppiness problems. Are you using the Speex Codec? What quality setting? I believe RTMPFP prioritizes low audio latency most highly, to prevent audio chop. Video doesn't get quite the same priority, being heavier, and less crucial in most scenarios. So video chop is a little less surprising.
It is strange. All the Flash P2P tests I have not had choppiness problems. Are you using the Speex Codec? What quality setting? I believe RTMPFP prioritizes low audio latency most highly, to prevent audio chop. Video doesn't get quite the same priority, being heavier, and less crucial in most scenarios. So video chop is a little less surprising.
Yep, Speex at high quality, and you're right about RTMFP prioritizing audio. I'm guessing there was some temporary Internet connectivity issue. Which other services out there are using RTMFP btw? It seems to be under-utilized so far, probably because there isn't a commercial server for it out yet. Definitely sounds like you plan to use it :).
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There're still many rough edges but it's definitely time for HN feedback! Please check out the 2min tour and try out the service.
We realized that many folks who use Dabbleboard (whiteboard app, also launched on HN a yr ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=202798) use it in combination with Skype and -sometimes- desktop sharing services. So we decided to build the complete service for online meetings. Unlike WebEx et al which are more useful for 1->many presentations, the focus here is on _collaboration_ within small groups.
Would really appreciate any feedback.
We realized that many folks who use Dabbleboard (whiteboard app, also launched on HN a yr ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=202798) use it in combination with Skype and -sometimes- desktop sharing services. So we decided to build the complete service for online meetings. Unlike WebEx et al which are more useful for 1->many presentations, the focus here is on _collaboration_ within small groups.
Would really appreciate any feedback.
Btw, the service IS live. Click "Meet" to give it a spin. The logs seem to show everyone's just checking out the video, which is unusual for HNers. No wonder there aren't any "<feature> is broken" comments.
It's good that you have a video showing the features, but it could use some more audio. The silent parts need a voiceover. It looks like there is enough stuff to talk about to fill up the whole time.
Thanks! Yeah, it's a pretty poorly made video. There're also too many times where I'm confused what feature I want to show next and I just waste time in the video. I didn't edit the video because that would make our webcam streams look jarring.
Definitely intend to make a better one for the outside-HN launch. Will also need decent copy at that time.
Definitely intend to make a better one for the outside-HN launch. Will also need decent copy at that time.
Maybe it's just me, but it took me a good while to figure out what you guys do when looking at your homepage. I'd make sure to emphasize that you are a group remote conferencing application, even if you are still in private beta.
Your slogan "fully save time, money, and the earth" is great, but make sure that people know what you're doing! Based on that slogan, you could be almost any company doing almost anything.
So I'd simply work on the marketability of it. Otherwise, the application looks great!
Your slogan "fully save time, money, and the earth" is great, but make sure that people know what you're doing! Based on that slogan, you could be almost any company doing almost anything.
So I'd simply work on the marketability of it. Otherwise, the application looks great!
Thanks. You're right about the lack of marketing; definitely need to write a lot more copy.
I'm glad you liked the "fully save time, money & the earth" slogan. I'm still waiting for commenters here to say how much they hate the name of the service though; that's been all my friends' first reaction :).
I'm glad you liked the "fully save time, money & the earth" slogan. I'm still waiting for commenters here to say how much they hate the name of the service though; that's been all my friends' first reaction :).
Looks nice, but then a screen-cast should - when do we get to play with it?
What technology are you using in the front end? I'm guessing Flash/Flex. Are you using FP10's P2P technology (Stratus?). What are you using for desktop sharing?
What technology are you using in the front end? I'm guessing Flash/Flex. Are you using FP10's P2P technology (Stratus?). What are you using for desktop sharing?
You can use it now! Click the "Meet" link on the top. Signup isn't even needed, but helps if you want to build a library of files and drawings.
Yes, using FP10's P2P tech with Stratus, with a Java applet helping for desktop sharing.
Yes, using FP10's P2P tech with Stratus, with a Java applet helping for desktop sharing.
Ahhh - I see. I Had a play - looks nice. I'll test it for real next time a need a meeting. Few things I spotted:
1. The vertical height is a little over 100% (so I have a vertical scroll bar, but only for about 20px missing off the bottom)
2. The desktop sharing plug-in crashed my Flash Player. Chrome recovered, and the second time it seemed to work, but I didn't get any notification that it had worked.
3. I really like the freehand->geometric functionality.
4. I think the dialog box at the beginning Re. UDP is not a good user experience.
If you know anything about Adobe's plan for a commercial product to replace Stratus then I'd love to talk (or even if you just have some guesses, I'd love to hear them). Email: tango charlie sierra two two zero one at gmail
1. The vertical height is a little over 100% (so I have a vertical scroll bar, but only for about 20px missing off the bottom)
2. The desktop sharing plug-in crashed my Flash Player. Chrome recovered, and the second time it seemed to work, but I didn't get any notification that it had worked.
3. I really like the freehand->geometric functionality.
4. I think the dialog box at the beginning Re. UDP is not a good user experience.
If you know anything about Adobe's plan for a commercial product to replace Stratus then I'd love to talk (or even if you just have some guesses, I'd love to hear them). Email: tango charlie sierra two two zero one at gmail
Thanks. Regarding:
1. That's intentional, so the user would scroll down past the the logo and "Signed as ..." portion at the top. But I guess that's not a good design decision.
2. Sorry! Need to test more browsers. Opera has issues too btw, but Safari+Firefox+IE seem to be happy.
4. Agreed. It turns out it's hard to check when the firewall is really blocking UDP, so we're having the user check for it. We think we have a solution for that though, and will release that soon.
No word from Adobe about a commercial version of Stratus or release date for FMS4 (which is supposed to support the functionality too). Btw, Adobe's Flash Collaboration Service (formerly "Cocomo") is also a contender for commercial release.
1. That's intentional, so the user would scroll down past the the logo and "Signed as ..." portion at the top. But I guess that's not a good design decision.
2. Sorry! Need to test more browsers. Opera has issues too btw, but Safari+Firefox+IE seem to be happy.
4. Agreed. It turns out it's hard to check when the firewall is really blocking UDP, so we're having the user check for it. We think we have a solution for that though, and will release that soon.
No word from Adobe about a commercial version of Stratus or release date for FMS4 (which is supposed to support the functionality too). Btw, Adobe's Flash Collaboration Service (formerly "Cocomo") is also a contender for commercial release.
Desktop sharing doesn't seem to work on my system (Thinkpad T60 w/ Ubuntu 8.10), and it makes my browser nearly unresponsive, even when it's the only Firefox tab. (It's a 1.83 GHz/core Centrino Duo w/ 3 GB RAM- what's your minimum system requirements?)
Also, I wasn't able to get other people to join me using the "invite" link- is there some sort of port forwarding I need to set up for this to work?
If everything worked, I'd definitely pay a reasonable monthly fee for it. So far, though, all I can do is scribble on the whiteboard.
(My contact info is linked in my profile.)
Also, I wasn't able to get other people to join me using the "invite" link- is there some sort of port forwarding I need to set up for this to work?
If everything worked, I'd definitely pay a reasonable monthly fee for it. So far, though, all I can do is scribble on the whiteboard.
(My contact info is linked in my profile.)
Your HW should be more than enough. It could be an issue with the version of your Java plugin. Do you know if you have at least 1.5?
The invite link should just work; no other setup is needed. Can you email me the link?
The invite link should just work; no other setup is needed. Can you email me the link?
I tried restarting Firefox, and desktop sharing works! I'm using the standard Java 1.6 plugin that comes with Ubuntu 8.10- anyway, glad it works now. We can continue this conversation via email.
Edit: Eh, it ended up making Firefox pretty unresponsive in the end, but I did see a screenshot of my desktop for a while, at least. :-)
Edit: Eh, it ended up making Firefox pretty unresponsive in the end, but I did see a screenshot of my desktop for a while, at least. :-)
Man I really hate Java applets.
P.S. we're looking for a salesperson or general 'business guy'. http://www.dabbleboard.com/join has a somewhat generic description. Willing to consider arrangements ranging from market-level salary to cofounder levels of equity; ideally something in the middle.
I think it would be wise to proudly feature a nice privacy policy.
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How is this different from dimdim?
Dimdim, like WebEx, seems to be optimized for presentations. For instance, they only allow 1 or 2 people to share their webcams (I think they even pitch the 2 webcams as "2 people can present together...").
AlmostMeet is more for those intense collaborative discussions within a small group. So everyone's an equal participant, even with the webcam and desktop sharing. And then there's a whiteboard that's actually usable.
Because we use P2P, the voice chat should also be better. The caveat with P2P is that it can't scale to a large number of participants, which is okay, coz neither does our interface :).
AlmostMeet is more for those intense collaborative discussions within a small group. So everyone's an equal participant, even with the webcam and desktop sharing. And then there's a whiteboard that's actually usable.
Because we use P2P, the voice chat should also be better. The caveat with P2P is that it can't scale to a large number of participants, which is okay, coz neither does our interface :).
I can't find anything that I wouldn't pay for-- this would help out our team if it turns out we can avoid firewall problems with the video streaming.
Seems like that part would be the most likely to cause issues, right?
I'll try it again when others on my team are awake to give it a shot.
Edit:
Ok, tried the voice and video-- a bit worse than other services. Kept cutting out the audio and video. Had to keep re-enabling it myself to get it to work again.
File uploads worked well there, as did images and drawings. Good stuff, but the video and audio aren't stable enough to use for a real conference. Usually it behaves fine with most services I use, but the others kept losing my video and audio in mid-sentence.
Desktop sharing seemed to work (or so it said) but it's really hard to tell what part of the screen it is showing as opposed to things like GoToMeeting.