In the ongoing investigation of webconferencing tools, I have a quick investigation of Dimdim. Dimdim can be seen as a competitor for WebEx and Elluminate (Elluminate is already well-accepted in the academic arena). A major advantage is that Dimdim does not require users to install software on their computers to attend web meetings. Dimdim is browser based and works via an Adobe Flash plugin so will work on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Note: Screen sharing only available Windows to Windows (not Mac/Linux)
Dimdim Editions:
There a four editions of Dimdim. My testing has been with the free version.
- Dimdim Free – Small meetings & teams
- Dimdim Pro – Small businesses & sales teams
- Dimdim Enterprise – Large institutions & universities
- Dimdim Open Source – Developers & hi-tech enthusiasts
Dimdim’s major selling point is its ease of use – with people invited to webconferences only having to go to the site (via an emailed URL) and they can start using the service.
Dimdim is the free web conferencing service where you can share your desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam with absolutely no download required for attendees.
Well, not quite. You do have to download and install a browser plug-in for sharing your screen (see comment #1 below). This could actually be a stumbling block for some users as you have to clear the site to be able to install the plug-in. You will then have to restart Firefox; if you had just started a meeting –oops!– it’s gone on the restart.
Invitations can be send to email addresses from within DimDim. The recipient clicks on the link in the invitation and is taken to the WebMeeting.
Using the interface is not too difficult, and getting a shared power point presentation up and running was only a matter of a few clicks and a slight wait while the file uploaded. You can also upload a file and switch over to it if you chose one of the other session start up formats.
You can share PowerPoint or PDF files, not Word or Excel you would need to show your desktop for those file types … this will limit the document share usefulness with some users.
[1] Dimdim [Dimdim]
[2] Dimdim Blogblog
