| Adobe released Acrobat 8, with web conferencing, a | | | | Acrobat Connect Professional includes customizable |
| bonus gained from its acquisition of Macromedia. The | | | | meeting. Users can store and share content across |
| product upgrade will launch a hosted service called | | | | meeting rooms and easily record meetings for later |
| Acrobat Connect, which allows individuals to click on a | | | | viewing. |
| button in a PDF file to start a Web conference. | | | | Acrobat Connect Professional can be deployed in |
| This is only the first in a long line of | | | | either an on-premise, firewall configured, or through |
| collaborative-oriented features that will start to | | | | Adobe's hosted service. |
| appear in Adobe products. In truth, Connect is only | | | | This tool will offer far reaching benefits from personal |
| Maccromedia's Breeze in a new wrapper. | | | | web gatherings to online course conferencing, to the |
| "The motion forward is around personal and project | | | | typical corporate practices. The tools will enable |
| spaces where people can communicate around | | | | collaboration between individuals who are working on |
| certain issues and topics," said Ricky Liversidge, a | | | | the same project, while keeping the project on a |
| product marketing manager at Adobe. "It's like having | | | | secured server. This is paramount for the publishing |
| my personal meeting room--a URL where you go | | | | and programming industries who need to protect the |
| forward and store documents." | | | | copyright of their work. |
| A person can use Connect to let someone else view | | | | There is no 'instant' purchase option, unless you want |
| a document or a person's entire desktop through a | | | | to buy monthly. Conferencing is an individualistic |
| Web browser, much in the same way that 'go to my | | | | service. |
| PC works', but it also lets the person start an instant | | | | "Casual web conferencing users have different needs |
| message, send an invitation via e-mail, use chat, | | | | than intensive users," said Jeffrey Mann, Research |
| whiteboarding, video and audio conferencing. The | | | | Vice President for Gartner, Inc. "Lightweight |
| ability to connect over the phone could be an | | | | collaboration requires easy-to-use tools in order to |
| invaluable tool, but we have yet to see if Adobe has | | | | spread throughout an organization. Users participating |
| worked out the international logistics of this feature. | | | | in processes which require intensive use of |
| "Unlike other existing Web conferencing solutions, | | | | collaborative functionality need more capabilities. |
| Acrobat Connect enables users to choose a simple | | | | Catering for both use cases will increase flexibility and |
| and easy-to-remember Web address for their | | | | enable richer interactions." |
| meeting room, with unlimited usage for up to 15 | | | | This is one more step toward opening up the office, |
| participants," Slater said. | | | | and allowing a more diversified workplace. The |
| The service will cost individuals a modest $39 a | | | | blackboard platform style of online courses can be |
| month, or $395 a year and was released January 16, | | | | replaced by this 'live' program that will damatically |
| 2006. Corporate clients will have their own on-premise | | | | reduce the training time needed in corporations and |
| edition. | | | | reduce the need for conferences and weekend |
| Advanced web conferencing and collaboration is a | | | | workshops, saving the corporate world billions. |
| scalable solution that offers extensive meeting | | | | The adobe corporation is offering a free seminar and |
| management ability, including a powerful reporting | | | | trial from their website. While breeze is still offered, |
| system. The online meetings and events platform will | | | | Adobe has gone to great lengths to convince |
| host up to 2,500 participants. time with interactive | | | | businesses and training institutes to switch to Adobe |
| multimedia, integrated telephony, and Voice over | | | | Connect. |
| Internet Protocol. | | | | |