Archive for 29 January 2005
Technology is the art of arranging the world so that we don’t have to experience it
Martin Heidegger
While conference calls are a great way of bringing together a group of geographically dispersed people, they’re often frustrating experiences, particularly if you’re using a standard desktop phone. One of the problems of using a standard desktop phone on hands-free is the sound quality – they’re usually half-duplex meaning that you can speak, or listen, but not both; and most of the time you’ll sound as if you’re calling from the bottom of a well. All of which makes it very much more difficult to participate.
If you’re a regular user of conference calls, you’ll probably have used Polycom’s ubiquitous ’starfish’ conference phone at some point – and it’s a device that solves most of the problems I mentioned above. It’s great for meeting rooms, but not so practical on a desk – so check out a desk-top handset that includes conferencing facilities.
Although they’re more expensive than regular desktop phones, consider this – how much does your time cost, and how much time do you waste by asking everyone “Can you repeat that please?” Chances are, a decent-quality conference system will have paid for itself inside a month.
We’ve had some Gmail invites to give away over the last couple of weeks (sorry, all gone for now) – but if you’re new to the service, this might be of interest.
Jim Barr’s Complete Collection Of Gmail Tips is a complete collection of all the tips he’s posted on gmailtips.com It’s worth a visit if you’re new to the service and wanting to get up to speed quickly – alternatively if you’ve been using it for a while, chances are that you’ll learn something new!
