Apache OpenMeetings: open source replacement for GoToMeeting/Webex | Hacker News Reader

Apache OpenMeetings: open source replacement for GoToMeeting/Webex

incubator.apache.org

137 pointsxn25 comments

All of these "webex-replacement" solutions seem to have a horrible case of feature creep.

SOAP API? Private Messages? Calendar?

Isn't there a plain and simple solution? Something like an open version of the google plus hangouts

WebRTC.

WebRTC seems comparatively low-level, and I'm not sure it would support the basic use case for webex, gotomeeting, etc.: i.e., conference calls with audio, screen-sharing, and (less importantly) video of participants.

We use GoToMeeting (Citrix), and find we also regularly relay on the ability to call in from a regular phone, so this has become a requirement.

Customers calling in, anyone non-technical who's having issues getting the web client working (even the technical folks sometimes have trouble with it... they have a Java applet install/launch client software), or anyone with a flaky internet connection need this (that last one seems to happen quite frequently whenever anyone is traveling...).

The OpenMeetings API's RoomService could probably be used to create ad-hoc MeetMe or ConfBridge bridges with Asterisk.

I have rarely experienced a web meeting where the first 15 minutes were not spent twiddling thumbs because one or more participants were having issues getting connected, seeing the video, dropping connections, etc. It even happens more often than not on a simple conference call, where all you have to do is dial a number and enter a code or two.

If ANYONE ever figures out a way to make this technology really work, they will be swamped with demand.

Practice has a lot to do with it. We have a lot of telecommuters at work, and their first few meetings are problematic while they figure things out, but eventually the problems die down and things run smoothly.

Most of our meetings run without problem.

There is a company in the current batch of YC companies that is in this space as well, Screenleap. To share your screen with me, you go to screenleap.com, click the share button, and get a 9 digit number. You give that 9 digit number to me, which I then enter on the same screenleap.com, and I can see your screen.

No visible revenue stream, but those are overrated anyways, right?

This app is a bit beyond basic screen sharing, Screenleap is more of a competitor to Join.me and this is more of a competitor to WebEx etc.

Anybody else see the coincidence between the Apache announcement of the new Citrix sponsorship (platinum level) and this? What does Citrix gain out of sponsoring an organization that competes with their product line?

An excellent recruitment program to find talent for their own projects.

I thought the real issue here is that you either need server infrastructure or sufficient intermediate nodes to do NAT hole punching (like Skype)?

Google Hangouts are a nice replacement honestly. Just wish there was some calendar integration and performance was better.

The 10-user limit and no dial-in option limits its usefulness.

The screen-sharing also doesn't work very well, at least on linux. You either have to share your entire desktop, across all screens, or a single window of an application.

Flash? I mean really? Shouldn't it be using HTML5 etc? Flash is so '95 - an impression I get more and more from new projects at Apache. It starts to look as if Apache becomes a dump store for old code.

Wait until you hear how old Apache HTTPD is...

Flash is getting less fashionable, but browser support is pretty much ubiquitous.

What good is HTML5 if you're trying to set up calls with people working in large, locked-down corporations, hospitals, etc., where they don't have the choice of installing a modern browser on their work computer?

It's frustrating has hell, as a developer, but IE6 is still a painful reality for many users.

What is the HTML5 alternative? I didn't think there was any accepted standard for this stuff yet.

The great thing about having no real definition ('HTML5' is beyond meaningless at this point as a name for real, actual technology) is that it means you can theoretically use it to do anything at all!

Looks great, I agree with the other comments based on those screenshots they have a lot of work to do on usability if they want people to use it. Looks like the microsoft word of webinar software.

I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how hard it would be to totally reskin this?

i have worked with Red5 previously. Its a good streaming server for putting together a POC quickly but not the best tool for scalability and reliability. I wonder how this new effort scales on top of Red5

Apache OpenMeetings seem to have got all the features of a typical webmeeting but I wonder if it would be usable by a typical non-geek user

   but I wonder if it would be usable by a typical non-geek user

I'm working at one of the largest chip design companies, so you can assume that the engineers around me have a sound understanding of technology (I mean we know how to use all the EDA tools, if there wasn't SAP software I'd say that's the most complicated software you can get :). We use WebEx heavily for intra and inter company communication. Still many of us have trouble using it, and explaining its workings to first time users almost always takes a lot of time (and nerves!).

I'm eager to have a look at OpenMeetings. But assuming it already has all the needed corporate functions I'd say concentrating on usability (especially for new users) would be a major differentiation factor to other products in this space.

You can also try BigBlueButton: http://www.bigbluebutton.org/

Thanks. This looks like a winner.

My mentor works at http://www.salescrunch.com and from what I've seen they have came up with a very slick replacement for WebEx.

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