The Interactive Web

1
The Interactive Web

• How do we use the WEB
• for Group Collaboration

2
Some Tools

• WEB CHAT
• CuSeeMe
• Whiteboarding
• Internet phone - Vocal tec, Netscape etc.

3
WEB Chat

• Chat group augmented for WWW
• Can include URLS in conversation, hence the chat
  session becomes multimedia enhanced
• Some problems though ...
• Current technology keeps updating a large HTML
  file, which the user keeps reloading
• Gets slower as more messages are added

4
CuSeeMe et al.

• Interactive Video conferencing
• Up to 8 sessions
• Needs a reflector site to connect
• Bilateral conversations can go directly to the
  other party
• Several commercial videoconferencing systems
  coming....

5
Internet Phone

• Add Phone capabilities to your browser (i.e.
  ATLAS)
• 2 Users can talk directly
• Problems
• audio quality (needs Pentium for good quality)
• need to prearrange call
• Regulatory??

6
Whiteboarding

• Allows 2 or more users to share the same screen.
  Each user can post text or multimedia info to the
  screen so it can be shared by all

7
GDSS

• Group Decision Support Systems
• Use the WWW to implement a distributed GDSS
• Users can brainstorm, rank ideas, rate ideas,
  sort ideas, comment on ideas etc.
• Each user sees input of all other users

8
Conclusion

• Many developments in different areas
• Frames help enormously, since you can have one
  frame that is shared by all and another that is
  local
• Good paper / project material