I recently tried a number of screen sharing applications and have been generally disappointed:
- Yugma has been my favorite for a while, until Yugma came out with version 3. When it version 3 was first released I had a number of problems, which I finally managed to solve, but others I am using this tool with are having similar problems, and when they do it is in general the end of the story. Verdict: failed.
- Yuuguu, despite the ridiculous name, worked more often than Yugma. Unfortunately it has been very unreliable: the connection to the server is dropping on a regular basis, forcing all the participants to rejoin the meeting. Verdict: failed.
- DimDim doesn't support screen sharing on the Mac. It also does so many things, like providing document sharing and a shared white board, that I am worried they won't focus enough on screen sharing. I tried the it on Windows and found a number of refresh issues. Verdict: failed.
- Vyew is comparable to DimDim. Screen sharing didn't on a Mac from Firefox (the whole interface got locked up) but it worked from Safari. They have a page with known bugs, which was unaccessible at the time of this writing. It works from Windows, but people on the other side see a resized view of the screen with is always either too large or too small depending on the size of your browser window. (There doesn't seem to be a "show in 1:1 button".) Also the interface is way to cluttered for my taste. Verdict: close.
- WebEx MeetMeNow is WebEx "affordable" offering ($50/month per account), but it doesn't work on the Mac. Verdict: failed.
- GoToMeeting, like WebEx MeetMeNow is priced at $50/month, and like WebEx also doesn't work on the Mac. Verdict: failed.
- Glance does just screen sharing (I like that!). It is simple and works smoothly both on Mac and Windows. Pricing is reasonable at $50/month. It just lacks one crucial feature: the ability, as a host, to make one of the attendees the presenter. If you don't need this feature, this might be a good solution for you. Verdict: close.
- LiveLook is very much like Glance, without the need to install a software, but with the same limitation: the host can't make an attendee the presenter. You pay 2.5 cents per minute per attendee. So a 1 hour meeting with 3 other people will cost you $4.50. Verdict: close.
- It works both on Mac and Windows.
- No installation is required; it runs entirely from your browser.
- It is based on open source software; it you wish, you can install WebHuddle on your own servers.
- You can schedule meetings, send a link to participants. Participants don't have to register; they just need to enter their name and email to join.
- You can switch to a full-color mode (called "JPEG mode"), so participants can see your screen exactly as you do.
- You can make other participants the presenter, at which point they can share their screen.
If you are using other screen sharing tools not mentioned here and that work well for you, please let me know in a comment below.
