Product Review: Mikogo 4 (Beta)
By Bruce Preston
For about a year now I have been using Mikogo to provide screen sharing to support my monthly virtual SIG meetings. Some of you may remember that we had started using Dimdim, but had some stability problems. Mikogo 3 has proven to be rock-solid, is full featured, and is free for both private and commercial use, supporting up to 10 participants. (The paid version supports 25 participants.)
Recently I acquired a new notebook running Windows 7 64-bit, installed Mikogo 3, and ran into a conflict with the assistive technology program that I need to use - a full-blown machine lockup. I went to their website and found that the release 4 beta was available. I tried it and it resolved the conflict with my assistive utility. It even fixed the 'flicker' problem I had with version 3 when running on my XP desktop. So I upgraded to version 4 all around.
There are some enhancements in 4, as well as a change in installation. Previously the host of the conference needed to install the mikogo-host.exe and start a session. Participants would then go to the Mikogo web site and 'join a session' by providing a session number and then accepting a small download. This has changed. Participants now have a choice of downloading and installing either mikogo-host.exe (which lets them initiate sessions or become presenter for a session initiated by someone else, or download mikogo-client.exe which lets them participate as a viewer only. The host version is under 5.3MB in size; I suggest using it and being done with it. It runs 'as is', just creating a configuration file in the same folder where it keeps your preferences.
The host only runs when you request it, it is not a resident service. A user must launch it; it does not provide un-attended remote access as is the case with say Remote Desktop or LogMeIn.
Mikogo 4 supports a 'white board' whereby the presenter or a participant may highlight, box etc. areas of the presenter's screen. This is handy for drawing attention to a portion of the screen such as when asking a question. It supports file transfer. Anyone running the host version may become the presenter, and remote control may be given to a participant. The entire desktop may be shared, or only a specified application's window. There is a session recording feature that I have not yet tried.
There is a free audio conferencing capability, but the call-in number could be a toll call, so we use the free Skype group calling function instead. Skype to Skype calls are free, and group call supports up to 15 participants.
Beta problems:
I have only run into one problem so far. Some participants have had a problem joining a Mikogo 4 session when they are using the on-the-fly download of version 3. According to the blog this is an intermittent problem. The easy fix is to use version 4 on all machines.
Mikogo lists itself as being "cross platform" as it supports Windows and Mac. The Linux community has pointed out that lack of native Linux support means that 'cross platform' is overstated. It is unknown as to whether there will be a native Linux release, but the site says that Mikogo will run within WINE, the Windows environment that runs within Linux.
Discontinued feature: Version 3 had a feature where a presenter could permanently 'reserve' a 9-digit session ID and submit it to the participants well in advance. The problem was that people were using "simple" IDs such as 123-456-789 or 111-222-333 and then complaining when "strangers" joined their session. This mechanism has been discontinued. A presenter may truly reserve a session ID by scheduling a session - but it has a finite lifespan. Mikogo will not assign a scheduled ID to an ad-hoc session.
if you have need for screen sharing or provide remote support, be it for a SIG or to support family or clients, give Mikogo 4 a look. The beta version has now expired, and there is a link on the home page for the Mikogo 4 download at www.mikogo. com.
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