I wanted to take this opportunity to offer some assistance and guidance regarding your concerns regarding Elluminate Live!, specifically regarding your issues you mention below.

Elluminate is a Java based application and requires both Java to be installed and the opening of a couple of ports which are sometime closed by systems administrators. Indeed the ports had been closed but that obstacle could be overcome. But, for one reason or another (I am not quite sure what), the application could not be got to run on Windows XP machines on the clients network. So I was left looking for an alternative.

You are correct in that Elluminate Live! is a Java based application that requires both Java to be installed and ports to be open. To accommodate individuals who may have ports blocked and a more restrictive network, the Elluminate Live! client will attempt its connection on several ports simultaneously, intelligently selecting the route for the best experience. Port 2187 is used by default but will fall back to port 80 if necessary, as most people have port 80 open for web surfing.

This is the point where it can be more involved and difficult for certain situations. Should the client computer connect through a proxy server and require settings, it is possible that these settings were required to be entered into the Elluminate Live! client as well for proper access on any one of the accessible ports.

This is one scenario that can be frustrating and difficult to manage for some individuals. I would love to speak with you, should you wish to investigate your problem. Please feel free to contact me should you wish to discuss this further.

It was a pleasure reading your article and reviewing your findings. Elluminate strives to provide the best experience possible and if we can help you in any way please let us know.

Best Regards,

Dan LeBlanc
Manager, Technical Support
Elluminate, Inc.
http://www.elluminate.com

We use that system because we have access to it, but recently have been looking for alternatives including most of which you have also played with. I have used Adobe connect in the past and found it to be the best so far BUT the cost means that very few have it (Adobe seem to be missing a trick here). Elluminate works ok but its interface is pretty average and not that intuitive for many hence looking at other options.

The result of all of this is that many systems claim to work but in reality do not even jump the first hurdle of getting connected. As a backup, we use skype and put materials online outside of elluminate (e.g. vimeo/youtube and slideshare).

If you do find a better solution do let us know,

Regards

Zak

BBB has a test server set up at the main .org site and an active BigBlueButton-Dev discussion going on Google Groups. Worth a look!

I think it’s time to try Second Life…

It works really great in audio/chat conference. I’m not a big fan of SL but I’ve tried it in a task that I’ve presented with my #mpel3 collegues.

We talked about Twitter -> http://www.slideshare.net/nelasport/twitter-3008717 – I was main speaker and we got a good feedback.

Paulo Simões