Last week, a patent filing credited to Apple Computer and titled "Method and apparatus for establishing communication between two teleconferencing endpoints" turned up at the European Patent Office.
The filing is being discussed heavily on the Internet as it includes diagrams that suggest Apple could be working on a virtual whiteboard technology that may eventually make its way into applications such as iChat.
In addition to chat and video conferencing windows, figures in the filing appear to show a live communication window in which the residing media content can be manipulated in real-time by parties on both ends of the communication spectrum.
"Such applications sometimes also include data sharing wherein various types of data such as documents, spreadsheets, graphic data, or other types of data, can be shared and manipulated by all participants in the teleconference," Apple software engineers explained in the "Background" to the filing.
I'd be much more impressed if Groove hadn't released this product 5 years ago. Apple is really behind the times on this one, I don't know how they would get a patent based on their writeup here since it's so similar sounding. Microsoft bought Groove a few years ago, so all of this is going to be included in the next version of Office. More info at http://www.groove.net
Now if they only had some way to allow the video conferencing and the collaborative document to coexist...
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
Wow.
I can tell you that schools, at least those here in NYC, are buying these "smartboards". My daughters high school already has four, and they are planning on buying more.
This integration would be even better, but, in a different way.
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
Wow.
Welcome to the end 20th century... this has already been done years ago. Microsoft Netmeeting already had this exact feature (ex PDF)since Windows 95, but therea are many 3rd party apps available. At the school where I did my undergrad and grad school in engineering we've done this exact thing many times. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes not. Definitely something I could and still can live without.
I still do a lot of conferencing and I really don't miss seeing the mug of the guy I'm talking to.
Welcome to the end 20th century... this has already been done years ago. Microsoft Netmeeting already had this exact feature (ex PDF)since Windows 95, but therea are many 3rd party apps available.
I think you need to read the page I linked to. What TednDi is referring to has never been done before, without ~$20k in special hardware. (aka ClearBoard)
It's not just collaborative documents.
Quote:
At the school where I did my undergrad and grad school in engineering we've done this exact thing many times. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes not. Definitely something I could and still can live without.
Yeah... the previous attempts at solutions have either just plain sucked (NetMeeting), or have required rather expensive proprietary hardware. A truly useful version requires human-to-human interaction, which brings me to...
Quote:
I still do a lot of conferencing and I really don't miss seeing the mug of the guy I'm talking to.
Are you collaborating, or just talking? For 'just' talking, you still lose a lot of visual cues on communication, but it can be dealt with. I just entered a corporate environment where I have two or three phone conferences a week, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate them. Truly. But it's dealable.
For collaboration, however, the visual cues are almost a requirement to making it seamless.
The Wired article on FaceTop specifically mentions that the developers are interested in hooking it to iChat.
Also that the Quartz engine in OSX made it a snap to prototype, and that a Windows version will have to wait till Vista.
Very OSX centric at the moment, in other words, so I think Apple should grab these guys up and do whatever negotiations are necessary with UNC to keep it that way.
The Wired article on FaceTop specifically mentions that the developers are interested in hooking it to iChat.
Also that the Quartz engine in OSX made it a snap to prototype, and that a Windows version will have to wait till Vista.
Very OSX centric at the moment, in other words, so I think Apple should grab these guys up and do whatever negotiations are necessary with UNC to keep it that way.
I agree.
I wrote the original FaceTop. The prototype took me 45 minutes, and it was *solely* because of how much raw power was in the OS.
I already *don't* use the iSight or iChat, so any whiteboard software will be another thing that I probably won't use. I hope enough people find it useful.
Comments
Originally posted by aegisdesign
The whiteboard idea has been around since before Apple. Xerox were demoing that in the 70s.
Damn, Apple should have took that idea along with the GUI
Originally posted by Ireland
This is ****** great!
The words Bitchin'
Where's your class?
1. File zillions of patents
2. ?
3. Profit!
iChat whiteboard
Last week, a patent filing credited to Apple Computer and titled "Method and apparatus for establishing communication between two teleconferencing endpoints" turned up at the European Patent Office.
The filing is being discussed heavily on the Internet as it includes diagrams that suggest Apple could be working on a virtual whiteboard technology that may eventually make its way into applications such as iChat.
In addition to chat and video conferencing windows, figures in the filing appear to show a live communication window in which the residing media content can be manipulated in real-time by parties on both ends of the communication spectrum.
"Such applications sometimes also include data sharing wherein various types of data such as documents, spreadsheets, graphic data, or other types of data, can be shared and manipulated by all participants in the teleconference," Apple software engineers explained in the "Background" to the filing.
I'd be much more impressed if Groove hadn't released this product 5 years ago. Apple is really behind the times on this one, I don't know how they would get a patent based on their writeup here since it's so similar sounding. Microsoft bought Groove a few years ago, so all of this is going to be included in the next version of Office. More info at http://www.groove.net
Originally posted by Kickaha
Now if they only had some way to allow the video conferencing and the collaborative document to coexist...
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
Wow.
Originally posted by the_snitch
Apple Computer's Insanely Great Business Plan:
1. File zillions of patents
2. ?
3. Profit!
Time to go to iWork! iWork all night!
Search for underpants hey!
We won't stop until we have underpants!
Yum tum yummy tum hey!
Originally posted by TednDi
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
Wow.
I can tell you that schools, at least those here in NYC, are buying these "smartboards". My daughters high school already has four, and they are planning on buying more.
This integration would be even better, but, in a different way.
Originally posted by TednDi
This would be a killer app for the edu market. Put up on the virtual blackboard and allow others to collaborate via ichat and then keep the doc as a pdf.
Wow.
Welcome to the end 20th century... this has already been done years ago. Microsoft Netmeeting already had this exact feature (ex PDF)since Windows 95, but therea are many 3rd party apps available. At the school where I did my undergrad and grad school in engineering we've done this exact thing many times. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes not. Definitely something I could and still can live without.
I still do a lot of conferencing and I really don't miss seeing the mug of the guy I'm talking to.
Originally posted by the_snitch
The words Bitchin'
Where's your class?
Sorry I'll tone down the rough edges in future.
good name
Originally posted by michaelb
1. Exciting patents.
2. Steve Jobs to shareholders: ?The new products in the pipeline are the best I?ve ever seen in my life.?
3. Me happy!
Here here! oh sorry, hear hear.
Originally posted by skatman
Welcome to the end 20th century... this has already been done years ago. Microsoft Netmeeting already had this exact feature (ex PDF)since Windows 95, but therea are many 3rd party apps available.
I think you need to read the page I linked to.
It's not just collaborative documents.
At the school where I did my undergrad and grad school in engineering we've done this exact thing many times. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes not. Definitely something I could and still can live without.
Yeah... the previous attempts at solutions have either just plain sucked (NetMeeting), or have required rather expensive proprietary hardware. A truly useful version requires human-to-human interaction, which brings me to...
I still do a lot of conferencing and I really don't miss seeing the mug of the guy I'm talking to.
Are you collaborating, or just talking? For 'just' talking, you still lose a lot of visual cues on communication, but it can be dealt with. I just entered a corporate environment where I have two or three phone conferences a week, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate them. Truly. But it's dealable.
For collaboration, however, the visual cues are almost a requirement to making it seamless.
Also that the Quartz engine in OSX made it a snap to prototype, and that a Windows version will have to wait till Vista.
Very OSX centric at the moment, in other words, so I think Apple should grab these guys up and do whatever negotiations are necessary with UNC to keep it that way.
Originally posted by addabox
The Wired article on FaceTop specifically mentions that the developers are interested in hooking it to iChat.
Also that the Quartz engine in OSX made it a snap to prototype, and that a Windows version will have to wait till Vista.
Very OSX centric at the moment, in other words, so I think Apple should grab these guys up and do whatever negotiations are necessary with UNC to keep it that way.
I agree.
I wrote the original FaceTop.
Originally posted by Kickaha
I agree.
I wrote the original FaceTop.
Really! So, you're not just a pretty face.
*flutters eyelashes*