Vyew, FreeConference plan to combine services

Computerworld - The technology behind a browser-based Web conferencing tool called Vyew will be wedded with software from FreeConference, an audio conference call service, according to makers of the two products.

The partnership, to be announced later this month, is designed to deliver the first free, integrated conference calling and Web conferencing service, according a spokesman for Vyew, a start-up of University of California, Berkeley, graduates that was recently called Simulat Inc. Simulat is still listed as the official company name on the Vyew Web site but will be changed, the spokesman said.

Each company plans to embed the other's service into its own, according to the spokesman. Vyew subscribers who want conference calling while collaborating online will be able to choose "Free conference call" in Vyew for quick access to FreeConference.com's reservationless call service.

There are already some free Web conferencing services from Yahoo Mail and Google Mail, although they offer limited functionality, said Robert Mahowald, an IDC analyst who has seen an early version of the joint product. He said he was impressed by the resulting "good mix of features" similar to those seen in more complex Web conferencing systems from IBM, Cisco Systems Inc. and Citrix Systems Inc.

Even though Vyew is used by some large companies, Mahowald predicted that it will primarily serve small and midsize business users, or even small homebound businesses since larger companies tend to rely on systems administered and installed by their IT departments.

FreeConference will offer users a new service called SharePlus desktop sharing based on Vyew's technology. SharePlus will allow document sharing and application sharing in real time during a teleconference with the activation of a single click.