IT and Society: Open videoconferencing system developed

Indiana University programmers have developed new software that enables people to make use of displays and touch screens for virtual interaction via Internet.

The new system is based on the Skype-like principle, but does not use any closed protocols. “The new software enables users to interact as though they were sitting in the same room”, - they say at the university.

Developers claim that the new system is designed for installation on Tablet PCs and laptops, equipped with webcams and wireless data transmission. They also highlight that on the basis of fully open technologies they managed to develop a system to work with HD-video at the conferences.

However video feature is only one of the elements of the program. It also includes a system of collaborative work under projects, what is more users may set up their own private local groups, where all the information will be hidden from external sources.

Presently the software is being tested at the university, while its completed free version will go on Internet in December 2010.