Element Software
Making the Connection
As a growing number of Copper developers pushed aside their PCs in favour of Macs, the tyranny of distance facing the geographically scattered team essentially dissolved into nothingness. Prendergast explains: "iChat! That and the built-in iSight camera. It's a combination that has given us the ability to collaborate and conference in real-time, dealing with development issues as if we were all sitting around the same conference table."
With the ability to video conference up to four participants and audio conference up to ten, the Mac OS X in-built iCo solution gives team members a new and valuable means of collaboration. "We have people working in Melbourne, Perth and even Singapore," Prendergast says. "We were typically bringing everyone together to discuss things would have meant either extensive travel time or costly and inflexible telephone conferencing services. iChat gives us the means of establishing Internet-based conferences in a matter of seconds.
"For individual developers, it also means they can quickly communicate with other team members on particular issues they may be facing. The result? A development team that works together and addresses issues as they arise, rather than waiting for scheduled meetings."
With the soon-to-be-released next generation Mac OS X - Leopard - Prendergast is already planning to put the new version of iChat to good use as a marketing tool. By taking advantage of the Live Theatre feature, which enables users to deliver a Keynote presentation during a videoconference, Prendergast sees enormous marketing potential. "Increasingly, professionals are realising that Inhat AV multi-way videternet-based conferencing and presentations are now a matter of course," he says. "And with iChat in Leopard, I'll be able to deliver a full presentation to existing and prospective customers without even leaving the office. The amount of time and money this is going to save could easily add up to tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars every year."
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