As you may have realised if you’ve been reading these pages recently, I’m currently trialling out technologies for my language-training business.  I alighted on one system which required very little software to be installed (just an “add-in” for your browser) called Adobe Connect.  I’ve been trying it alongside the ubiquitous Skype Premium for about three weeks now.  Here are some initial conclusions.

Adobe Connect is fine at screensharing, whiteboard and video.  Its audio performance, even after running the wizard, doesn’t seem as robust as Skype’s though.  That is to say, voice performance was better when we used Skype alongside Adobe for the sound, as when we used Adobe on its own.  This is a little strange.  I could understand a separate telephone network working better, but not a separate VoIP software using exactly the same bandwidth.

And though Skype has its detractors, its interface and optimisation procedures continue to be more user-friendly than the enterprise-environment of Adobe’s product.

I’d be interested in any thoughts any of you might have on the subject – especially technical explanations for the above circumstances.  And if you have any experience of other systems or combinations of systems out there, I’d also be most interested in learning from you.  In my case, I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that if Adobe Connect could be made to work on its own, I’d go for it – even though it’s about seven times more expensive than Skype Premium.  But if I can become comfortable with Skype’s screenshare facilities and lack of back-office features, I may skip the undoubted bells and whistles – easy-to-manage record of sessions, invitation procedures, attendee management etc. – that Adobe Connect clearly offers.

Especially if I need to use a separate facility for reliable audio.