Will (in Boulder, CO) and Sebastian (in metro New Jersey) wave hello from THE FUTURE in almost-actual size:
I'm surprised how well videoconferencing -- in particular, videoconferencing with the latest version of iChat AV -- works. Like many managers, I've developed the habit of tuning out during conference calls, noodling away on something else and only playing back my mental buffer when I hear a note of confusion or anger creep into the call ("uh-oh, the vendor just started beating their chest about how it's probably OUR fault, lemme see what they said...") Videconferencing makes you feel like you had an ACTUAL GODDAMN CONVERSATION with someone, albeit a little bit slow and laggy.
What's funny is that the people in the chat window, when maximized on my Enormous New Display (you can see my 15" MacBook below the screen for size comparison), are pretty much actual size. So that gives me an excuse to say "Forgive my lack of bodily disposition, Simon Phoenix, but I do have an entire city government to run.".
I'm surprised how well videoconferencing -- in particular, videoconferencing with the latest version of iChat AV -- works. Like many managers, I've developed the habit of tuning out during conference calls, noodling away on something else and only playing back my mental buffer when I hear a note of confusion or anger creep into the call ("uh-oh, the vendor just started beating their chest about how it's probably OUR fault, lemme see what they said...") Videconferencing makes you feel like you had an ACTUAL GODDAMN CONVERSATION with someone, albeit a little bit slow and laggy.
What's funny is that the people in the chat window, when maximized on my Enormous New Display (you can see my 15" MacBook below the screen for size comparison), are pretty much actual size. So that gives me an excuse to say "Forgive my lack of bodily disposition, Simon Phoenix, but I do have an entire city government to run.".