A developer of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology has released a new
application that allows groups of users to view a Microsoft
PowerPoint presentation over the Internet in a collaborative
setting.
Called Presence-AR Adapter for Microsoft PowerPoint, the product is
sold as an add-on for Microsoft's presentation software and allows
multiple users to simultaneously view a PowerPoint presentation
over the Web. The presentation can be stored on several PCs across
a network to provide faster access to the files being viewed, Derek
Ruths, chief technology officer of Advanced Reality, said.
The software adds a button to the PowerPoint interface that allows
a "host user" to invite participants to view a presentation online.
When the host initiates the session, a screen appears that is used
by the host to manage the session. As participants are invited to
join the session, the presentation file is sent out over the
Internet or a private network to other users in the group. This is
done by way of a technology protocol based on the one used by the
online file-sharing service Gnutella.
As more users join the collaborative session, the P2P file-sharing
technology allows new participants in the session to receive
portions of the PowerPoint file from other users taking part. The
idea is to take advantage of the other peers in the session to make
the PowerPoint file faster to upload. When the session involves a
4Mbyte PowerPoint file, for example, a single user could pull a
1Mbyte portion of the file from each of four users on the network.
"The more people in the collaboration session, the faster it goes,"
Ruths said. He noted that it takes less time to upload four 1Mbyte
files than a single 4Mbyte file.
A few vendors already offer applications that allow multiple users
to view PowerPoint presentations over the Internet, including WebEx
Communications. However unique to Advanced Reality's software, says
Ruths, is the use of P2P technology to make sharing documents
faster than competing Web-based systems.
For example, using a standard compression technology, images
contained in a PowerPoint presentation would load almost instantly
on a users machine, regardless of the size of the image file and
regardless of the speed at which a participant is connected to the
Internet, according to Ruths. Images will first appear fuzzy for
users with slow connection speeds, and then sharpen as the download
process completes.
Users can navigate through the slides in a PowerPoint presentation
at their leisure, regardless of which slide the host user is
viewing. With some other Web-based systems, the leader of an online
session controls which slide viewers get to see. Similarly, if the
host of the session logs off, with Presence-AR the remaining users
can continue viewing the document.
In addition to enabling multiple users to view PowerPoint
presentations, Advanced Reality's software includes an instant
messaging client that allows users to chat while viewing a
presentation. Each user also has an on-screen pointer that shows up
on the shared view of the presentation, which can be used to point
at parts of a document or navigate through it.
The P2P technology behind the PowerPoint product can also be
modified for use with other applications. "We don't have to go to
vendors to collaborate with their applications because it only
interacts with the data," Ruths said.
The company already offers a version of its product for the
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program. It has also developed custom
adaptors for internal applications used by some of its customers,
Ruths said.
Presence-AR Adapter for Microsoft PowerPoint costs $1,295 (£861),
including a starter kit and licences for 15 users. Additional user
licenses cost $35 each. Customers must pay an additional 25% of the
licensing fee each subsequent year for maintenance and updates. The
software is available on the Web at
www.advancedreality.com
Advanced Reality said it plans to release an upgrade to its
PowerPoint product in the coming weeks that will allows users to
create new PowerPoint presentations or edit existing presentations
in a collaborative setting, rather than simply view existing
presentations. Customers who purchase the version released this
week will be eligible for a free upgrade, the company said.