Yugma: cross-platform presentation software

Yugma is cross-platform presentation software, with features like desktop sharing, telephone conference call support, and session recording, for a smaller price that smaller teams can afford. Interesting to individuals, Yugma is available in a free form that retains most of the features from the full version, but limits the number of attendees to 10. A full-featured 15-day trial is available. A few months back, Matt Thommes took a look at Zoho Meeting, which is also available in a free form. Yugma is based in the Minneapolis area so it has local appeal to me. How did they get the name ‘Yugma?’

Yugma is a Sanskrit word that describes a state of togetherness

I installed Yugma on OS X Leopard and shared my desktop with Matt in the Chicago area. Matt wasn’t able to get the web viewer (Java applet) working from his Windows environment, in either Internet Explorer and Firefox. In order to continue with our test, Matt installed the OS X desktop client on his end, and then was able to connect to my meeting. Unfortunately we weren’t able to record any troubleshooting information to provide to Yugma from our problems with the web viewer.

We were also able to take advantage of the conference call feature, even through the initial connection difficulties. I’m familiar with Microsoft LiveMeeting, and Yugma works in the same way. Meeting hosts initiate a conference call. Meeting attendees call-in to a toll-free telephone number, enter a code for the meeting, and join the call. Up to 10 callers can connect with the free version. Callers hear elevator music before the meeting starts, similar to Microsoft LiveMeeting. Matt noted that the conference call experience with Yugma was comparable to GoToMeeting.

Product updates

Yugma offers Skype integration as a plug-in for Windows and OS X (Linux support was “Coming Soon” as of this writing). We were not able to test the Skype plug-in support. If you have experiences with Skype and Yugma, please share them in the comments.

As of this writing, Yugma is on Version 3 of their software. Here is a snippet of a recent press release discussing new features in version 3.

Yugma version 3 has some new features, including a persistent/always on interface, a distinctive new look and feel, and a new ’super lightweight’ viewer for session joiners. Version 3 will provide Yugma users with greater reliability, improved ease of installation and improved ease of use.

Paid version features

The free version of Yugma does not include all features, though a 15-day trial is available for new users. Two useful feature of the paid version are:

• Allowing remote users to control the mouse. This can be useful for collaboration, where someone else can lead a discussion, controlling slide software, or collaborative development such as document or code changes.
• Recording the session. This would be useful to archive and share with teammates on your company intranet.

For full details, check out the pricing and feature comparison table on this page.

Issues

Yugma is a relatively new company so their software is bound to have some issues. In general we found that core functionality worked as advertised. For a free, cross-platform product, that’s very valuable. Cross-platform tools that work well are difficult to develop and Yugma will help many individuals and small businesses by providing a no cost (or low cost) presentation platform. That being said, I noted the following minor issues:

• Yugma conference call voice prompts ask for an “Access code” while the desktop application software displays “Session ID” (they are the same), a small difference that confused me initially as a new presenter. I found the placement of the “Share this session ID” button (on the OS X desktop client) unintuitive. The default choice for session sharing was to launch the local mail application. There was no warning for this. I think the default option being a URL to copy and paste would be less invasive.
• We also noted that the conference call did not end when I ended the desktop sharing session. I would assume the conference call would end at some point, though I didn’t see an indication of how long the conference call would go on for. Matt also pointed out that it was unclear whether the conference call was being recorded. If it was being recorded, how long is the recorded phone session stored on Yugma servers? Individuals or businesses may be concerned about discussing sensitive strategy or product information on a third-party conference call. Yugma could add more information to clarify where and how this information is stored, to help alleviate some privacy concerns.
• We found portions of the Yugma website to display differently in different browsers, like Firefox and Safari. For a cross-platform application, Yugma should probably do more browser testing on different platforms to help keep the web experience consistent.

Links

• Skype extras page, including current rating from Skype users as an “extra” and some useful comments
• Yugma YouTube page with some official demo videos, including an “offbeat” conspiracy theory video?
• Bex Huff, Minneapolis-area programmer and writer shares his privacy concerns on Yugma

Competitors (worth a look for your company)

• WebEx
• Adobe Connect
• IBM Lotus SameTime
• VNC Reflector (more manual work, appropriate only for a technical audience)
• Microsoft LiveMeeting
• GoToMeeting
• Zoho Meeting

Have you given Yugma a try? Please share feedback in the comments.