WebEx for iPad 2 with Video

The new WebEx has two way interactive video on the iPad2. This is exciting stuff! I thought I give it try today. With the help of my three-year-old, Myles, I set up a WebEx meeting to see what the new video interface looks like.

I tried a combination of portrait and landscape modes with video and screen sharing enabled. The first one pictured here is portrait mode plus screen sharing from the host. The host is also sharing video and, as you can see, the WebEx interface shows my local preview video. The video is displayed at the bottom of the screen in kind-of a theater display. The over-all look-and-feel is very Apple-like and stays true to the form and function of the iPad.



In the next screenshot, I turned the iPad2 around into landscape mode. As you can see, the content that is being shared fills more of the screen. The streaming video is overlaid on top of the bottom of the content blocking it somewhat, but not too much.



Using a zoom multi-touch gesture you can quickly and easily make the video full-screen. So, in this last screenshot, you can see the host's video in full screen mode. My preview video shows up in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and the content being shared is no longer visible. You can switch back to content sharing mode by utilizing a pinch multi-touch gesture



I'm sure there are more modes to explore but in my quick testing this morning, this is all I had time to explore. Overall, the video quality was good and I'm really excited about this functionality inside of WebEx for iPad2. I'm hoping it's also available in the iPhone version but I haven't tested that yet. So stay tuned. I hope you enjoy the new WebEx on the iPad2 with two-way streaming high quality video. Thanks.

From the Amateur Video Department: Hulu+

I just got my invite for Hulu Plus! I excitedly downloaded the app for iPad, started watching Season 2 Ep 2 of "30 Rock" and much to my dismay, it's encoded with the wrong aspect ratio. Everything is squeezed (or sqozed as they say).



Dear Hulu,

Encoding video with the wrong aspect ratio is something amateurs do. I don't expect this from a company who's sole business model is video. I hope this is not a consistent problem with the back seasons that are offered on H+. Please fix this. Thanks.

Audible App for iPhone is Buggy

This is the review I posted on the App Store:

I hate rating free apps with one star, but this app is a poor reflection of an otherwise good service from Audible.

1. Downloads are slow
I've tried for two days to successfully download "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" from my library. First, it takes an hour for a 250MB part 1. The same download on the same broadband from my Mac takes 15 minutes.

2. Downloads are incomplete or corrupt
Three times, the app downloaded an incomplete part 1 and the fourth time the book was corrupt after chapter 30. The app doesn't seem to support IOS4's ability to download in the background. Plus, there is no way to resume a failed download! You only have the option of deleting and starting over.

3. Audio playback isn't implemented correctly
IOS4 apps like Pandora and Podcaster play audio that can be paused with the iPhone headset, even when the phone is locked. This app doesn't do that, you have to use the play/pause buttons on screen which forces you to unlock the phone just to pause playback. There is an option to force the screen to stay on (never lock), but this drains battery very quickly.

4. Playback controls are inconsistent
Audio scrubbing doesn't work properly. In one case it brought me back to the beginning of the whole book. Chapter skips are inconsistent as well. I skipped from chapter two and ended up on chapter five. Very frustrating.

5. Bookmarks are local to the device
If you remove the book, you remove the bookmarks. They are not sync'd to the cloud. It sure would be great if I had to delete a book for space reasons. Then, when I was ready to read it again, after downloaded, the bookmarks were there.

Based on these problems, I'm going back to listening to Audible books using the iPod app. Audible, please fix these issues! This app has great potential.

VMware and CUCMBE 7.1.3+

For those of you wanting to run Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition (CUCMBE) on VMware for lab purposes. You'll need this tip. As a reminder, VMware is not yet officially supported in production environments.

First of all, you need VMware ESXi 4.0. When you configure your virtual machine settings select Redhat Enterprise 4, 2vCPU, 6GB memory and 250GB drive. When you boot the VM from the CUCMBE ISO, you will then be allowed to install Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition.

If you use the shipping (FCS) version of 7.1.2 or below, VMware works fine with 80GB HDD, 2GB RAM, 1vCPU.

My Fall Line of Geek Tees

I just completed my fall line of geek t-shirt purchases. This year I'm heavily influenced by Sheldon on Big Bang Theory. If you are a geek and don't watch that show, what hole have you been living in???

SheldonShirts.com is a great site that tracks the t-shirts Sheldon (Jim Parsons) wears on Big Bang Theory. I bought a couple of those and also bought some others that are influenced by the show. Here's the fall line:

You can't go wrong with Batman and Robin

This vintage TRON shirt kicks major butt!

You can't call yourself a geek without a Japanese Robot Destroyer in your closet.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. Don't get it? This should clear things up.

Thundercats HO!

Couple these great tees with some comfy long sleeve t-shirts (in assorted colors of course) from Kohls and my fall/winter wardrobe will be mostly complete. Don't expect any further fashion tips on mike.mylenbusch.org until next year.

Oh and BTW, if you are chomping at the bit for the new season of Big Bang Theory to finally start, this Jim Parsons skit on Funny or Die might help.

Eulogy Punch-Up Artist w/ Jim Parsons - watch more funny videos