Getting the best speed
If you're using either of these Internet Collaboration tools, remember that the faster connection and the more system resources you have available, the better the results will be. So:
Standard collaboration tools
Audio: Audio conferencing allows you to speak
into a microphone and for the other person to hear what you are
saying through their speaker. To use the audio functions you'll
need a microphone and a soundcard. Purchasing a full duplex
soundcard, which can send and receive at the same time, will
improve your system performance. If you're using a half duplex
card, which can both send and receive but only do one at a time,
like a CB radio, your sound quality will be poorer. Sending and
receiving audio hogs your processors time and consumes Internet
bandwidth. It is one area of these programs that should see
significant improvement if speed can be increased.
Chat: Chat is a text-based application allowing the meeting participants to type in the chat window and to view the messages that the other participants are typing. This will be familiar to anyone who has used Internet Relay Chat. It is useful for recording meeting notes as the Chat window's contents can usually be saved and printed. It's also the only way to communicate if one user doesn't have access to audio features or if a participant can't use their speakers because of interference to others around them.
Whiteboard: The Whiteboard allows you to interact visually by sharing a whiteboard window. This is similar to the Windows paint application and you can type into it, open image files (including grabbing screenshots) and use tools, such as the highlighter and remote pointer, to draw attention to items on it. The Whiteboard window is synchronised so that everyone can see the same drawing and everyone can draw on the space simultaneously.
File exchange: File exchange allows you to send and receive files while you are in a call.
Over and out . . .
Without some system of negotiating who will talk and when, you'll
find that your audio communication involves either neither of you
speaking or both of you talking at once. At best this is
frustrating, at worst highly unproductive. Using the
communications protocols such as "Over", "Roger,
Copy" and "Over and Out" to hand over the
conversation to the other party, while they may sound forced, are
extremely useful to organise the conversation efficiently.