A multimedia desktop collaboration system

Desktop multimedia conferencing, which can enhance the quality of collaboration between remote participants, is considered. The architectural and implementation issues involved in the design of such an application are discussed. A prototype desktop conferencing system is presented. It provides a multiparty collaborative environment which integrates high-quality video and audio with a shared workspace manager. Some of the distinguishing features of this system are the flexibility to support various types of collaboration, full-motion (30-frames/s) video, support for multiple video windows, and unconstrained audio. The shared workspace manager allows existing X-windows applications to be used concurrently by the participants in the conference