Video + Screen sharing is something we’ve been waiting for, in a way that only requires a browser to initiate, for YEARS. Looks like our friends at Citrix have done a spectacular job on this Beta of HD video webcam sharing along with GoToMeeting 5.0 we just tried out. Both for remote research and for remote collaboration, this looks seriously slick. Especially in the wake of Skype introducing the weirdest pricing ever for their multiple webcam meetings, this is solid timing for GoToMeeting. Huge props to Citrix and check out these screenshots of both “remote user research view” and “actual meeting view.” It’s worth noting that one of us was on a Sprint 4G mobile broadband connection in Portland and sharing video and the screen worked close to flawlessly. Of course there was a tiny bit of lag here and there, but that’s the internet at work. The small details like being able to switch from 16:9 to 4:3 video and change the size and position of the video means that recording our next remote research session will look gorgeous. Now it’s time to add a “do you have a webcam” question to the default ethnio screener. Seriously, I just added that.

The Remote User Research View

The Meeting View

Not specifically related to remote research, but we do a ton of remote meeting with clients and staff using GTM, and this is a huge improvement.