The team behind LogMeIn have just taken the wraps off their new online collaboration tool, and even though it’s still in beta, it’s an impressibly fast, easy way to share work online.
Called Join.Me, the service is designed to offer incredibly simple, secure collaboration online. Users looking to host a work session online head to the Join.Me website, download a small application to their Mac or PC, which then allows them to share a special code with people they wish to collaborate with. By entering that code into the Join side of the Join.Me website, you will be able to view the host’s screen in real time.
Everything is done using 256-bit SSL encryption. The app downloaded on your computer removes itself after the app is closed, so it’s completely secure. The viewing side of things is all done using Flash, although the developers want to make it available to as many people as possible, which means we could hear about HTML5 support at a later date.
On top of a simple shared screen experience, Join.Me offers the ability to chat with other people involved in the collaboration, while the presenter can share files with viewers, cut off certain viewers and allow viewers to request control of their PC for collaboration experience. The beta also has support for teleconferencing, although at the moment that feature only supports North American numbers.
Join.Me is a free beta at the moment, although there will be a pricing structure when the service leaves beta, which the developers promise will be extremely competitive. They also want to get some feedback, which can easily be offered on the Join.Me website. From the early play we’ve had, it’s fast and responsive and one of the best collaboration tools we’ve used.
[Join.Me]