Dimdim offers synchronized co-browsing in web conferencing upgrade

Dimdim has released an upgrade of its open source web conferencing software that features synchronized co-browsing, enhanced performance and greater scalability.

The Boston-based company said the 4.5 version of its namesake software allows users to plug-in URLs and share web-based data and videos with other browser users and scroll sites in unison -- and at "phenomenal" speed, executives said.

This SynchroLive Co-browsing feature is part of Dimdim's new SynchroLive Communications Platform that automatically scales to ensure that all sharing activities -- whether the desktop, webcam data, powerpoints and web pages are synchronized.

The software -- which competes against proprietary offerings such as WebEx and Go To Meeting -- allows group leaders to load and play videos that meeting attendees can navigate and view in real time from a browser, and scroll through a web page or navigate a web site together.

Dimdim added new nodes to the software's cluster-based architecture to enable superior performance.

"The cool thing is scalability without making the cost of ownership higher," said Prakash Khot, CTO of Dimdim, noting the solution is purely browser based and requires no download. "We see a lot of demand for screen sharing as an application."

This is the fourth iteration of Dimdim. Dimdim Pro 4.5 starts at $99 per year for an unlimited number of meetings. Dimdim also offer a free hosted service for meetings with fewer than 20 attendees.

Dimdim also released the "Liberty" Open Source Community Edition under a GPL3 license and makes the software available as a VMware virtual appliance.

The company also pointed out that its software is integrated with other open source offerings such as Zimbra e-mail, Moodle's course management system, SugarCRM CRM system and Claroline collaborative learning environment.