Sametime 8.5 packed lots of new functionality into the use of online meetings. Sametime meetings no longer require any sort of applet to be downloaded for the meeting to take place. The meeting is either run from the new rich meeting client installed as part of the Sametime client or run from a browser with no additional programs to install. Also, Sametime 8.5 meetings no longer require a reservation to set up. They occur in Meeting Rooms that permanently exist, just as if they were a physical conference room. They are also persistent, in that they can retain the content of previous visits to that particular meeting unless you choose to clear that content out. And you as an individual can have multiple Meeting Rooms based on different characteristics such as different projects or different project teams.
Meetings are now integrated as a separate toolbar in the Sametime Connect client. The Meeting bar gives you the option of reviewing your Meeting Room list.
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Remember how you had to sign into a meeting in Sametime 8.0.2? Sametime 8.5 has made it much easier. You simply join a meeting with a single click. Inviting others to your meetings is also easier. You may drag-and-drop their names from your contact list or send them a meeting invite. The invite will appear as a pop up on their Sametime client if they are using Sametime 8.5—which they can join or decline—or as a Sametime 8.0.2 user they will see a pop up with the URL of the meeting which they can only attend through a browser.
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Meeting materials such as slides, audio, or visual presentations can be uploaded through drag-and-drop from your desktop as well.
Sametime 8.5 also includes changes in the audio and video components. This now includes a standards-based infrastructure that allows integration with existing third-party audio and video conferencing systems.