[vxNsr]

> And it's well-known that the "bowling alley" visual of meeting participants (camera at the end of a long conference table) isn't ideal. If each participant has their own laptop camera on themselves, it could be a vastly better experience for remote participants.

My company pushes us to have any conference that will include remote people from our desks, even if some or most of the attendees are in the same physical local. It means that no audio is dropped bec of too much cross-talk and that all attendees are on the same footing. Only real issue is that we don’t automatically get headsets, you need to request/expense it.

[gregmac]

Yeah, this is just a much better way to conduct meetings.

I've been in many meeting rooms where there's a single projector/tv, and the person controlling it only shows either the remote cameras OR their screen (while they're sharing), so that isolates the remote people even more. (I've also been the remote person in this situation, and it definitely feels more like being an occasionally noisy fly on the wall then a full participant).

Everyone also gets their full desktop (big/multiple monitors, full keyboard, etc).

It'll be interesting to see what happens post-lockdown.. will the people miss the benefits of "one remote = all remote" and have more empathy for remote people, or will we go back to the same old?

[vxNsr]

> It'll be interesting to see what happens post-lockdown.. will the people miss the benefits of "one remote = all remote" and have more empathy for remote people, or will we go back to the same old?

I think it'll be like everything that could be learned during this time, someone has to recognize the lesson and actively work to implement it.

My main issue with using my desk is that I normally keep my laptop closed and off to the side, so if I just open it the view of me is in profile and doesn't look like I'm paying any attention, IT is loath to buy an external webcam for anyone because "every laptop comes with a webcam," luckily I was able to source a spare one they had. But I know that most of the desks are set up the same way as mine, so most people either choose to use their laptop screen as the main monitor or just don't enable video for the call.

[wnoise]

> have any conference that will include remote people from our desks,

This is great for the participants, but absolute hell for everyone else in open offices, or even shared offices.

[irjustin]

Really late to the party, but I love this concept. I feel like this would be really difficult in an open office/shared office.

I enjoy team based offices, 7-10 man rooms. Even in there, this would probably be a nightmare unless you had this tech running in real time so you don't get microphone crosstalk/echo.

None the less, I really like the spirit of the system.

[tudorw]

Apparently IBM tested a system where participants faces were projected onto dummies faces in a real room, voice related through speakers on each dummy, then the whole thing recorded and broadcast to participants.