I'm pleased to announce iGlance, my long-time labor of love video/voice/file/screen-sharing application. Check out www.iglance.com for more details, subscribe to the mailing list for an ondoing discussion, or follow this blog for the occasional announcement. As for what it's all about, here's a quick summary from the website:

I built iGlance to "scratch the proverbial itch". The concept first came to me when I bought a Sony Picturebook which had a cool camera built in that I never, ever used. Then, as I was doing some travelling, I realized that something like iGlance would be incredibly useful for staying touch and remaining productive as a telecommuter. After all, the internet works everywhere, why can't I? It started to get serious when I figured out how to make it work in the real world, and the last piece fell into place while reading a and finally getting a clear vision in my head. A month later I had a tech demo, in six a prototype, and now fourteen months and 2300 hours into it, I'm writing these words.

Basically iGlance tries to recreate the advantages of "being there", but remotely, over the internet. In essence I asked "What's so great about being physically present? Well, I can see you, I can talk to you, I can see your computer, I can use your computer... Heck, I can do all that online!" With iGlance, you can continue using the same "social tools" you've refined for when physically present, but from any internet connection. Peeking over a cubical wall is replaced with glancing at your buddy list. Yelling across the room is push-to-talk. Screen sharing is asking you to sit at my keyboard. Everything is oriented around this central metaphor.

So give iGlance a shot and break free from the tight leash of the physical world. I've got some favorite spots to work; when you find yours, let me know.

Don't settle for a phone call. Just be there, from anywhere.

-david (dbarrett@quinthar.com)
2005/9/27, 9:18pm
Matrix Fillmore
San Francisco, CA, USA