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November 24, 2006

Moodle integration

One of our customers, NITLE, started a summer of code project last summer. The project's goal was to integrate Marratech into the very popular open source Learning Management System (LMS) called Moodle. The ambition of the project was for students to gather experience in systems integration using extreme programming as a programming method and producing code that is maintainable.

The result is a first prototype integration release. The source code is available on SourceForge and the installation instructions on the moodle web site.

Marratech provided the appropriate server software and technical support. I am happy to report that NITLE needed very little support and did this project by itself for the most part. NITLE used the Marratech API to accomplish the integration.

While it is a prototype, and as such is not ready for prime time, we believe it creates a great base for further work. The source code is under GPL, meaning any adaptations will require you to upload the changes made. We hope that this work will act as a catalyst for further improvements in the plugin.

It was really nice to work with Eric J and Eric H on this and I hope to work with them again!

We like the idea of integration work being open source, as the community can save time and money by improving, adapting and extending what has already been done!

Here is a document sent to me by NITLE to explain the project and future work:






Moodle-Marratech Integration Project
NITLE | National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education
http://nitle.org

Overview of the Project

The goal of the project was to prototype an interface between Moodle and Marratech in the form of a Moodle plug-in and server-side components that would permit Marratech resources to be scheduled and allocated from Moodle. The code communicates from Moodle PHP plugin to Java components (servlets) via HTTP, and the Java code communicates with Marratech via the Java API exposed by the Marratech Manager.

The system developed in the prototype resolves many of the complexities of this issue, including identifying and preventing of conflicts in resource usage (i.e. exceeding the number of licensed seats at any given time), how to integrate with real-world user expectations (for example, configurable “buffer” zones around meeting times to reflect early arrivals and late departures), how to de-allocate resources in the event of unexpected conflicts (i.e. a virtual meeting running over time), logging and activity tracking, and how to invite outsiders (non-Moodle course members) as well as notify and remind users of meeting times. The project also approached these questions with the goal of maintaining Moodle’s approach to user experience.

The code was developed in the summer of 2006 by a group of 10 students from liberal arts colleges that are NITLE participating institutions, and the students were guided by faculty mentors and others. The student development team used the extreme programming methodology to develop the prototype code. The prototype code works in development environments, and is currently undergoing testing before it is used on a production system.

The Future

We hope others see the value of this project and will contribute to it. The current code is only a prototype, and we would be very willing to share our experiences with those who could assist in organizing it into a deployable product.

In reflecting on the prototype, we felt some design features of such a product would be important:

• A pluggable calendar system: the prototype uses the local Moodle calendar, but a more robust system might plug in to other calendar systems. We have noted that many users of Moodle have other calendar systems where Marratech scheduling might also need to appear. We suggest Google Calendar as a potentially valuable initial target for a plug-in, given the robust features, the detailed API access, and strong publication features of Google Calendar.

• The prototype never resolved successfully a protocol for dropped connections to Marratech when reconnecting from Moodle. Such users, for technical reasons, would be counted again for each connection, which could lead to an inaccurate assessment of the seat usage.

• The prototype code requires PHP 5. This is one version above the minimum requirement for Moodle. Rewriting the code to function under PHP4 might be necessary for some production environments

Posted by Serge Lachapelle at 02:43 PM | Comments (2)

New server and client available!

As promised on this blog, our new software is now available for download.

Our forum entries (here) and (here) lists all the new features, but I would like to single out a few for you.

We are taking major strides in helping out customers leverage their H.323 investments. Version 3.5 of the server let's H.323 end points dial into a meeting room. This means you can both dial out from Marratech or dial in from H.323. It just goes to prove our strong commitment and focus on interoperability.

On the client side, the most notable changes are in video and audio. With echo cancellation, we hope to make first time meetings (often without a headset) much more enjoyable. Our improved H.264 video will surely be appreciated as well.

Large scale deployments have been made easier through the ability to deploy preset preferences (just edit the preferences file from the jar file before rolling out) and moderation of all participants can be achieved through a simple click. (Yes, the middle and right mouse buttons have been swapped!)

Last time we had a major release was in January 2006. While we have been working on major consultancy projects, we have also been closing bug after bug and working on this new functionality.

We hope you also think 6.1 and 3.5 are a step in the right direction. We welcome your comments!

Posted by Serge Lachapelle at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2006

"Green" Marratech in Svenska Dagbladet

One day, I would like to sit down and go through how much energy and pollution is saved through the use of our software.

At Marratech, most of us can avoid rush hour, we work productively from home and we meet customers from all over the world on our screen.

In fact, taking myself as an example, the use and evolution of our software has had the following consequences:

-1 or 2 trips to Lulea per year instead of more than 10 in 1999

-2 trips to the US per year, instead of earning a Gold Status in 2000 / 2001

-Work from home at least 3 days a week.

Energy wise, this must be very good. Less fossil fuels burned, less congestion on the roads and public transport, etc...

Now if 5 % of the population could do something like this and reduce their energy consumption as I have, imagine the result! The infrastructure is there... only people's behavior needs changing... we are a stubborn species.

All of this rambling is to mention that Svenska Dagbladet mentions Marratech in an article where the environmental impact of Trains vs Planes is discussed in Swedish.

Our CEO, Lars Persson, mentions that 3 out of 4 meetings could be replaced with technology such as our own. And that many green-companies and organizations are finding their way to Marratech... our turnover has doubled during the past year.

Posted by Serge Lachapelle at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

Marratech in the Times

Marratech has been mentioned in the Times' Higher Education Supplement. Here is an excerpt, about how the university is organizing a large socio-economic forum using Marratech:

Delegates will gather at university "hubs" across the world to view speakers on big screens - 36 are so far expected in Manchester and about 50 in Tallinn, Estonia, as well as groups in up to 15 other venues linked to the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), from San Diego, California, to Zhejiang in China. But others will also be able to watch proceedings from laptops on their kitchen tables and even interrupt, so long as they have a microphone. This will be made possible through a combination of access-grid technology and video conferencing in the university hubs and Marratech technology for desktops.

Full article follows:

Meeting of young minds in the cities of cyberspace'

Times Higher Education Supplement (posted here with permission)
27 October 2006

An e-conference unites postgraduate geographers from around the globe, reports Harriet Swain

Our monthly guide to some of the conferences taking place around the world.

What better venue in which to discuss urban life and locations in today's world than somewhere that transcends both time and place - cyberspace?

This idea will be put to the test next month at a three-day e-conference, Researching Contemporary Cities, organised by postgraduates for postgraduates, with the support of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), an international alliance of higher education institutions committed to establishing collaborations.

The conference, which covers aspects of political and economic restructuring in cities from post-Olympic Athens to the regeneration of Cork and Limerick, and from regulation of erotic labour to political legitimacy in post-apartheid South Africa, will take place on successive Thursdays. It kicks off each day at 4pm UK time to fit in with different time zones.

Delegates will gather at university "hubs" across the world to view speakers on big screens - 36 are so far expected in Manchester and about 50 in Tallinn, Estonia, as well as groups in up to 15 other venues linked to the WUN, from San Diego, California, to Zhejiang in China. But others will also be able to watch proceedings from laptops on their kitchen tables and even interrupt, so long as they have a microphone. This will be made possible through a combination of access-grid technology and video conferencing in the university hubs and Marratech technology for desktops.

Speakers will make their papers available online before the conference, delegates will be able to access videos of the conference proceedings after the event and a conference website noticeboard will allow discussions to continue.

Attendance is free but, with no hotel rooms or flights to book, organisers do not know how many participants to expect, although they have asked people to send an e-mail to let them know they intend to drop in.

Ross Jones, one of the conference organisers, says there is an element of trust involved in organising an e-conference, since you cannot simply bundle people out of the room or switch off their microphones if they interrupt once too often. "It could be an issue for the future if e-conferences become more popular," he says. "At the moment, people who know about a conference tend to be those who are interested and wouldn't want to be disruptive."

E-conferences have been around in different forms for a number of years, but underdeveloped technology has generally made them risky events to hold, and relatively basic. With technology improving all the time and concerns about the impact of air travel on climate change moving up the agenda, they are becoming more important features of academic life, according to Dee Gilmore-Steward, WUN manager in Manchester.

They are also particularly suited to postgraduates, says David Pilsbury, WUN chief executive. This is, first, because they are cheap - significant when most university budgets for postgraduate travel are tight or non-existent.

Pilsbury also argues that it is particularly important for postgraduates to become involved in global networks early "when they are developing a sense of themselves in a globalised world".

In addition, e-conferences offer the possibility for postgraduates to
disseminate their ideas and hear the ideas of other young scholars
withoutbeing shouted down by more senior academics. The WUN regularly holds virtual seminars on topics ranging from earth systems to multilingualism in the Middle Ages, but these follow a traditional format of main speaker and questions from students. Feedback suggests what e-delegates really value is hearing questions from their equivalents in different parts of the world.

Pilsbury suggests this democratisation and opening up of academic communities is the result of the growing redundancy of gatekeepers in many fields, thanks to the worldwide web. "Peer-to-peer interaction is part of the 21st-century way of doing things," he says.

He sees postgraduate e-conferences as academic extensions of social networking sites such as UniVillage or MySpace.

This is demonstrated by the origins of the Researching Contemporary Cities conference. The idea came from postgraduates who had returned from a trip to the US and wanted to continue the academic dialogue they had started with peers in American universities.

A follow-up face-to-face event will take place at the Association of American Geographers' annual conference in San Francisco next April, but if November's e-conference is a success the online format is likely to be repeated in other subject disciplines, says Gilmore-Stewart.

The Researching Contemporary Cities postgraduate e-conference takes place on November 2, 9 and 16.

Posted by Serge Lachapelle at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2006

Preview of the upcoming client

We are hard at work at closing the client for release to you!

I thought that our blog readers should get a small preview. So here are release notes for you to read and enjoy!



Marratech v6.1 Readme file

Marratech v6.1 is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Marratech v6.1 includes major changes to the voice and video code. Please read the release notes carefully.

NOTE

Marratech v6.1 will run under Mac OS X v10.3.9 but has undergone very limited testing and is therefore unsupported. There are a number of issues fixed in Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger that improve Marratech performance. No separate download required.

System Requirements

For the latest minimum requirements, please consult the support section at http://www.marratech.com/

License

The Marratech client software is free to download and use under the conditions set forth in the License found at http://www.marratech.com/eula/eula.html

How to Install

For step by step information on how to install the Marratech client, please consult the following:

Upgrading Deploying

Version 6.0 and 6.1 can coexist in the same meeting room and should not pose any problems.

What's New in 6.1 Known issues

Posted by Serge Lachapelle at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)