Central Queensland Linux User Group

DimDim is an easy to use open source cross platform web conferencing application, which can be used for video and voice conferencing, preloading and sharing presentations, sharing a white board and documents, sharing web pages in real time, desktop sharing and can even record a meeting ( http://www.dimdim.com/ ).

DimDim has hosted free accounts, where you can conduct free web meetings with up to "20" people, using all of the features, though there are limitations such as only being able to use one webcam. You can sign up for a free account here: http://www.dimdim.com/website/signup

DimDim can be used on Ubuntu, but there are some known issues, such as with desktop sharing and a problem with flash 10 controls. The following covers what you need to do to use DimDim in Ubuntu (Lucid 10.04).

First, enable the repositories in Synaptic under Settings -> then hit the reload button to update. You then install adobe-flashplugin in synaptic. There is a known bug when using flash 10 in Ubuntu, which Macromedia claims is a design feature, in that the controls for the video camera do not initiate properly. A work around is to use the following command in a terminal, or create a shortcut launcher, to start Firefox with the webcam already initiated: LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so firefox

DimDim desktop sharing in linux is new and is considered alpha, but does work with a couple of commands. First, download the desktop sharing plugin installer: https://my.dimdim.com/plugin/get/?os=lin&skinType=dimdim&patch=false

Extract the downloaded WebMeeting.tar.gz file, make sure WebMeeting installer is executable and then run the installer from a terminal as a normal user, NOT as root/sudo: ./WebMeeting

Some additional symlinks are needed to get the WebMeeting application to work, so run the following in a terminal to create them:

cd /usr/lib

sudo ln -s libcrypto.so.0.9.8 libcrypto.so.6

sudo ln -s libssl.so.0.9.8 libssl.so.6

You are now ready to take full advantage of DimDim webconferences. Remember to launch Firefox with: LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so firefox

I created a shortcut in the menu instead, to make it simple launching Firefox with the webcam enabled. Then go to http://www.dimdim.com/ select 'Host A Meet' and use your free account and test it out with some friends, using their email to send out meeting invitations.

Happy conferencing and a big thanks to DimDim for the free service!