We found several free services which really do work. Usually free means it is second rate and unacceptable – but we know professionals using these free and convenient services for collaboration and communication.
1. Free Web Conferencing
2. Free Faxing
3. Free Large File Transfer and Private File Sharing
4. Free Audio Conferencing
Free Web Conferencing with Mikogo
Free Screen Sharing Tool – good for web conferences, remote support, etc.
http://www.mikogo.com/
Benefits include
* Free.
* You need an account to share your screen, but the other people don’t need one, nor do they need to install a program.
* It plays well with firewalls and only requires running a small program (no installs.)
Free Faxing with efax GotFreeFax
Amazingly some companies still insist on sending or receiving faxes – and they refuse to use e-mail. What do you do if you’re on the internet but nowhere near a fax?
To fax for free http://www.gotfreefax.com is a good site. To accept faxes occasionally you can get a free efax account.
Free Large File Transfer and Private File Sharing
What do you do if you have a large file that is over ten megabytes and too big to e-mail? One option is to use
http://www.zshare.net
This free site allows you to upload your file. It gives you a link you can e-mail to anyone to download the file.
Free Audio Conferencing with FreeConference
This last one is controversial – but we’ve noticed people are using it a lot.
You really can do conference calling for free – for now – but only if you’re ok with using a regulatory loophole to get free service. Also participants must not mind paying the long distance charges. If that’s all true then the way to go is –
http://www.freeconference.com/
We’ve noticed many people are using this service in particular. There are similar services if you do a search on the web.
If you want to do inexpensive conferencing where participants call an 800# and there are no ethical grey areas, e-mail us and we’ll get you low rates with national vendors. There’s no free 800# conferencing.
With FreeConference.com you do have to pay high rates for 800# conference calls and there’s a low fee for web conferencing which works.
For a more in depth discussion of why the conferencing is free and why it may not last –
https://berlinpacific.com/2009/09/23/can-free-conference-calls-last/
Unlike the rest of the services we mention – this one appears to be free because it exploits a regulatory loophole. This may pose an ethical dilemma, and we can’t recommend using the service. In fact if you like your long distance provider, you definitely shouldn’t use the service.