New ideas in Web conferencing are fairly common these days, but with a view to extending the useful life of a specific subscription, how can we separate the wheat from the chaff? A new idea has recently emerged which combines hybrid cars with online network plans, and the primary benefits are expected to be to the environment. The idea is simple. Supply Gotomeeting subscribed businesses with hydrogen to generate electricity to power the local servers. At the same time create a network of hydrogen refuelling depots so that users can top up their hydrogen fuel generators. Some companies have started supplying hydrogen direct to homes and offices which use Gotomeeting and go to webinar to hold frequent online meetings and Web conferencing sessions. Soon, Citrix hope to do away with the need for standard electricity supplies altogether and switch all of their servers over to hydrogen power.

At present, the hydrogen is used to create electricity by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and the fuel cells produce enough power to run a standard medium-sized conferencing server 60% of the time. Working in a hybrid office cuts costs just like driving a hybrid car. A study reported that fuel bills an electronic skills can be degreased by up to 65%, which is not as much as the fuel saved when driving hybrid cars, but it is certainly an impressive figure. Groups that make use of Gotomeeting will be particularly pleased that the servers will be having so much less of an impact on the environment. However there are some problems with this plan to make available one of the greenest products around at the moment. For starters a hybrid office server is expensive. The fuel cell can cost up to $2000, although there are government subsidies that reduce that figure by up to half. The reasons for the high prices come from the fact that hydrogen power is not commercialized yet.
There is a need for a new industry and that means getting costs down with a view to providing cheaper service for Gotomeeting online meeting attendees. Size is also a problem, as the generators are so large they can be installed only in offices they can provide enough free space. Then, of course, there is safety. Quite reasonably, most businesses are concerned that having their own generator might raise issues for the health and safety plans. The manufacturers of the generators are doing their very best to ensure that no danger is perceived by any online meeting participants. In the past two years, 1300 units have been installed, and they are monitored centrally from Citrix data centre. In all this time that no significant problems, and certainly no accidents. It looks like this message has reached international businesses, as it seems that units cannot be built fast enough to meet demand. If the technology to provide green cars and save energy for Gotomeeting servers has proved to be so popular and safe in the USA, there is no reason why it cannot be exported. This can be done in Europe and Asia and possibly Australia. All of the basic elements for making the system work are available universally, anywhere in the world.


