(Business 2.0) – VIDEOCONFERENCING

Tandberg 8000

What It Does: Two-way, big-screen videoconferencing isn't just for starship captains anymore--this sleek system was born for the boardroom. Twin 50-inch plasma monitors beam distant colleagues into the room, while a video server streams crisp images at warp speed.

What It Costs: $59,990 (www. tandberg. net; 212-692-6500)

Cheaper Option: The $5,490 Tandberg 1000 comes with a mere 12-inch LCD screen. Still, it's light-years ahead of a webcam, with encryption to keep your conversations secure and software that lets you toggle between video and PC images.

WHITEBOARDING

Virtual Ink Mimio Xi

What It Does: Now you don't have to buy a round-trip ticket just to doodle on a wall in Des Moines. Instead, you can write on your own damn wall and let this system relay your brainstorms in digitized form. Slip a special infrared-and ultrasound-emitting sleeve onto a dry-erase pen, and a "capture bar" attached to the whiteboard relays the data to your PC, where it can be converted into an e-mail, a fax, or HTML.

What It Costs: $799 (www.mimio.com; 877-696-4646)

Cheaper Option: Microsoft Windows Messenger has a virtual whiteboarding feature. If you have Windows XP, you've already got it, though you must do your doodling with a mouse.

INSTANT MESSAGING

IBM Lotus Sametime 3

What It Does: Sametime is IM reimagined for business--no ads, no smiley faces, and no buddy lists. (Instead, you get a "contacts" list, because that guy in legal isn't really your buddy, is he?) More important, you manage who is allowed on the system.

What It Costs: $38 per user (www. lotus. com; 888-746-7426)

Cheaper Option: AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Messenger are free. But your conversations aren't secure, and you'll likely have to go by a handle like jdoe99627.

CONFERENCE CALLING

Polycom SoundStation VTX 1000

What It Does: Everyone hates speakerphones. The problem? Among others, cheap microphones never seem to pick up the quiet guy at the end of the table. But this gadget has a nifty digital brain that adjusts the sensitivity of its microphones as you prowl about the conference room. It also allows two people to talk at once, eliminating that annoying walkie-talkie effect.

What It Costs: $1,799 (www.polycom. com; 800-765-9266)

Cheaper Option: Bargain hunters should avoid "half-duplex" phones, which allow only one side of a call to be heard at a time. Polycom's $300 VoiceStation 100 is a good budget "full-duplex" speakerphone system.

PRESENTATIONS

WebEx Meeting Center

What It Does: Call it PowerPoint by remote control. This service lets you make a pitch using text, voice, and video that can be received by anyone with access to a Web browser.

What It Costs: $100 per port per month (www.webex.com; 877-509-3239)

Cheaper Option: WebEx bills low-volume users 45 cents a minute per person.

VIRTUAL OFFICE

Documentum eRoom Enterprise

What It Does: This may be the ultimate collaboration tool, allowing employees to juggle projects, track documents, and share group calendars via the Web. Think your business is too complex? eRoom helped keep the multibillion-dollar Hewlett-Packard/Compaq merger on track, so it can probably whip your project into shape too.

What It Costs: $50,000 or more (www. documentum.com; 800-607-9546)

Cheaper Option: Yahoo Groups may be home to everything from the Jedi Race Clan to the J-Lo Club, but this free service has all the tools you need (calendars, chat rooms, e-mail) to keep a small team organized. --BRIAN CAULFIELD