Cisco Systems emerged from the effects of the global economic downturn in its fiscal third quarter ended May 1, posting what Chairman and CEO John Chambers said was probably the company's best quarter ever.

A telepresence system that uses a transparent screen can make meeting participants appear as if they are in the same room, without the need for 3-D glasses, vendor Digital Video Enterprises says.

Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO John Chambers demonstrated on Wednesday how the company's TelePresence videoconferencing technology could be developed into a consumer product, showing off the long-awaited system at a press conference ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Cisco this week said it will trial a home telepresence service in the United States this spring with Verizon, and in France later this year with France Telecom.

Microsoft and HP Wednesday followed up their UC partnership news with an announcement that the two have signed yet another cross-patent licensing deal.

Just under 50 per cent of Australian organisations will deploy a videoconferencing or telepresence solution by the end of 2010, according to a report by research group, Frost & Sullivan.

Regus, a provider of rented space and service for business, is getting set to deploy Polycom telepresence suites in at least 30 locations worldwide after a similar 2007 arrangement with Cisco Systems fell through.

Cisco is announcing at VoiceCon Orlando a lower cost telepresence system designed for deployment in existing teleconference rooms without upgrading them to accommodate top-of-the-line telepresence gear.

Videoconferencing is available for desktops and even through specially designed rooms called telepresence systems, but on wireless handhelds? According to Robert Hagerty, who has been CEO of Polycom for 10 years, it could be widely available soon.

More affordable midrange telepresence systems, such as offerings from Polycom and LifeSize systems, offer fine picture and audio quality, along with usability. But in the overall product continuum, Cisco TelePresence System 500 is the most economical system that gives you the full experience of telepresence rooms.

Well before the current world financial crisis struck, organizations have sought inventive ways to engage in face-to-face meetings without the need to travel. Companies have turned to services such as Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, Cisco WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Live Meeting as a means for workers in multiple locations to share presentations and otherwise collaborate.