Steelcase Media:Scape Eases The Pain Of Virtual Collaboration
The new media:scape Mini and Mobile products will let any organization or team -- especially small startups -- work together better.
The last time I wrote about Steelcase's media:scape telepresence product, I ended up emailing my colleagues at FastCo HQ to see if they wanted to go in on one together. (They sanely demurred.) Now Steelcase has made smaller, portable versions of media:scape to cater to organizations and teams that want to make digital co-working easier, but don't have a zillion dollars to spend on the flagship product.
Team members plug into the PUCKs, and the central screen shows what they're doing.
Instead, media:scape mini is a large screen connected to four objects that Steelcase calls PUCKs. Team members can all just walk right up to the media:scape, plug their rigs into the PUCKs via USB, and the central screen can show what any one of them is doing. And the mini is a small enough package (it looks like a large iMac with tentacles) that it can be parked anywhere in an office without having to rip out walls.
Media:scape mobile is basically the same idea as the mini, but on wheels: the whole package is mounted on a tall rolling podium, almost like a medical monitor. If you're a startup team working in an open, loft-ish space with no conference room, you can just roll the media:scape mobile up to a coffee table and all plug in for your morning strat sesh.
Both the mini and mobile versions also allow video conferencing via Skype and an add-on HD camera, but Steelcase made a savvy move in keeping these products lean and mean. With media:scape mini as a gateway drug, guess what Joe and Jane Dotcom will want to do when they win their next round of venture capital roulette? Upgrade, that's what.
