Development of a multi-user electronic conference system DEMPO III for supporting new ideas

We have developed a multi user electronic conference system for supporting new ideas, named DEMPO III. DEMPO III is a text based desktop electronic conference system for a face to face environment. This system is implemented in a network in our program practicing room, consisting of 40 personal computers and one workstation. So far, though most systems for multiple users have a chat function, there are few real systems that can move opinions on the screen. We have developed an electronic conference system that can exchange opinions among large numbers of people. In this system, all users are in the same room; therefore a user can be aware of other users without the use of video or voice. The system uses two simple methods, as follows. First, all record information is stored under a file name but not in file contents. Secondly, access from personal computers to the workstation is performed by the use of FTP at a constant interval. We have applied this system to actual electronic conferences 6 times with more than 10 people, and it has received a favorable reception by the users. Additionally, the experiments have also confirmed the stable acquisition of data using 40 computers simultaneously