There is an issue with the latest version, 2.36.13032, of WebEx Productivity Tools for Mac OS when logging using Single Sign-On (SSO). (Mac OS:OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.5, OS X Mavericks v10.9.5, OS X Yosemite v10.10 to v10.10.3.) 

Cisco is aware and working on the issue (#HD0008530187).

As a workaround, impacted users need to use their website, listed below, for scheduling.

Affected sites:
https://dukemed.webex.com
https://dukeuniversity.webex.com

On Thu Jan 15, 2015 between 10pm and 2:59am EST, Cisco will be applying a Standard Patch to the following WebEx sites:

dukeuniversity.webex.com
dukemed.webex.com

WebEx Services:

• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
• Cisco WebEx Training Center
• Cisco WebEx Event Center
• Cisco WebEx Support Center

This email contains information to help ensure a smooth transition. All Cisco WebEx meeting Hosts and Attendees will receive the new version of the Meeting client and Productivity Tools client upon entering a session for the first time.

Please note:

• After we have applied the patch to your site, a new Meeting Client will automatically be offered the first time users enter a meeting. The installation of the New Client is automatic and browser restart is not required.
• Productivity Tools client – The new Productivity Tools client will be offered when users launch Productivity Tools for the first time after the patch has been applied.

→ ENHANCEMENTS INTRODUCED IN WBS29.11 ←

This release builds upon the enhancements introduced with the New WebEx in WBS29.8. In this release, you will find new features and enhancements that continue to make WebEx easier to use, and improve the productivity of your meetings. A few highlights of this release include introduction of a Personal Room for Meeting Center so all hosts can have their own virtual meeting room with a unique URL they can hold meetings in. We’ve made it easier to manage recurring meetings, including the ability to change a single occurrence of a meeting series. A new “Anyone Can Share” feature has been added to make it easier to share content during a meeting. The video experience has also been improved by increasing the default video frame rate.

Personal Room Overview and FAQ

Cisco is pleased to offer the following resources to help your end-users learn the new features in WBS29.11:

• Personal Room Overview and FAQs:

http://support.webex.com/LocalizedUpgrades/2014/29-11/personalmeetingroom_wbs29-11.pdf

CISCO WEBEX MEETING CENTER (WINDOWS & MAC)

Personal Room for Meeting Center

All Meeting Center hosts can now enjoy their very own Personal Room. Think of it as your own conference room. You get your own easy-to-remember link that never changes, so your colleagues will always know where your meetings are being held. Meet instantly or add the Personal Room URL to a Microsoft Outlook calendar invitation. Make back-to-back meetings simple and manage your attendees through a lobby.

• Each Meeting Center host gets a Personal Room with a unique meeting link.
• Your Meeting Center home page is now your Personal Room.
• The Personal Room can be locked when a meeting is in progress. When your Personal Room is locked, attendees wait in a “lobby” until your room is unlocked or until you admit them to the room. You can see who is waiting in the lobby and control who joins your meeting.
• The “Meet Now” function (formerly “One-Click Meeting”) uses your Personal Room for instant meetings (see below).

“One-Click Meeting” Renamed to “Meet Now”

The “One-Click Meeting” function has been renamed “Meet Now”. “Meet Now” starts an instant meeting in your Personal Room by default.
Note: In WBS29.11, WebEx Productivity Tools will retain the “One-Click Meeting” name. This change will be implemented in a future release of WebEx Productivity Tools.

Recurring Meeting Enhancements

The scheduling function in Meeting Center has been enhanced to better manage recurring meetings. You can now create exceptions to a recurring meeting series. You can also manage the series and single occurrences, either through the web scheduler, or through WebEx Productivity Tools.

• You can now create individual exceptions to a meeting series.
• You have the option to update a particular occurrence of a meeting or the entire series.
• If a single occurrence of a meeting series is updated, meeting reminders and options that allow attendees to join before the host will still work correctly.

New “Anyone Can Share” Feature

Any participant can now share content in the meeting by simply selecting “Share”. This feature makes it easier to change presenters in a meeting and improves the overall collaboration experience. If hosts want more control over sharing, they can disable this feature while the meeting is in progress. This option can also be disabled in Site Administration.

WebEx Productivity Tools Updates

WebEx Productivity Tools has been updated to support the recurring meeting enhancement. The feature that allows a user to schedule meetings on behalf of another host has been simplified so that the host only needs to enter the user’s name in the “Scheduling Permission” section of the “Preferences” page. Microsoft Outlook delegation is no longer required for scheduling meetings on behalf of another host. The Mac version also has improved localization and accessibility.

Starting with the WBS29.11 release, WebEx Productivity Tools integration with Microsoft Outlook will use a single email invitation template for both the host and attendees. Depending on the type of audio configuration the impact will vary based on the scenarios outlined below.

All Meetings (any audio type)

• Hosts will no longer receive a host specific email, they will receive the standard invitation email.

Meetings with TSP integrated audio

• The Host Code (also sometimes known Subscriber code) will no longer be included in the in the email/invitation sent to hosts.

Meetings using WebEx Personal Conferencing audio (PCN)

• The Host Access Code will no longer be included in the in the email/invitation sent to hosts.

Hosts can retrieve the host key and access code by:

• Launch the WebEx client. The WebEx client displays this information to hosts.
• Go to the meeting information web page via link available in the invitation that is also sent to attendees.
• Click the “Change Settings” button in the Outlook appointment to see the host details under “WebEx Settings”

CISCO WEBEX MEETING CENTER (WINDOWS & MAC) and EVENT CENTER (WINDOWS)

In-Meeting Experience Enhancements

Cisco WebEx continues to improve your meeting experience with a clean, modern interface and key usability enhancements:

• Audio dialog boxes have been improved
• A vertical annotation bar has been added when viewing shared content in full-screen view on the Mac.
• “Share Desktop” has been renamed “Share Screen” and “Audio Conference” has been renamed “Audio Connection”
• Content view options have been added. You can easily zoom content in and out by just selecting the “Zoom in” and “Zoom out” icons. A new “Pan” tool allows you to move content horizontally or vertically when viewing screen sharing or application sharing.
• The video panel layout and controls have been improved. These changes allow you to view video and switch between layouts more easily. You also have the ability to specify default video camera settings for your meetings.
• If bandwidth issues occur while sending video, the spinning wheel icon is replaced with an error message after 5 seconds.
• Automatic recovery of video is now provided for WebEx meetings that use Cisco TelePresence.

ALL CISCO WEBEX CENTERS

Profile and Preferences pages have been optimized

The Profile and Preferences pages have been optimized with a clean, modern look and feel. Profile and preference settings have been divided between the two pages to more logically group settings. The pages have been updated to comply with accessibility guidelines.

The Profile page now contains key profile information along with an improved image uploader for use with the new Personal Room for Meeting Center. The Preferences page has new collapsible categories. The following settings have been moved from the Profile page to the Preferences page:

• My Personal Room
• Scheduling Templates
• Session Options (formerly Scheduling Options)
• Support Center
• My Phone Numbers
• Meet Now Settings (formerly One-Click Setup)

Improved Video Experience

When you start a meeting, the default video frame rate will be 15 fps.

In-Meeting Technical Support for CCA customers (WebEx Meeting Center, Event Center &Training Center)

In-meeting Technical Support can be configured for WebEx Cloud Connected Audio (CCA) customers. Both the host and the attendees can connect with Technical Support during the meeting. Technical Support can either be your corporate Help Desk or a third-party supplier. Administrators can specify Technical Support phone numbers in the WebEx Site Administration tool.

WebEx API Enhancements

The WebEx APIs have been updated to support Personal Rooms, recurring meeting enhancements and Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMR Cloud) provisioning for Meeting Center. The XML APIs also support partner account authentication so partners can use a single ID to provision users across WebEx sites they manage.

WebEx Site Administration Updates

The following updates have been made to WebEx Site Administration. Note: Not all of these changes apply to all WebEx Services.

• Personal Room settings are now separated from Collaboration Meeting Room (CMR Cloud) Settings.
• Administrators can enable Personal Rooms for their site.

Note: If Administrators do not want their hosts to have Personal Room feature, they should log in immediately after the upgrade to disable this feature.

• Administrators can allow users to change their Personal Room URL.
• Administrators can now manage Technical Support numbers for WebEx Cloud Connected Audio (CCA) customers.
• WebEx meetings or events cannot be started if the host account has been deactivated.
• Administrators can control the ability to print and save documents when a file is shared during a meeting.

On Fri Nov 21, 2014 between 10:00PM and 2:59AM EST, Cisco is scheduling maintenance on the Telephony Servcie. During this maintenance period, your WebEx Telephony services will be redirected to the Secondary system as a precautionary measure.

Please Note: During this maintenance window, the Telephony services will be redirected to the Secondary system, however, the WebEx websites, https://dukemed.webex.com and https://dukeuniversity.webex.com, will NOT be redirected to the Secondary system.

Meeting Experience Impacts during the Maintenance Period

During the maintenance period, hosts and participants may experience the following impacts:

• Callers attempting to join a meeting after the start of this maintenance period may experience momentary dead air when attempting to join the audio conference.

• Audio Control features (Look Who’s Talking, Mute/Unmute) will be unavailable upon the initiation of the maintenance action.

• Hosts may be unable to start meetings scheduled with WebEx Audio (call-in or call-back teleconferencing) during this maintenance period.

Important: The above functionality will not be restored until the meeting has been ended and restarted.

Best Practices Prior to Starting your Meeting

Due to the nature of this maintenance action, WebEx Telephony services will be impacted on a momentary and intermittent basis. To ensure the best possible experience, WebEx recommends the following best practices for using WebEx services during this maintenance period:

• In cases where you require meeting functionality such as Mute/UnMute to host larger meetings, consider rescheduling the meeting time and/or date.

• If WebEx Telephony is used, do not initiate Mute or UnMute actions using the built-in audio tools during the meeting; use mute functionality on call-in telephone to manage audio users.

• If possible, use WebEx Voice-over-IP (VoIP) in place of Call-in or Call-back Telephony.

To Contact Support

If you are experiencing interruptions with any Cisco WebEx services, including WebEx Messenger and Meeting services, please call the WebEx Help Desk at +1-866-229-3239 or +1-408-435-7088.

If you are located outside the US please go to the following link https://support.webex.com/support/phone-numbers.html for local support numbers.

On Thu Oct 30, 2014 between 10pm and Oct 31, 2014 2:59am EST, Cisco will be applying a Service Pack to the following WebEx services:.

• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
• Cisco WebEx Training Center
• Cisco WebEx Event Center
• Cisco WebEx Support Center

All Cisco WebEx meeting Hosts and Attendees will receive the new version of the Meeting client upon entering a session for the first time.

Please note:

• After we upgrade your site, a new Meeting client will automatically be offered the first time users enter a meeting. The installation of the new client is automatic and browser restart is not required.

→ ENHANCEMENTS INTRODUCED IN WBS29.10 ←

ALL CENTERS

Mac 10.10 Yosemite Support

Starting with WBS29.10, WebEx now supports Mac 10.10 Yosemite and Safari 8. Please see the “Operating System and Browser support” section of the release notes for the latest information on platform support.

Remove “Instructor Led Training”

The Private, Instructor-Led Training from Learning Services is no longer offered, and the reference for this service is being removed from the Training page and New User Reference page located on the left side of the navigation bar of the website.

If you are experiencing interruptions with any Cisco WebEx services, while on the secondary system, please contact Cisco WebEx Global Support Services so that a Technical Support agent can assist you in resolving the issue.

To Contact Support

If you are experiencing interruptions with any Cisco WebEx services, including WebEx Messenger and Meeting services, please call the WebEx Help Desk at +1-866-229-3239 or +1-408-435-7088. 

If you are located outside the US please go to the following link https://support.webex.com/support/phone-numbers.html for local support numbers.

On Fri Oct 11, 2014 between 12:00AM and 2:59PM EST, Cisco is pleased to introduce enhancements to our audio prompts to better serve WebEx Audio customers in select countries.

AUDIO PROMPT ENHANCEMENTS

CALL-IN AUDIO PROMPT ENHANCEMENTS (Blue Columns)

As detailed in the blue columns of the chart below, WebEx Audio customers using call-in from these countries via a WebEx toll or toll-free phone number will hear the prompt “Welcome to WebEx” in the native language of that country, followed by menu options to continue in that language, in English, or in some cases, a 3rd language option relevant to that country.

CALL BACK AUDIO PROMPT ENHANCEMENTS (Green Columns)

As detailed in the green columns of the chart below, WebEx Audio customers who choose to utilize call-back in one of these countries will hear the prompt “Welcome to WebEx” in the native language of that country, followed by English.

Refer to the chart below for specific details:

ADDITIONAL AUDIO PROMPT ENHANCEMENTS

• Minor wording changes to some of the prompts and others have been shortened to streamline the process of joining a meeting.
• The meeting entry/exit “beep” tone has been modified to avoid unintended interpretation of the tone as a DTMF command.

Due to issues with Shibboleth authentication, Productivity Tools for Mac is currently not available. It will be fixed, and offered, in a later release, hopefully by end of this year. We will notify the WebEx community accordingly when a specific release date is known.

Productivity Tools for Mac OS is currently not authenticating with Shibboleth. Cisco is aware of, and is working on the issue. (Webex Case #5332088) We will provide an update as soon as possible.

On Thu Sept. 4th, 2014 between 10pm and 2:59am EST, Cisco will be upgrading your WebEx services to the new release; WBS 29.8.2.

Please refer to the following documentation and video for an overview of the changes:

• WebEx Cheat S​heet
• WebEx User Guide
• WebEx Enhanced UI Video Overview (1 min.)
• WebEx PowerPoint Slides (Detailed Description)

The following services will be affected:

• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
• Cisco WebEx Training Center
• Cisco WebEx Event Center
• Cisco WebEx Support Center

The following sites will be affected:

• dukemed.webex.com
• dukeuniversity.webex.com

The following highlights the changes being made:

• Simplified User Experience
• Faster experience to Join Meetings
• Meeting Center Page Redesign
• Event Center Refresh
• New method to join meetings using Chrome
• Productivity Tools for Mac
• Wideband Audio Support

See below for an overview of the changes:

This contains information to help ensure a smooth transition. All Cisco WebEx meeting Hosts and Attendees will receive the new version of the Meeting client upon entering a session for the first time.

Please note:

• After we upgrade your site, a new Meeting client will automatically be offered the first time users enter a meeting. The installation of the new client is automatic and browser restart is not required.

Meet Your NEW WebEx! Cisco is very excited to introduce you to the NEW look of WebEx with the release of WebEx Business Suite WBS 29.8.2.

In this release you will find several new and improved enhancements designed to help make every meeting more productive and effective on any device. A few highlights of this release include a new and simplified user experience to provide ease of use through every step of a meeting, including improvements such as the ability to join meetings up to 30% faster*. We’ve also made scheduling from Outlook easier with Productivity Tools for the Mac. You’ll also be able to hear everyone more clearly when using VoIP with support for the next generation of voice quality with wideband/HD audio.

As the proven, industry leader in web conferencing we hope that you enjoy the NEW look of WebEx as well as the improved functionalities.

* Dependent on computer speed and bandwidth

→ ENHANCEMENTS INTRODUCED IN WBS 29.8.2 ←

CISCO WEBEX MEETING CENTER (WINDOWS & MAC), CISCO WEBEX EVENT CENTER (WINDOWS ONLY)

Simplified User Experience

Cisco has improved the WebEx user interface with a new modern look and feel designed to improve the ease of use throughout meetings. Some key functions have been simplified to provide quicker access to the most relevant functionality.

Improvements to WebEx Meeting Center (MC) and Event Center (EC):

• New modern, simplified user interface including:
  • A new “WebEx Ball” icon
  • New icons for panels and the Floating Icon Tray
  • An updated vertical annotation bar
  • Consolidated and updated controls in the Quick Start tab
• New Audio Dialog as well as updated ‘Sharing’ & ‘Invite & Remind’ dialogs
• Desktop and Application sharing is displayed within the tab for attendees
• New liquid layout, allowing you to change the proportion of video and. content up to a 50:50 ratio
• Fields on the meeting info tab can be copied
• Chat & Notes panels are minimized by default and show as icons on top
• Updates specific to the Event Center user interface:
  • Q & A Colors
  • Updated practice sessions with a highlighted yellow box
  • Updated audio broadcast dialog

Usability Enhancements to Meeting Center

• An option to turn on/off the entry/exit audio tone within a meeting
• The ability to allow a Host to leave a meeting without ending it, with automatic transfer of the Host role
• The presenter role automatically passes to the Host if the first attendee has become presenter, and is not sharing content
• For all WebEx Centers: When sharing content during a meeting, screen savers will be disabled

A Cleaner, Faster Experience to Join Meetings

We have been working to improve the time it takes for users to join a meeting and are happy to announce that based on our testing, users should now be able to join WebEx meetings up to 30% faster *. In addition, the join experience has been streamlined and we have removed the connecting pop up windows. We will now clearly present the join status within the meeting window **.

* Dependent on computer speed and bandwidth

** Must be joining the WebEx meeting by URL using ActiveX, a Plugin, or an Extension

CISCO WEBEX MEETING CENTER

WebEx Meeting Center Page Redesign

Meeting Center pages have been redesigned with a new simple and modern user interface with improved Section 508 accessibility compliance. All functionality and design interaction remains the same.

Improvements include:
New modern, simplified user interface including:

• A new “WebEx Ball” icon
• New icons, fonts and colors
• The “Welcome” tab has been simplified and renamed to “Home”
• Improved experience to join meetings for return users
• A global header and left navigation for all WebEx Centers

ALL CISCO WEBEX CENTERS

New Method to Join Meetings on Chrome

As you may remember from our November 2013 communication http://support.webex.com/LocalizedUpgrades/Chrome_FireFox_NPAPI/Firefox_Chrome_NPAPI_11_22.pdf

Google has announced that Netscape Plug-in Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) support will be completely removed from Chrome by the end of 2014. As part of Cisco’s commitment to providing a simple and easy way for users to join WebEx meetings; we are providing a new, alternative method to join meetings that does not require the use of NPAPI support.

Our new join method will use a Chrome extension starting with Chrome 38. All previous versions of Chrome will still use the plug-in. To support you with this transition we prepared two documents:

1. WebEx Chrome Extension – Chrome 38 FAQ
2. WebEx Chrome Extension Installation Guide

If your company relies on Chrome to join WebEx meetings, we highly suggest you review the details covered in the WebEx Chrome Extension Installation Guide.

If your company does not use Chrome, this change does not impact you.

WebEx Productivity Tools for Mac

Productivity Tools provides an easy and convenient way to schedule and start WebEx meetings from Microsoft Outlook on Macs. Simply select the WebEx “ball” to add a WebEx meeting to your Microsoft Outlook Calendar invitation. Productivity Tools is also available on Windows.

The first Mac version of WebEx Productivity Tools supports:

1. Scheduling and updating one-time and recurring meetings for Meeting Center and Training Center
2. Scheduling and updating events for Event Center
3. Starting an instant Meeting Center meeting

Please note, the following use cases are not supported in the first version of WebEx Productivity Tools for Mac

1. Telephony Service Provider Audio
2. Audio Only Meetings (Personal Conference Number & Cisco Meeting Place)
3. Schedule on Behalf of a Host
4. Assigning an Alternate Host(s)

Productivity Tools Send Problem Report (Windows and Mac)

Accessing log files in the system folders is no longer required. The new “send problem report” feature makes it easy for users to get log files for Support purposes. The log files can be sent through email to Support personnel when requested.

Audio Improvements: Wideband Audio Support

Hear everyone in the meeting more clearly when using VoIP with support for the next generation of voice quality with wideband audio, also known as “HD Voice” .

VoIP Wideband Audio in WebEx

• Captures a wider frequency range to provide clearer audio connections
• Is supported via the OPUS wideband audio codec
• The OPUS codec has superior Packet Loss Concealment (PLC) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) and is more resilient to packet loss. As a result, it provides better audio quality in less ideal conditions
• Supports a better noise suppression algorithm to provide a much better experience when using audio through a computer even without headset
• Has enhanced jitter buffer for UDP based VOIP traffic
• Provides a reduced delay and data loss with smaller packet sampling size of 20ms

Supported when using WebEx VOIP

• Wideband Audio Codec (OPUS) is now the default codec for WebEx VOIP attendees
• Windows, MAC and Linux desktop clients, IOS and Android mobile devices are supported as well as NBR for VOIP only session
  • Both VOIP Only as well as Hybrid Meetings will now support the wideband codec

Not Supported

• Windows mobile, and Blackberry devices will continue to support narrowband audio
• If any user joins the WebEx meeting from a Windows mobile or Blackberry device, then the entire meeting will be shifted to narrowband audio
• NBR recording and playback for hybrid audio sessions are not supported

Known Issues

When a returning user joins a meeting after a presenter has started sharing, the user is taken to the sharing tab but the Audio dialog may not automatically show. In this case, users will need to join audio by clicking on the Audio button in the Participant List panel or from the Audio menu at the top or from the Quickstart tab. This issue will be fixed soon in an upcoming patch.

On Friday, Sept 19th, 2014 between 10:00PM and 2:59AM EST, Cisco WebEx is scheduling maintenance on the Telephony servers associated with the following sites:

dukemed.webex.com
dukeuniversity.webex.com

Please Note: During this maintenance period, the WebEx websites listed above will NOT be redirected to the secondary system.

Meeting Experience Impacts during the Maintenance Period

During the maintenance period, hosts and participants may experience the following impacts:

• Callers attempting to join a meeting after the start of this maintenance period may experience momentary dead air when attempting to join the audio conference.
• Audio Control features (Look Who’s Talking, Mute/Unmute) will be unavailable upon the initiation of the maintenance action.
• Hosts may be unable to start meetings scheduled with WebEx Audio (call-in or call-back teleconferencing) during this maintenance period.

Important: The above functionality will not be restored until the meeting has been ended and restarted.

Best Practices Prior to Starting your Meeting

Due to the nature of this maintenance action, WebEx Telephony services will be impacted on a momentary and intermittent basis. To ensure the best possible experience, WebEx recommends the following best practices for using WebEx services during this maintenance period:

• In cases where you require meeting functionality such as Mute/UnMute to host larger meetings, consider rescheduling the meeting time and/or date.
• If WebEx Telephony is used, do not initiate Mute or UnMute actions using the built-in audio tools during the meeting; use mute functionality on call-in telephone to manage audio users.
• If possible, use WebEx Voice-over-IP (VoIP) in place of Call-in or Call-back Telephony.

To Contact Support

If you are experiencing interruptions with any Cisco WebEx services, including WebEx Messenger and Meeting services, please call the WebEx Help Desk at +1-866-229-3239.