July 28 2005
InternetNZ AGM is first to use Access Grid
“For the first time in our history, Auckland members will be able to take part in InternetNZ’s Annual General Meeting
through the capabilities of the Access Grid operating at Victoria University of Wellington and the University of
Auckland,” said Peter Macaulay, InternetNZ’s outgoing Executive Director this afternoon.
InternetNZ is holding its Annual General Meeting this Friday night in Auckland and Wellington. Auckland members will for
the first time be able to take part in the AGM through the capabilities of the Access Grid in Victoria and Auckland
Universities.
The Access Grid allows meeting participants in remote location to take part in the meeting with high quality video and
sound, along with interaction of computer applications. The meeting will also be webcast.
“Access Grid is video conferencing on steroids” states outgoing InternetNZ Executive Director Peter Macaulay, “using a
mix of high quality audio, video, and computer components over a fast broadband link. This is one of the killer apps for
real broadband.”
The InternetNZ AGM includes announcement of the results of contested elections for the positions of president, vice
president and six council seats.
The Access Grid® is an ensemble of resources including multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive
environments, and interfaces to Grid middleware and to visualization environments.
These resources are used to support group-to-group interactions across the Grid. For example, the Access Grid (AG) is
used for large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials, and training. The
Access Grid thus differs from desktop-to-desktop tools that focus on individual communication.
The Access Grid has over issued 3,400 certificates to users across 47 countries. Each institution has one or more AG
nodes, or "designed spaces," that contain the high-end audio and visual technology needed to provide a high-quality
compelling user experience. The nodes are also used as a research environment for the development of distributed data
and visualization corridors and for the study of issues relating to collaborative work in distributed environments.
ENDS