BigBlueButton is an open source video conferencing application which is specifically built for remote learning but can be used for standard meetings as well.

The application enables multiple users to login & share their webcam or communicate via VOIP at the same time.

It is a very ideal application for presentations as users can upload PDF or office documents & keep everyone in sync with their current page, zoom, pan, mouse pointer etc.

Also, users can share their desktop with others easily.

There are 3 user types:

• Presenter: can upload presentations & sharing their desktop
• Viewer: have no authority within the conference, can only view & chat with other users
• Moderator:can upload presentations, share the desktop & change user types of other users.

Users can raise hands to get the attention of the presenter, mute any other participants they want & chat between themselves in public or privately.

BigBlueButton completely relies on open source technologies & it can be improved further with the API provided.

JPEGCam is an open source Flash + JavaScript library that enables you to insert a custom-sized Flash movie in a webpage that captures Webcam snapshots.

After capturing the snapshots, it can submit them to any server in JPEG format (download package includes sample PHP 5 code).

The webcam is activated with the Flash movie which includes a full-canvas camera control with no flash user interface elements. User can decide when to take the snapshot & click a button to do it.

Every control for displaying the Flash device configuration panel & taking snapshots is handled from Javascript which makes:

• controlling the user interface
• using your own buttons and layout

possible.

Photo Booth is a tiny open source Flash application that can capture images from a webcam.

The script is built with AS3 + PHP5 and can be instantly implemented to any website.

It can be a great add-on when asking users to upload an avatar or creating a web application around photos.

To see how it works, a demo can be found here.

In order to better understand this resource, let’s describe augmented reality first. From Wikipedia:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery – creating a mixed reality

EZFlar is an open source ActionScript library that enables you to create such a media. Or, you can use the online generator.

How it works?

It simply inserts a pre-defined media inside a "pre-defined object" in another media.

There is an online generator provided. You’ll need a webcam & a printer to test it instantly:

• Select the media to be integrated (image, video, sound, URL, etc.)
• Print a special shape provided
• Display the printed sheet while the application records you through your webcam
• It will insert the "selected media" to the place where you hold the sheet.

It may look complicated, however, you can check this video or this one to see it working.

toksta* is a free instant messenger with text & webcam based chat support.

It is a hosted application that can be integrated to your website & user database. With this feature, your users won’t have to re-login to the messenger. 

toksta* also provides plug-ins for phpBB2, phpBB3, punBB, phpMyForum and vBulletin.

toksta* lets you customize the design via an easy to use configurator & you can upload your logo to the application.

Another nice feature is the revenue sharing. The revenue of ads that are shown during the chat is shared between the site owner & toksta*.

Besides these, toksta* has unlimited parallel chats, automatic webcam detection, buddy list integration supoort & more. Click here to see all the features.