 network adapter. The personal conferencing usage model is different from the group-oriented one. The culture and custom of boardroom video communication favored executives. Although this is changing, it is still common for a group-system videoconference to be comprised primarily of senior executives. Moreover, it is common for an unplanned executive conference to supersede a previously scheduled one. Wherever they happen to occur, personal conferences do not require special rooms. Moreover, since desktop tools operate within the singular domain of IP networking, the range of applications is much broader. Individual contributors and members of a dispersed team are as likely (if not more) to use personal conferencing as are senior managers. It fits the needs of individual contributors such as project managers, engineers, graphic artists, consultants and any others who collaborate over distance. Personal conferencing is a flexible means of deploying any communication method that makes sense, when it makes sense. For instance, one can start a voice call first then spontaneously agree to a videoconference or share documents. The ability to hold impromptu meetings, as opposed to pre-scheduling a videoconferencing room, makes personal conferencing very powerful. Video Communications: The Whole Picture zemoH to asisa Figure 15-1. Application Conferencing. (courtesy of Intel). Multipoint personal conferencing is an increasingly valuable tool for a distributed work groups. It allows for staff-meetings, problem-solving discussions, and strategy planning sessions without any two people being in the same room. Personal conferencing products come in many shapes and sizes. Most offer a toolbox of real-time collaborative utilities that enhance group work. Apart from that similarity, the variations in implementation are broad. Products can be software-only, software and hardware, bundled or build-your-own, business quality or consumer- focused, audiovisual or audiographics. A veritable cornucopia of options exists. Data- only co