y on a touch screen interface in which Mylar-covered electronics cause displays to change, depending on what part of the screen is pressed. This allows a great deal of control without a cluttered display. Wireless remotes are very common, particularly in small-group roll-about systems. These mimic a VCR or TV remote control device. Most provide an on-screen pointer and icon-driven controls. A user can move the pointer up and down by raising and lowering his hand, and select a feature by clicking a button. It is important to consider the sophistication of the end users when choosing the interface. Because it can be SO subjective, it is advisable to assemble an evaluation team and have participants rate different systems on ease-of-use. What may be intuitive to one may be mind-boggling to another. Finally, because documentation varies greatly, one should include the instruction manual in the evaluation process. SECURITY When conferences rely on the Internet or satellites, or when they include highly confidential content, encryption is advisable. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a NIST-standard (National Institute of Standards and Technology) secret key cryptography method that uses 128-, 192- and 256-bit keys, is ideal. AES is an U.S. government-sanctioned (NIST) private key cryptographic technique in which only authorized personnel know the secret key. In addition, the ITU-T has specified H.233/H.234 & H.235v3 for securing H.320 and H.323 compliant exchanges, respectively. Password protection for the operator's console and of the address book prevents unauthorized use of a system and can discourage theft. MULTIPOINT CAPABILITIES MCUs are something like a network depot where in which compressed video and audio signals terminate. Also known as bridges, they combine, exchange and manage inputs. Most MCUs can support multiple simultaneous bridged connections and are capable of supporting a variety of network interfaces and speeds. Not all systems support multipoint capabilities. For instance, low-end group systems 