Tonight I had the opportunity to go to Cisco Systems in Phoenix to see a demonstration of TelePresence. There was a group of us including Distance Learning Directors, community college vice presidents, and instructors. We sat down along side a table with monitors across from us. They were these huge 1080p HD monitors with cameras pointing towards us. A few minutes later a telephone rang in front of us and then a the three screens lit up. In front of us sat a man in the exact same room as us, and when he began to speak, it was in a heavy Australian accent. He wished us good morning, since in Melbourne it was 10am. We held a conversation with him across this table, and it was as if he were sitting there when he was really about a 16 hour flight away. At times, I completely forgot he was not sitting right there with us. This technology has far reaching impact on education, corporation, and the environment. They said if one person stops driving between the two community college campuses locally that they can save .07 TONS of Carbon a year! Through the Cisco TelePresence, a director, vice-president, etc… could conduct business immediately in high resolution with no lag time. It’s as if the other person is sitting there with you, even if they are across town or across the Earth.