It took a little doing but I finally found something definitive on the compatibility issues with Breeze v Mac v Breeze Presenter v Adobe Presenter v Windows Vista v Microsoft Office 2007 (win). 

This is from the Adobe Connect Release Notes:

Windows Vista and Office 2007 Support

Prior to shipping Adobe® Acrobat® Connect Professional software, Adobe tested it on a prerelease version of Microsoft® Windows Vista™. We are now actively testing Acrobat Connect Professional on the shipping version of Windows Vista. In the second half of 2007, we expect to issue a free Service Pack that will provide client support for Windows Vista.

Breeze 5.x and earlier will not support Windows Vista.

Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional and Adobe Presenter shipped prior to Microsoft Office 2007. Therefore, we are currently actively testing Acrobat Connect Professional and Presenter with the shipping version of Office 2007 and Office 2007 files. In mid- to late-2007, we expect to issue a free Service Pack that will provide support for Office 2007.

Breeze 5.x and earlier will not support Office 2007 or Office 2007 files.

The conclusions from this and my experience are:

·         Breeze has not worked with Windows Vista.  That could change soon.

·         Breeze Presenter does not work with PPT 2007.

·         Breeze Presenter does not work with Macs.

·         Breeze Presenter has been replaced by Adobe Presenter.

·         Adobe Presenter does not currently support PPT 2007, but someday will.

·         When campus upgrades to Adobe Connect, Adobe Presenter will or will eventually work with PPT 2007 and Windows Vista.

Currently, the combination that does work is Windows XP, PPT 2003, and Breeze Presenter.

Breeze Meeting seems to work for just about anybody as Participants, but when some Mac users try to share (aka present), they may have limitations as noted above.

There's an exception to everything.  This time it's the "Breeze works with any computer platform and browser" statement. That was true until Macs started coming out with Intel processors.

What's happening--So far (May 2007), the only hardware problems with Breeze appear to be with Intel-base Macintosh computers.  Macintosh computers with Intel-based CPUs will experience problems while trying to share a document or their screen via the Breeze Meeting Add-In under Mac OSX (native or Rosetta mode). When you login to a meeting, the Add-In starts correctly and allows you to participate in a meeting, however, any attempt at sharing your screen, window, or documents results in a "Loading Breeze" window that does not correctly display your desired content, nor will Breeze close the window without user intervention.

This problem occurs due to platform incompatibilities with Intel-based Mac vs. PowerPC-based Mac. PowerPC Macs will not experience this issue.  There is no known workaround for this issue currently, and it is hoped this will be addressed in future software updates. On the software side, there is no Breeze Presenter add-in for Powerpoint available for the Mac OS, so that utility is not available for producing stand alone narrated Powerpoint presentations on Breeze.

Conclusion: If you have an Intel-based Mac, you are limited to being a participant in a Breeze meeting. You won't be able to host or present, both keys to "sharing." 

Keep an eye on the Breeze FAQ on the TechTools site: http://ucanr.org/techtools

In Breeze, there are 3 levels of user status:

1. Host- Host Permissions grant full privileges and control of all features, allowing a user to add participants, edit the layout of the meeting, alter the permissions of other users, etc .
2. Presenter - Presenter Privileges allow a user to share their screen and use each Pod’s features.
3. Participant- the most basic privilege level, Participant Permissions allow participation mainly through the meeting’s chat function. Virtually all permissions for users of this class are under the control of the Host. 

If you are able to set up a meeting, you are the host.  That means you have been entered into the UCD Breeze server and have host permissions.  Contact me if you are in the ANR Directory and would like to use Breeze as a host.

For a comprehensive list of user features by role type, go to the TechTools website (http://ucanr.org/techtools), Toolbox, Macromedia Breeze at UCD for ANR.

I know not everyone is used to being able to use a new computer program without downloading or installing something.   So here's the scoop on Breeze at UCD.

You don’t have to install any program to use Breeze.  You can hold a meeting without downloading anything.  The software lives on the server at UCD.  Once you login at http://breeze.ucdavis.edu, enter your user ID (your email address) and your password.  If you are in a meeting as a host or a presenter, your browser will detect if you need the Breeze Flash Plug-in and will offer to install it automatically.  Loading the software from the TechTools website (http://ucanr.org/techtools) is optional.  And once the plug-in is installed you won’t see anything or detect any difference in function.  It will just let you “present,” that is, upload files and images (things participants cannot do, only presenters and hosts).  The plug-in will only load once.