Time is running out for you to sign up for your free Yugma Premium account. In December, Yugma announced that they were giving away free one-year subscriptions to their premium service to any blogger who requests one. The offer expires January 31, though, so you’d better hurry up if you want one.

Yugma is desktop-sharing software. It allows you to share your computer screen with others over the Internet. After signing up, you can create a session. You then start sharing your screen in that session, so anyone connecting to it can see what’s on your screen. You can invite others to participate by sending them the session id.

This is extraordinarily useful software for distance conferencing. I can use it to do a webinar, and show my presentation while I’m talking. Or, I can demonstrate software, with the participants able to see what I’m doing. Generally, you’d want to pair it with an audio conference, either through Skype or a phone system. There’s also a built-in text chat.

If you miss the premium account promotion, you can still sign up for the free version. It works just as well as the premium one, but it does require all of the participants to register before they can join your session. It also has fewer options in the areas of file sharing and recording, but it does meet most needs pretty well. After using it, you can upgrade later if you need the advanced features.