Airline Fares Killing Profits? Telepresence for Every Budget

Cisco TelePresence System 3000

Cisco's top-of-the-line system, the TelePresence System 3000 includes three 65-inch plasma screens; spatial audio with echo cancellation; microphones; lighting; Ethernet and power ports in the table legs; and a high-end table that seats six on each side. It offers life-size, ultra high-definition video images.

If you're a fan of the Fox TV show "24," you've seen this system used whenever the president needs to speak to another foreign leader immediately in order to prevent the planet from getting blown up.

Cost: $598,000 for two (so you'll have someone else to talk to). See Metcalfe's law.

Channel Insider Trip Avoidance Rating: It would take 478 avoided trips to pay for this one.