Back in the day, controlling conference calls was done by an array of telephone keypad combinations. And yet, despite everything you could do, it really didn't seem like it was enough. There's a lot to be said for those early controls, well, they were good enough that they are still around today to be used in a pinch. However, you can't beat seeing what's going on.
Given the chance, you should always use the dynamic live-call screen to control your conference calls. Not only do you have buttons for all the features, you are able to see -- in real-time -- who is on the call, how long they have been on, who is talking, who has background noise, or even what number they are calling from. All of that information in itself makes it worth it to use the live-call screen.
Combine this bevy of information you can glean, with the features you can control, and it becomes a much greater thing. For example, at meeting start time, you can see that not only are there half of your participants on the call, but an important one hasn't called in yet. You could take the call out of pre-conference, announce that there will be a delay, and go back to pre-conference, leaving again when your participants are all in attendance.
Or while the call is on, if you are doing a Q&A in lecture mode, you could spot a person with a question that you know you don't want to handle on this particular call. You can bypass them and take all the other questions. Try doing that with just keypad controls.
Desktop controls do require a computer, but are more than worth it for the control and professionalism that you receive in return.
