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Microsoft NetMeeting
Download Software
Download Net Meeting 3.01 NetMeeting does not require a video camera to view callers. To send video, a camera is required. A microphone and speaker are needed if you wish to have speech and audio. Installation is simple: Double click on the downloaded package and answer its questions. (Note: often NetMeeting is automatically installed with some Microsoft products. To check and see if you already have NetMeeting installed go to: Start button - Programs - Accessories - Communications and see if it is listed.)
Microsoft NetMeeting is a real-time multimedia communications tool that can create a collaborative environment for geographically distant people. It uses the TCP/IP network facility readily available on the Internet.
Using NetMeeting, and appropriate equipment, the following are possible. (The links shown in the list below will take you to Microsoft's NetMeeting web site.)
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Video and Audio Conferencing
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Whiteboard
 The whiteboard lets you collaborate in real time with others via graphic information. |
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Chat
 Chat lets you conduct real-time conversations via text, with as many people as you like. |
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Internet Directory
 The Microsoft Internet Directory is a Web site provided and maintained by Microsoft to locate people to call on the Internet. |
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File Transfer
 File transfer (FTP) lets you send one or more files in the background during a NetMeeting conference. |
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Program Sharing
 NetMeeting's Program Sharing feature lets you flexibly share multiple programs during a conference and retain greater control over the way they're used. |
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Remote Desktop Sharing
 Lets you operate a computer from a remote location. |
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Security
 NetMeeting uses three types of security measures to protect your privacy. |
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Advanced Calling
 This feature gives you the flexibility to send a mail message to a NetMeeting user or initiate a NetMeeting call directly from your mail address book. |
Internet Locator Server (ILS) is the middle man among Net Meeting users. Most users of the Internet are on dial up lines - not connected all the time. Each time they connect their IP addresses change.
A caller who wishes to connect to you must have two pieces of information:
they must know that you are online or connected
they must know your current IP address
Callers need know only two fixed pieces of information to call you:
the ILS server that you are logged into or would log into if you are online
your e-mail address
The ILS servers provide this information. When you log on to an ILS server you are telling the ILS server that you (identified by your email address) are connected to the Internet, that you are at a certain IP address and that you are running NetMeeting and able to field calls. The ILS server knows whether or not you are online and if you are what your current IP address is. You can "log in" to an ILS server without appearing in the viewable directory so that only associates that know the ILS server and email address you supplied can find you.
Once a call has been initiated to a user, the ILS is no longer involved -- all communication is between the participating computers.
For a list of ILS servers, click on
http://www.netmeeting-zone.com/bestservers.asp
Calling someone
You find other people running NetMeeting by using an ILS server described above.
As of Dec 1999, the ILS servers ils.microsoft.com have ceased operation. If you wish, you can use the Microsoft Internet Directory (MID), and find other NetMeeting users. To install MID, you also must install MSN Instant Messenger. Microsoft Internet Directory, includes the Internet Locator Service. You can also use ICQ to locate people.
Please remember that if you are calling a stranger -- all the normal cautions apply:
they may not answer (maybe they are not open to calls from strangers)
they may be predators or deviants of some kind
I can't log on to a server!
There could be a number of reasons for this problem:
you have an AOL installation that installed a 16 bit Winsock -- if this is the case you cannot log on to any server
you are behind a proxy server that is not allowing your connections to the ILS server
you have just logged out and the logout is not yet completed
somebody else is logged on using your chosen email address -- this might be especially true if you use a common pseudonym email address
the server you want to user is busy or overloaded."
Chat
With Chat, you can conduct real-time conversations using text with as many people as you like. You (and your neighbors in each group of tables) should
Type text messages to communicate with other people during a conference.
"Chat" with one person or a group of people across multiple computers.
Use "Whisper" mode to send private messages with another person during a group Chat session.
Save the contents from the Chat session to a file for future reference.
Whiteboard
In
NM/Tools menu, there are two selections for White Board. Choose the one
without a version number.
You all have seen a white board in our class rooms. The electronic WhiteBoard in NM provides that kind of white board where there can be multiple participants. What ever you draw or type appears, in real time, on the boards that other participants are logged in through their own PCs.
Web Encyclopaedia defines a whiteboard as an area on a display screen that multiple users can write or draw on. Whiteboards are a principal component of teleconferencing applications because they enable visual as well as audio communication.
With the Whiteboard, you (and your neighbors in each group of tables) should
Review, create, and update graphic information.
Manipulate contents by clicking, dragging, and dropping information on the whiteboard with the mouse.
Cut, copy and paste information from any Windows-based application into the Whiteboard.
Use different-colored pointers to easily differentiate participants' comments.
Save the Whiteboard contents for future reference.
Load saved Whiteboard pages, enabling you to prepare information before a conference, then drag and drop it into the Whiteboard during a meeting.
Show the end result of Whiteboard usage to your TA. It should contain three squares, three rectangles, and three circles. Each collaborator should choose a different fill/border color.
Program Sharing
NetMeeting
can control how shared programs are displayed on your desktop, and gives
the person sharing the program control over who uses it. You can share a
program with other people--even if those people do not have that
program installed on their computer, which makes setting up carpool schedules
or organizing family reunions easy when you meet on the Net.
| With Remote Desktop Sharing, you can: | With NetMeeting's program sharing feature, you (and your neighbors in each group of tables) should |
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| Operate your office computer from home or vice versa. | View shared programs in a frame, which makes it easy to distinguish between shared and local applications on your desktop. |
| Use a secure connection and a password to access the remote desktop, files and programs. | Minimize the shared program frame and do other work if you do not need to work in the current conference program. |
| Protect your computer while using RDS with a password-protected screensaver. | Easily switch between shared programs using the shared program taskbar. |
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Choose to allow one person to work in the shared program at a time. |
| Approve conference participants' requests to work in the program you introduce. | |
| Allow or prevent others from working in a program using the Sharing dialog box. | |
Caution
If you share a Windows Explorer window, such as My Computer, Control Panel, or a folder on your computer, you will be sharing all Explorer windows you have open. Also, once you have shared such a window, every program you start while you are still in the meeting is shared with the other participants automatically.
Notes
You can also click the NetMeeting icon in the status area of your taskbar, and then click the Share Program button on the quick-access toolbar.
You can share more than one program at a time and several people can share programs simultaneously.
Selecting the Share in true color check box will slow down the speed of program sharing. It is recommended this option be used only on fast connections, such as LAN or other high-speed bandwidth environments.
Participants with NetMeeting version 2.1 or earlier will not be able to see the shared desktops of participants with NetMeeting 3.0.
Remote Desktop Sharing
NetMeeting
makes working at home easier because you can share your office desktop to
yourself at home. When you're working at home, it's frustrating to not have
access to your computer at work. In the past, even if you were able to dial
in from home, you had to make sure you had all of your work software loaded
on to your home computer. But not anymore. With NetMeeting, you can share
your desktop to yourself using Remote Desktop Sharing, and have access to
everything on your work computer while you are at home.
To configure Remote Desktop Sharing on your office computer:
Install NetMeeting 3.
In the NetMeeting Tools menu, click Remote Desktop Sharing and step through the Wizard.
When you're ready to leave for the day, click the Call menu, and then select Exit and Activate Remote Desktop Sharing. You can log off if you'd like -- Remote Desktop Sharing will still be running.
Call this computer from a different computer, type in your password, and the remote desktop will appear, ready to be used.
Notes
Computers running the Remote Desktop Sharing service are not logged on to the ILS directory: you must call using an IP address or machine name.
You must check the box Require security for this call before placing a call to a computer running the Remote Desktop Sharing service.
If the remote computer you are calling is Windows NT, you will need to enter your administrator account name, administrator password, and if necessary, a domain name.
You cannot call or join into other conferences during a Remote Desktop Sharing session.
True Color sharing capabilities do not work during Remote Desktop Sharing sessions
Further Links
Download Net Meeting 3.01 from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/NetMeeting/
Download Microsoft Internet Locator Server 2.0 from http://www.microsoft.com/ msdownload/ ils/ils20.asp
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0: NetMeeting Internet Collaboration Tool - a CBT training course -- for NetMeeting 2.1 but has some good animations and explanations
http://www.meetingbywire.com/Alternatives.htm A source of information on alternative products to NM. http://www.meetingbywire.com/Alternatives.htm
"There are tons of USA servers." Look at this list: www.ilscenter.com
