Is it reasonable to use Messenger with application sharing to remotely demonstrate products, or give

[Bill Walter]

I know there are applications like Webex, Interwise, and mShow for
presenting a webcast to several participants, but is it practical to use
Messenger to demonstrate a product, or give a sales presentation to a small
group? With firewall issues, basically the requirement to have XP at both
ends, and the asking and accepting, etc.required to get things going I am
wondering if people are trying to use messenger for business communications.

I hove found it very useful once all the configuration issues are resolved,
but it seems like each place I try it, there are new and different
challenges. It seems like corporations are generally not too receptive to
allowing employees to have access to Messenger of MSN Messenger over the
Internet. What other options are available that are not too expensive, that
are easier to configure, and work over a larger variety of operating
systems?

Bill Walter

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Bill,

I think Messenger's "collaboration" features will find more ground internally after RTC
Server 2003 is released (an internal IM server for corporations and Windows Messenger 5.0).
Most of the issues with Application Sharing are due based that the "invite" is actually based
on SIP and UPnP. NATs which don't process SIP properly, even with ports forwarded, won't
allow this feature to work.

One zero-cost, highly compatible option is to simply use Netmeeting's Program Sharing (which
is the same thing that Messenger Application Sharing uses). Windows 98 and above has
Netmeeting built-in (most likely up-to-date due to Internet Explorer updates), and no
Internet connectivity is required (simply open it up, call the IP or computer name directly,
and you're ready to go). To start Netmeeting in Windows XP, simply click Start, then Run,
enter "conf" and click OK.

As well, there's also services like Placeware (owned by Microsoft):
http://main.placeware.com
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com