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	NetMeeting

Ease of Access

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Accessing a NetMeeting online session is quite easy. Once the "host" (presenter/moderator) has created a new meeting she can invite by email participants to join in. A participant who has been invited must start her own NetMeeting and dial up the IP number of the person hosting the meeting. It is therefore important that the presenter can find her own IP and that she is not behind a firewall where she could not be called by outside participants.

The first time you use Microsoft NetMeeting a Startup Wizard is automatically loaded with the purpose of facilitating new users in properly setting up their tool. The wizard procedure can be skipped but you will not be able to run a NetMeeting session unless you complete the wizard setup.

In the Setup Wizard you have to provide your name and your email address.

During the wizard setup process you are provided with the option of logging in to a ILS Directory Server every time you start Microsoft NetMeeting. You can also choose whether your information should be publicly listed on your selected Directory Server. This is equivalent to being listed in a phone book. Other people can easily find your listing and access your meeting more easily.

Also during the Setup Wizard procedure network connection settings (your connection speed) and shortcuts to start NetMeeting are established. Finally, the audio tuning procedure makes sure that microphone and speakers are properly connected and setup.

NetMeeting users can access an online conference meeting by either:

Making a direct call by utilizing the telephone icon button on the NetMeeting interface and providing the attendee IP inside the subsequent input dialog box.

Users on dial-up connections may have a different IP each time they log onto the Internet therefore making direct calls an issue, unless one has an automated way of knowing his attendees IPs in advance. For people with an always-on connection to the Internet or communicating within a company Intranet this is not an issue.

To find out one's own IP address it is possible to access the Help -> About section of NetMeeting to view the IP assigned to that specific PC. Note that if you are on a network with multiple PCs connected the IP number displayed here may not be the correct one to use (this will be in fact the IP address of your PC "inside" the corporate network). In such cases you can find out your own effective IP by going to: http://www.whatismyip.com/

Please note that if you are on a corporate network that is able to resolve computer names to IP addresses you can also utilize the PC "friendly name" to connect to others. You can find out your Pc friendly name by going inside the Windows Control Panel -> Network -> and then clicking on the "Identification" tab.
By logging onto a Microsoft Internet Directory server.
Microsoft has upgraded their servers from an ILS-based service directory type to a MSN Messenger-based service directory type. These servers are the most direct and preferred method for initiating calls among NetMeeting users. Once logged on Microsoft Internet Directory server one would search for a person by name and then click on it to initiate a NetMeeting session.
For people utilizing MSN Messenger (the standard Microsoft instant messenger) initiating NetMeeting sessions is very easy as users can directly leverage the integration of their instant messenger with their NetMeeting facilities. While using MSN Messenger you can simply click on a contact, select Invite -> NetMeeting.

Please note that the key advantage of utilizing methods b) and c) to initiate a NetMeeting call is that the person being invited does NOT need to have NetMeeting open when she receives an invitation.

« Setup - Installation | Main | Customer Support »

Posted on June 14, 2003 at 03:00 PM

Updated on June 24, 2005 at 08:45 AM

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