10 November 2011

NetMeeting for Windows 7: Delivered

Hi folks! Recently I started getting more and more questions about NetMeeting replacement for Windows 7. Personally, I haven't used NetMeeting much so I didn't even realize that Microsoft removed NetMeeting from their latest OS's . Apparently, that caused some issues for many of you.

In Vista Microsoft offer some sort of replacement for NetMeeting called Windows Meeting Space so those 3 of you who still use Vista should have less worries . However it's not available in Windows 7 and that can become a real issue. Running a virtual Windows XP machine in Windows 7 just for NetMeeting doesn't look to me as a graceful solution. Another option would be SharedView from Microsoft. It can actually work if you don't care about going via Internet and registering a Live ID. I decided to try it myself and it was painfully slow.

So I started looking for some free peer-to-peer lightweight tool that I could recommend to my business clients. Enterprise users are usually not at liberty to leave their private local networks. They also don't particularly like complex tools which require a significant learning curve. After some research I found nothing that would satisfy my requirements. At that point I felt your pain and I had to do something about it.

As some of you may know, I've been a technical advisor for Inletex - a neat Canadian company specializing in remote support solutions. These guys have once followed the principle "if you want to do it right - do it yourself" and that's exactly how their Easy Remote Control tool came into existence. I talked to their core team and in one month (these guys are fast!) the first version of Inletex Easy Meeting Classic was released. Currently it offers just a basic NetMeeting desktop sharing functionality. But it's simple, fast, peer-to-peer, and FREE! For those who merely want to share their desktop with others it is definitely worth to look at.

Some features:
  • Greenware: No installation required. Zero footprint.
  • Peer-to-peer for LAN/WAN: No Internet required. All information stays in your private network.
  • Ease of use: Whether you share your desktop or join a shared session – one application, one click operation.
Product and download page: NetMeeting for Windows 7

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