Website design By BotEap.comYou have just installed a new Windows 7 operating system on your computer. Indeed, Windows 7 is a great operating system and you will almost certainly enjoy many of its features. Sooner or later you decide to share a PowerPoint presentation with your colleague. You write “
conf“from the Run menu to start a good old NetMeeting. Hit Enter anticipating a new and improved interface and … nothing happens. Wait, is my Windows installation broken or did they rename the software again?
Website design By BotEap.comWhere is NetMeeting?
Website design By BotEap.comLet’s be clear from the start: There is no NetMeeting in Windows 7. Microsoft removed it from its latest operating system. Why? They are pushing companies to implement full-featured unified communications solutions, such as Microsoft Lync. But what about those of us who are unprepared or just don’t need the complexity of such a solution? All is not lost and there are some options available.
Website design By BotEap.comWhat are the alternatives?
Website design By BotEap.comLet’s take a quick look at some tools that can be considered a NetMeeting replacement for Windows 7.
Website design By BotEap.comOfficial Microsoft solutions
Website design By BotEap.comNetMeeting in XP mode – essentially, you run a Windows XP virtual machine inside your Windows 7 operating system.
Website design By BotEap.comPros:
- Free (on Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate).
- You get the full functionality of NetMeeting.
Website design By BotEap.comCons:
- Only available in Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate.
- Heavy – Running a separate OS for just one app seems like a stretch to me.
- Requires non-trivial setup and configuration; it can be a problem for end users.
Website design By BotEap.comMicrosoft SharedView – it cannot be considered a direct replacement for NetMeeting as it does not allow you to connect directly to the IP of another machine. That is, you are not using a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection.
Website design By BotEap.comPros:
- Microsoft’s official alternative for Windows 7.
- Free.
- Improved functionality.
Website design By BotEap.comCons:
- It works over the Internet and therefore requires an Internet connection.
- Less secure: your data leaves your private network.
- Slow on the local network as it is no longer P2P.
- Requires creation of Windows Live ID.
- Limited to 15 participants.
- Requires installation.
Website design By BotEap.comThird party solutions
Website design By BotEap.comTools like WebEx, LogMeInetc. are readily available through numerous providers. Functionally, they are even further from NetMeeting than Microsoft SharedView and may be described as “too much” by many users. The only situation where I would recommend using such a tool to replace NetMeeting is when your organization has already implemented it and is paying for it.
Website design By BotEap.comPros:
- Rich functionality.
- Your organization may already have them in place.
Website design By BotEap.comCons:
- Expensive.
- Most of them are web based.
- Usually a complex, functionally overloaded user interface.
- Requires internet connection and ID creation.
- It is not P2P and is often slow.
