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.
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