Tech Tip

Its easy to use! If you have a small office network, take half an hour at the end of the day with some of your employees and test it out and learn to use it. If your network is a TCP/IP protocol just enter the ip number of the computer you wish to contact on the Lan. If Netmeeting is open on the computer, the sound card will ring just like a telephone. A pop up asks you to answer or reject the request to meet. You'll soon discover how simple it is to speak over the computer and collaborate on work. Using it over the internet is just as simple. You need to find out your assigned ip number (use a finger program or if you are using NT its on the dial-up fly out) and you need to know the assigned ip of the person you are contacting. Bingo! you connect.

Look for voice over TCP/IP to explode as a service. Frankly the telephone switched networks may well be replaced by TCP/IP switching. Its convenient for conference calls. It can handle video. And its essentially free! Fixed price long distance is here today...voice quality isn't great but isn't bad either. It can only get better. This will be the hottest product of 1998. There are lots of programs that will handle VON (voice over net) that you can pay good money for, but its pretty hard to beat Netmeeting which is given free by Bill.

Another free product bundled with W95 that a lot of people running small networks are not aware of is the "instant messaging" utility Winpopup. It's hidden away in your windows folder and is a small 27kb application. Many users of W95 never discover it...it's a great little tool for little reminders. It runs right on your taskbar and when someone sends you an instant message the icon changes and there is an optional aural beep. It is only useful in a network. Go to your Windows folder. Scroll down to you find "winpopup.exe". Left click on it to Create a Shortcut. Create the shortcut and send it to the desktop. You're all set to go! ...again its free for the using!

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