Telephony nothing new to NetMeeting - Brief Article

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, Feb, 2000

Microsoft's NetMeeting is a free contender--at least free for everyone using the Windows operating system--that has included Internet voice telephony features since 1997. The system does not have a server infrastructure to support voice, so quality is dependent on local bandwidth. Recent upgrades include security features.

Dr. Roberto H. Bamberger, manager, faculty and professional development initiatives, education group, says that bringing outside experts into the classroom is a frequent application of the telephony features of NetMeeting. Typically, instructors connect a computer projection system in a classroom and start a NetMeeting session with a person at another site. This enables students to hear the speaker, ask questions and otherwise interact. He also sees professors holding virtual office hours with the tool. Faculty development centers are using NetMeeting to support faculty use of technology, says Bamberger. Some help desks are even using the telephony functions in conjunction with application sharing to troubleshoot a system.

NetMeeting is built on open standards. Third party developers will find information on the software development kit at www.microsoft.com/windows/NetMeeting/Authors/SDK/default.ASP