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Home Office Computing, June, 1999 by Dave Johnson

PRINT, FAX, HOLD MEETINGS, AND MORE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

You probably think of the World Wide Web as a great place to gather business information, buy equipment and supplies, and send and receive e-mail. It certainly is--but if that's all you use your Internet connection for, you're missing out on a world of opportunities to make your home office more efficient.

From scheduling appointments to shipping packages, Web-based services are popping up like crocuses springtime to replace older, slower methods of performing these tasks. In many cases, these services save you money as well as time, either by eliminating the need for you to purchase a piece of equipment or--thanks to advertiser-driven sites--by being free. Some even take advantage of the Web's interactivity, putting a new spin on an old chore.

Here's our guide to giving up old habits and putting the Web to work for you.

1. Print From a Distance

* OLD WAY: Lug a portable printer (as if you don't have enough to carry when you're on the road); send documents to a fax machine and suffer greatly reduced output quality; connect to someone else's printer and be prepared for the hassle of installing its software driver on your laptop; or print files to a floppy disk and find a computer-equipped copy shop.

* OUR WAY: Send your documents to any printer connected to an Internet-linked PC using a service such as InternetPrint Lite (www.nadio.com; free). Before you begin, you'll need to download the program and install it on your PC and on the one attached to the printer you intend to use. When you're ready to print, just select InternetPrint as your printer and specify the name or identifier you chose for the system that's hooked up to the printer.

Moments later--if both computers are online--InternetPrint will find the target PC across the reaches of the Net and send the print job, complete with cover page. You can use this service to send print jobs to a PC across the hall or across the country, even if you don't have the right printer drivers installed on the remote PC.

2. Make Long-Distance or Conference Calls

* OLD WAY: Pay a lot of money to call business associates across the country or overseas. For phone meetings, remember to send handouts ahead of time and attempt to get on the same page from miles apart.

* OUR WAY: If all you want is a conversation, try Internet Phone 5.0 (vocaltec.com; $50). You can make PC-to-PC calls for no more than the cost of your Internet connection. Or, with the addition of an online carrier (rates vary according to the provider you choose and the area you're calling), you can call regular telephones from your computer. Note that voice-over-IP (Internet protocol) connections still don't deliver "pin drop" audio quality, so Net telephony is not the best method for make-or-break business calls.

If you want to collaborate with others, give Microsoft NetMeeting (www.microsoft.com/netmeeting; free) a shot. The program lets you carry on conversations with other NetMeeting users and remotely control Microsoft Office applications, such as Word or Excel, at the same time. Open a spreadsheet, for example, and everyone on the call can see what's on your screen. Participants can take turns editing the document, even though it's on your computer.

For online presentations, iMeet (www.imeet.com; free for five participants for up to one hour) duplicates the contents of your Web browser on your colleagues' browser screens, so you can step them through slides you've stored as HTML pages, iMeet also features a whiteboard and chat tool, and converts your Microsoft PowerPoint slides into Web pages. For more than five users, the fee is $9 per user per hour.

3. Receive Faxes

* OLD WAY: Buy a fax machine and supplies, tie up a phone line, and listen to the racket. Or buy fax software, tie up a phone line, and leave your PC on 24 hours a day.

* OUR WAY: Have incoming faxes delivered to you via e-mail with a service such as FaxWave (www.callwave.com; free). When you sign up, you'll get a unique fax phone number (not necessarily in your area code). Minutes after someone sends you a fax, it'll be e-mailed to you.

The faxes are sent as standard attachments in the TIFF graphic format, so you can read them onscreen or print them. In addition to consolidating your incoming messages to your e-mail inbox, this method lets you receive faxes at the same number, even when you're traveling. For a fee, some services also let you send faxes over the Internet. (See "Faxing Gets a Face-Lift," May 1999, page 51.)

4. Schedule Meetings With Remote Workers

* OLD WAY: Play endless rounds of e-mail and phone tag to find a date and time you're all available. Start over each time someone needs to reschedule.

* OUR WAY: Make the Internet your network and use an online scheduling service such as ScheduleOnline (www. scheduleonline.com; free) to manage your group's calendar.

How does ScheduleOnline work? First, you establish an organization and add as many members as you like, each receiving a unique username and password. Then you can schedule tasks and meetings, assign resources such as conference rooms or shared portable PCs, and check on everyone else's schedule. It also lets you e-mail invitations for meetings and check for conflicts when setting up appointments.