| If you're like me, you may be asking, "Microsoft SharedView, what is that?". I found out about it today through my Office Live Workspace. I clicked on the Share button and was present with Share Workspace and Share screen. Sharing a workspace I was familiar with, but this sharing a screen peaked my curiosity, so I clicked on it. I was taken the Microsoft SharedView Beta download site. So, being the kind of person I am, I decided to download it and install it.
After it downloaded an installed, a toolbar showed up at the top of my screen and I thought to myself, this looks a lot like Windows Live Meeting. I had the option to start a new session, so I quickly started a session and was given my session information. I immediately sent the info to a co-worker, he clicked on the link and was prompted to install Microsoft SharedView. Once he installed it, he joined my meeting and I was asked if I want to let him in. I clicked yes, and sure enough, we found ourselves in a free, simplified version of Office Live Meeting 2007 with the ability to share a screen or just an application, give each other control of the meeting and message each other in the meeting. It was impressive.
The response time seemed a little slow, so we'll continue to play with it and see how it goes, but it is a great option if you need a free tool to host internet wide web meetings with friends, classmates, co-workers or family members. I know I'll use it as well if only to help troubleshoot family and friends computers as it is a quick easy way for me to see what they see as well as gain control of their mouse and keyboard if necessary to help them out. Way to go Microsoft! In my opinion your starting to compete with some of the Google web applications and I'm loving the progress and steps you are taking to compete. |