science

NetMeeting

NetMeeting is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NetMeeting rather than just read about it. In short: NetMeeting is a discontinued VoIP and multi-point videoconferencing program offered by Microsoft. NetMeeting allows multiple clients to host and join a call that includes video and audio, text chat, application and desktop sharing, and file sharing.

Key takeaways

NetMeeting belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NetMeeting to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NetMeeting from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NetMeeting is a discontinued VoIP and multi-point videoconferencing program offered by Microsoft. NetMeeting allows multiple clients to host and join a call that includes video and audio, text chat, application and desktop sharing, and file sharing. It was originally bundled with Internet Explorer 3 and then with Windows versions from Windows 95 to Windows Server 2003.

History NetMeeting was released on May 29, 1996, with Internet Explorer 3 and later Internet Explorer 4. It incorporated technology acquired by Microsoft from UK software developer Data Connection Ltd and DataBeam Corporation (subsequently acquired by Lotus Development). Before video service became common on free IM clients, such as Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger, NetMeeting was a popular way to perform video conferences and chat over the Internet (with the help of public ILS servers, or "direct-dialing" to an IP address). The defunct TechTV channel even used NetMeeting as a means of getting viewers onto their call-in shows via webcam, although viewers had to call on their telephones, because broadband Internet connections were still rare.

Protocol architecture NetMeeting is an implementation of the ITU T.120 and H.323 protocol stacks for videoconferencing, with Microsoft extensions. A call is set up, undertaken and torn down between NetMeeting clients using the H.225 protocol. Audio is carried using H.245, encoded using the G.711 and G.723.1 codecs from 5.3 to 64 kbit/s, while the video is encoded using the H.263 and H.261 codecs. Application sharing is performed using the "Share 2.0" protocol, based on a pre-release version of T.128, with the protocol also being used to transport chat messages; whiteboard sharing uses ITU T.126, while file sharing is performed using FTP over T.127. Due to its use of a standardised protocol, NetMeeting can interoperate with other H.323-implementing software, such as Ekiga.

Discontinuation In Windows XP, the Start menu shortcut to NetMeeting was removed “by design”. Users had to start conf.exe manually from the Start menu Run dialog. As of Windows Vista, NetMeeting is no longer included with Microsoft Windows. NetMeeting can still be installed and run on the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista, as Microsoft published an update for 32-bit versions of Windows Vista on March 22, 2007 that installs NetMeeting 3.02 on Windows Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate editions. However, some features are not available in 3.02 such as remote desktop sharing invitations (incoming) and whiteboard area selection. Microsoft has stated that the Vista compatible version is unsupported and is only meant as a transition tool to help support collaboration sessions when used with Windows XP-based computers. On Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate, users can use Windows XP Mode to run NetMeeting. Microsoft originally recommended using newer applications such as Meeting Space, Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance, Skype, Microsoft Office Live Meeting and SharedView in place of NetMeeting. Skype for Business Server and Skype for Business (known previously by Office Communicator and Lync), and Microsoft Teams represent recent videoconferencing products from Microsoft, which may be considered successors to NetMeeting.

Reception ZDNET noted that since it was only available for Microsoft Windows, adoption was limited to users of that platform.

See also Ekiga: a free and open source VoIP and video conferencing application that uses H.323 H323Plus: an implementation of the H.323 VoIP protocol suite that has been integrated into a number of open source and commercial software products

References

External links Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2000-03-04)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NetMeeting

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NetMeeting claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NetMeeting before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NetMeeting ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NetMeeting

In research: NetMeeting appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NetMeeting in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NetMeeting is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Discontinued Windows components, Internet Explorer add-ons, Teleconferencing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NetMeeting outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NetMeeting in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NetMeeting means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NetMeeting out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NetMeeting in simple terms?

Why does NetMeeting matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NetMeeting?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NetMeeting.