Medical & Health Informatics
TELECONFERENCING > Experiences at GFMER
Experiences with MSN Messenger :
- Adding new Collegues
After running the software and signing on to the MSN network you want to add a contact to your list using the menu Contacts/Add-A-Contact. Your contact should be registered with the MSN Messenger system, but if they are not, you will be able to send them an email with instructions on what to do.
- Opening an audio video Connection
Double-click on your contacts name. If they are signed-on then a chat window will open. Typing messages in the bottom pane of the window followed by ENTER will send your message to them.
In order to open an audio/video connection you have two choices:- Start a Video Conference
- Start an Audio Conversation AND Send my Webcam
- You are on a PC but your Collegue is on a Macintosh
The MSN Messenger for Macintosh does NOT allow audio/video. Use a different software to communicate (like iVisit or OhPhoneX).
- Addon for MSN Messenger: Messenger Plus
The Messenger Plus free addon enhances MSN Messenger to allow you to rename the contacts, oganise your collegues into groups, more easily perform file transfers, encryption, advanced logging, translation tools, Download it here. They run a Forum here.
Experiences with NETMEETING :
- The Netmeeting communication protocol is not compatible with NAT
If you are behind a broadband router and/or firewall, chances are that Netmeeting won't work for you. Look here (http://www.homenethelp.com/help/netmeeting-router.asp) for a discussion and proposed solutions : (1) use a DMZ, (2) use a router with Netmeeting support, or (3)
- Netmeeting is for contacting machines, not people... what's a
GATEKEEPER ?
Installing a gatekeeper will allow your institute to control the H.323 endpoints and provide address translation between symbolic alias addresses and IP addresses. This way you can call "jan" instead of knowing which IP address he currently uses. If you want to contact a particular person, then you (and the people you need to contact) need to be registered on something called a gatekeeper. A good free gatekeeper is at http://www.gnugk.org/h323develop.html. Gatekeepers also allow FIREWALL/NAT traversal.
- What exactly is H.323 and/or SIP?
A tutorial for H.323 is at http://www.gnugk.org/h323-intro.html and for SIP is at http://www.gnugk.org/sip.html Note that they are incompatable but gateways do exist.
Text prepared by Dr. Shawn Koppenhoefer
Edited by Aldo Campana,