As an IT professional, you know the benefits of properly training
people to use software–more productive users and a reduced number of technical
support calls. However, when dealing with a large group of people, coordinating
training sessions in a room with enough computers to accommodate everyone can
be a real hassle. Wouldn’t it be great if you could provide a training
presentation across the network to large numbers of users while they sit at
their own computers? Well, if Windows Vista’s new Network Presentation feature
is any indication of what Microsoft has in store for network collaboration,
then providing real-time training presentations across the network will soon be
a reality.

While the Network Presentation feature was more fully
apparent in Beta 1 than it is in the October CTP, it will definitely be making
a comeback in upcoming CTP releases. It’s definitely worth examining now and then
keeping on your radar screen as the Windows Vista operating system evolves.

The Network Presentation feature is kind of like a
combination of Remote Desktop or NetMeeting’s Share a Desktop feature, but it
takes the best of both of these tools and moves them up to a new level of both
ease of use and improved performance. In Beta 1, the Network Presentation
feature consisted of three components: Broadcast a Presentation, View a
Presentation, and Connect to a Projector. Let’s take a closer look.

Broadcast a Presentation

As the name implies, this is the component that will allow
you, as the presenter, to set up and transmit a presentation across the
network. The Broadcast a Presentation component is essentially a step-by-step
wizard that walks you through the setup process. To begin with, the wizard
prompts you to provide a name for the presentation and assign it a password,
thus allowing you to restrict access to presentation. The next screen in the
wizard will allow you to see who is connected to your presentation and also contains
buttons that allow you to blank the screen and end the presentation.

At this point, your desktop becomes the presentation screen
and is broadcast out across the network. You can then demonstrate an
application on your computer or launch a PowerPoint presentation.

While the Broadcast a Presentation component is very basic
at this point, Microsoft has indicated that it will be adding other
communication features such as chat, file transfer, and even the ability to
send out invitations to your presentation. While there is no official word on
audio capabilities, such as the ability to be able to broadcast your voice to
allow narration of the presentation, it would be a logical feature.

View a Presentation

As the name implies, this is the component that will allow
your intended audience to connect to and watch your presentation across the
network in real time. Like Broadcast a Presentation, the View a Presentation
component is essentially a step-by-step wizard that walks you through the
process connecting to an online presentation. Of course, it begins with a
network browser tool that allows you to locate and select a network presentation.
Once you provide the password, you’re connected to and can view the presentation

Connect to a Projector

While the workings of the Broadcast a Presentation and the
View a Presentation components are pretty straightforward
at this point, the Connect to a Projector component is a bit more abstract.
Like the others, the Connect to a Projector component is set up as a wizard and
is actually more akin to View a Presentation component in that it begins with a
network browser tool that allows you to locate and select a network attached
projector. The implication of this tool is that it will allow someone who is
unable to physically attend a standard presentation in which the audience is
sitting in a darkened room watching the presentation on a big screen, do so
virtually.

The networking

At this point, Microsoft is indicating that the Network
Presentation feature is designed for use on a single subnet. Broadcast and
viewing won’t work across subnets, won’t work across the Internet, and won’t
work via remote or Virtual Private Network (VPN) access.

Conclusion

Windows Vista’s release date is over a year a way and the
operating system, while more solidified than it has been prior to this point in
time, is still in a state of flux. However, Microsoft has alluded to the fact
that the current Network Presentation feature’s three components, will be
condensed down into one application.

As always, if you have comments or information to share
about Windows Vista’s Network Presentation feature, please take a moment to
drop by the Discussion area and let us hear.