Desktop Sharing with Unyte
Source: saunderslog.com
I had a need yesterday to use a desktop sharing application for a presentation. We were giving an iotum presentation to a group in Toronto, and couldn’t be there in person. My situation is compounded by Windows Vista and Microsoft’s OneCare Live for firewall and security. Java applications, in particular, are difficult to install in this environment. I turned to Jim Courtney for some advice, since Jim’s been using these systems for ever.Â
We had no joy with Yugma, which Jim — a real fan — suggested first. We were able to share sessions when he started them, but I was never able to successfully install the console software on my PC to be able to start them myself. The Skype Extra’s manager gave a server error whenever I tried. Jim’s on Windows XP. I am not.Â
 Lotus Sametime Unyte, however, eventually did work after a little trying. The problem we encountered was that each time a participant joined the session, Unyte would abruptly terminate the sharing session on the presenter’s PC. The trick? By default the desktop sharing ports on the firewall are turned off. Simply turning them on allowed normal operation.
The recipients of the presentation remarked afterward how well Unyte worked. And the price was right too — free for person to person desktop sharing.
