[comp.groupware] Shared-Window Teleconferencing Tools

marks@agcsun.UUCP (Mark Shepherd) (07/27/90)

Hi. Does anyone know of a software product that will allow several
users at several locations on several types of workstations (Suns 
Macs and PCs) to all contribute text and graphics to a common window
in real-time. I know of several products that sort of do this:

- Timbuktu for macintoshes
- BBN Diamond for Suns
- Carbon Copy for PCs
- several shared X-window implementations (to my knowledge, these 
  are experiments rather than actual products)

but what I want is a product that will work on several different
kinds of machine at the same time. The product should work over
standard dial-up modems (at least when there's only two stations).

Does such a thing exist?

Mark Shepherd
agcsun!marks@boulder.colorado.edu
303-279-1300 x288 (voice)
303-279-2209      (fax)

feit@cs.odu.edu (Mark A. Feit) (07/30/90)

marks@agcsun.UUCP (Mark Shepherd) writes:

   Hi. Does anyone know of a software product that will allow several
   users at several locations on several types of workstations (Suns 
   Macs and PCs) to all contribute text and graphics to a common window
   in real-time.
   [STUFF DELETED]
   - several shared X-window implementations (to my knowledge, these 
     are experiments rather than actual products)

Yes, unfortunately, those kinds of things are still laboratory
curiosities.  I am working on one of them, and I've had so much
success with the prototype that I'm going to expand it into an
application.  Hopefully, it will be ready for release to the general
public by the end of the year.  Requirements will probably be along
these lines:

	Any architecture/OS combination capable of running X and
		compiling C.
	X11R3 or later
	TCP/IP
	10 M-Bit Ethernet (works better with a fibernet, though)

If you're still interested, drop me your e-mail address and I'll keep
you posted.

   but what I want is a product that will work on several different
   kinds of machine at the same time.

All of the X packages that I know of will fill that last requirement
since the X server and its protocol are portable.

 The product should work over
   standard dial-up modems (at least when there's only two stations).

Actually, the dial-up thing is a separate problem which can be solved
by installing SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol, available by
anonymous FTP from uunet.uu.net, among other places) on the system(s)
in question and you'll be able to run an X server on one end and
clients elsewhere.


						- Mark

................................... ................................... 
: Mark A. Feit                     : feit@cs.odu.edu                  :
: Old Dominion University CS Dept. : feit@xanth.UUCP                  :
: Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A., Earth : "So where's my lunch, anyway?"   :
................................... ................................... 
  Y
:)8 G-G-G-D-E-C

--

						- Mark

................................... ................................... 
: Mark A. Feit                     : feit@cs.odu.edu                  :
: Old Dominion University CS Dept. : feit@xanth.UUCP                  :
: Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A., Earth : "So where's my lunch, anyway?"   :
................................... ................................... 
  Y
:)8 G-G-G-D-E-C

davek@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (David Keenan) (08/01/90)

Microcom (carboncopy@applelink.apple.com) have versions of CarbonCopy for
the Mac as well as the PC and may be working on a cross-systems version.

herb@ralph.sybase.com (Herb Lison) (08/03/90)

The "BBN Diamond" product you mention is actually called BBN/Slate and
is available on a number of platforms, including Sun, IBM and DEC.  There
are both X11 and Sunview versions and all are interoperable, meaning that
you can hold a conference between a Sun-3, Sparcstation, IBM-RS6000 and
Decstation simultaneously.  If you need more information the person to
call is Scott Richardson at BBN Software Products, 618-873-8124.

Herb Lison
(Formerly at BBN)

John G. Spragge <SPRAGGEJ@QUCDN.QueensU.CA> (08/06/90)

A tool of this type (currently under QNX) is being developed/marketed by
Groupware Inc.) of London, Ontario.