Microsoft NetMeeting is a premier online conferencing tool that incorporates Internet "telephone" calls, online chat sessions, whiteboard sessions (where you get to draw with others on a shared whiteboard), and collaborative document editing, as well as video conferencing. Of course, you need the necessary hardware (microphone, external speakers, and video camera, to name a few), and you must have a fast Internet connection to make much good use of the tools.

Start NetMeeting by clicking the Start button on the Windows taskbar, then choosing Programs, Accessories, Communications, NetMeeting. The first time you open NetMeeting, a wizard appears and takes you through a registration and microphone test in which you enter your name, e-mail address, city, and state, and tune your audio settings by speaking a few sentences into the microphone attached to your computer. The wizard also creates two shortcuts for starting NetMeeting: one on the Quick Launch toolbar that appears on the Windows taskbar; another on the desktop (that way, you never have to go through all those cascading menus attached to the Start button again).

After that initial encounter with the wizard, when you start NetMeeting, the program opens the NetMeeting window, which is your master control station for all Internet calls and conferencing activities. And then you're off: Talk, chat, or draw away!