I'm looking to set up a chat program (instant messaging) that will work on my local area network even when i'm not connected to the internet. (baisically want a way for my wife to say "dinner is ready" without going up 2 flights of stairs) I've googled, and not found anything except for expensive programs designed for corporate environments. I'd prefer *easy to use (wife must be able to figure it out easily) *Reside in taskbar (no windows open normally) *able to set an annoying .wav as the alert, so it actually gets noticed. *free Anyone know of anything that will fit my needs? Thanks!
been looking for this too but then we couldn't get the wireless network with enough signal strength Have a look at download.com they had quite a few.
went through the download.com site, and finally found a program that i think will work for me. http://www.communicator.pl Windows Communicator - freeware, easy to use, resides in task bar, messages can be set to be quite annoying so it grabs your attention (actually is this way by default). The only thing I don't like about it, is that you seem to have to choose a server pc. Not sure if it's smart enough to bounce to another pc if the server isn't up or gets turned off
If you're running widowsXP it has software built in that does this. Best way (using default paths) open C:\WINDOWS\System32\winchat when you click on dial, it'll give a list of people on your LAN which you can then chat to Another way... open command prompt (you might need Start-> Run -> CMD) type netsend "the computer name, IP, or * for everyone" then the message hit enter and the message will send. e.g. by typing... netsend * I like Tories (maybe) will make a pop-up appear on everyone's computer on my LAN stating that I might like Tories. Ah, try them, they're free and you don't need to install anything! As for being on the taskbar - well, you could minimise the Chat program..... or make a desktop icon. The Netsend thing's not too userfriendly
you could just use the netsend command in comand prompt. So if your wife's computer is called desk1 you type netsend desk1 dinners out And it'll pop up on her screen and she cant not see it!
