Well, it’s official. Microsoft has abandoned another mainstream product with no replacement. When I installed the new IE9 I discovered that SharedView no longer worked. I quickly uninstalled IE9 and submitted a Connect bug and asked my MVP lead to check out what’s going on. He got back to me today with the grim news: “Microsoft SharedView is no longer supported by Microsoft.”
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharedviewbetahelp/threads
This is pretty sad. I leaves me and many other trainers and support professionals in the lurch. Now I have to find a suitable (non-Microsoft) replacement, test it and learn how to use it as well as update my course materials. I expect this is not nearly as expensive as the costs incurred by others that depend on SharedView on a daily basis.
Why is SharedView important? Yes there are other programs that purport to do the same. The SharedView advantage is that it's a MICROSOFT desktop sharing solution. You don't have to convince a customer that this free program is going to do anything but do what it's supposed to do. It's very lightweight, installs in seconds, is virtually pain-free and is brutally simple for each end to use. We have lots of sites where remote desktop is not an option--especially in my webinar classes. Consider that SV lets me view the system while the customer demonstrates a problem. I can take over his mouse and keyboard but only if he lets me and all he needs to do to take control back is move the mouse or press a key. It gave the customers a lot more confidence in their own system's security.
Wonder why the Microsoft stock is flat or falling while other companies continue to grow even in this economy? Now you know.
