windows 7 - How to message any user on your LAN?

09
2014-02
  • Shashank Sawant

    I have admin access to all (read most) the machines on my LAN. However, I wanted all users to be able to coordinate with each other. How should I approach this problem?

    One solution which I can think of, but which I know doesn't exist in the exact form, is this:
    messageping 192.168.23.45 Hi!
    This would have popped up a message box saying Hi on the given local address.

    There are quite a few softwares which allow you to chat over the LAN. But in the cases that I have seen, the user has to log in at the startup. Specifically I want to solve the problem: User Alice on address 192.168.23.44 wants to use MATLAB on 192.168.23.45, which is currently being hogged by Bob. I want a way for Alice to ping Bob asking him when will he be done using the machine. The solution should not involve any action other than a simple login at startup.

    • Answers
  • Oliver Salzburg

    In Windows operating systems, you have the net send command.

    As the documentation linked above says:

    The Messenger service must be running for messages to be received.

    Related: How do I get the "net send" messenger service working on Windows 7?

  • ultrasawblade

    I may be mistaken, but if you use the Bonjour protocol with Pidgin, people can chat with each other as long as they are on the same network, with no need to login. Phone apps like WiChat can work with it as well on a Wifi network that's part of the same network.


    • Related Question

    windows 7 - How to communicate between two PCs on the same LAN?
  • studiohack

    Another user and I are on the same LAN and often wish to send each other URLs or several photos, or such. Is there a program or a feature that would allow us to communicate simply? like a local PC-to-PC IM?

    Windows 7 (PC 1) to Windows XP (PC 2).


    • Related Answers
  • MaQleod

    LAN Chat is a LAN based IM client, very simple and private to a local network

  • Josh K

    If you were logged in to the same server you could use talk. Otherwise I generally us AIM (or another IM client). A local implementation would be nice but then it depends on having that local connection. AIM (or another IM client) will work locally and remotely.