This is something I've been wanting for a while. A recent situation has made this a real bee up my... er, in my bonnet.
I want to set up a one-way instant messaging system in my office. This would allow the IT department (me) to broadcast a message to everyone. A client service running on every desktop would display the message front and center; the box would be modal and require that the user manually close the box before continuing with anything else. Ideally, the app that sends out the message would get feedback that the box has been closed, allowing us to go to the user and make sure they got it.
Again, this would not be a full-fledged instant messaging service, just a way for IT to tell people that the database is being taken offline for maintenance or that our website is being restarted. Emails haven't worked, so I'm looking for a more effective solution that does not involve shouting.
I am not asking for anyone to write the code; that wouldn't be fun for me and anyway, I will need to understand the system well enough to maintain it. I would prefer using just the Framework, without third party tools. The problem is, I have no idea where even to begin. Knowing what assemblies and namespaces to use would be a big help, and if anyone has links to articles or sample code, I would be most appreciative.