Click here to try GoToMyPc freeAt 20 years old pcAnywhere 12 makes more recent upstarts like GoToMyPc and LogMeIn seem young. Unlike the more recent remote access tools the remote access problem is solved through a simple piece of software that you can buy in a package. Rather than signing up to a service that you can use anywhere in the world, you are buying a CD with the software on that needs to be installed on each computer you wish to access. The positive of this, however, is that you only need to pay for the tool once to be able to use it forever.babies.If you want something easy to use, try GoToMyPc. If you want something cheap, try RealVNC. If you want something to support buisiness users from a help desk, pcAnywhere is the way to go. pcAnywhere works on many different operating systems and includes administration tools for remotely managing its associated tools. There is also the ability to remotely monitor a number of computers in one window, which is useful for staff. The user interface of pcAnywhere 12 has been redesigned to compete with simpler tools such as GoToMyPc and LogMeIn. To set up the computer as a "host" (a computer which serves a view of its desktop to other computers) you click the host button and set up your options through a wizard. The wizard avoids using techincal language and guides you through the setup process comfortably. The process for connecting to another computer as a client is reassuringly similiar to the host. You need to type in the IP address of another computer, or search for the computer if it is on the local network. This is more comlpex than simply needing a user name, as for web based products such as GoToMyPc, but this shouldnt pose a problem for experienced users. Once past this initial hurdle, file transferring and remote control are very easy; involving just a couple of clicks to enable. pcAnywhere shows its age in terms of connection methods. Twenty years ago it was standard to connect two nearby computers via a parallel cable, however now we have USB and pcAnywhere doesnt have built in driver support for it. What has evolved as the target user has moved from home user to buisiness user is the web based deployment tool. With it you can remotely deploy and administrate pcAnywhere installations. All sessions can also be recorded for later viewing, for example if you are using the application for a conference (though I would reccomend GoToMeeting or WebEx for such a role). Supported operating systems include Windows 98,XP,Vista as well as most Linux distributions and Mac OS X 10 or later. The quick host install feature relies upon certain properties of your network, so features can be dependant upon your network structure and may require reconfiguration. Complete with the administrative tools is a useful utility to launch a remote command prompt (think telnet session) without having to download all the screen data. One noticeably lacking feature when compared to newer tools is the lack of a Java remote client that allows you to access your home computer from any computer via a web browser. Instead its limited to access via web browser which requires the install CD (unlike GoToMyPc which downloads a thin client on the fly). |
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