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Remote Computing - Helping Another Computer User 
With Don Singleton dsingleton@apcug.net presenting remotely with assistance from Judi McDowell, President, Quad Cities Computer Society, IL
Written by Joe Durham, Newsletter Co-editor, QCS
www.qcs.org 
joseph85_us (at)yahoo.com

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

Don Singleton dropped in on our club from cyberspace to share with us the exciting technology of remote computing. He is president of the Tulsa Computer Society, and also acts that APCUG coordinator and teacher for this emerging field of computers. Consider this scenario: someone calls you for computer help, they live across town or the river, it is perhaps a 30 minute drive or longer, you will usually have used up a good day's time in driving for a 30 minute house call. Now with remote computing software you can offer you knowledge and expertise right from your own home.

This technology has existed for a number of years. Our President, Judi McDowell, purchased Windows XP Pro when it was released because it has the Remote Desktop feature. She has used this for several years. Today however, remote computing has reached a critical mass of user awareness, and product development to become 
a very useful helping tool. Don presented remotely five free programs that work on Windows XP and Vista machines that offers different levels of ability and access for helping other people over the Internet, and also to doing teaching presentations on the web: CrossLoop, Microsoft Shared View, IBM Lotus' Unyte Presentationsoftware, and Adobe's ConnectNow interface. Our session began when Judi and Don connected via Skype to set up the voice portion of Don's seminar.

The first program was CrossLoop. Judi started it on her computer as did Don. A small interface appeared. Don invited her to view his computer. CrossLoop generates a unique code each time it is started that you pass to the invited guest. This code acts a security feature.

When the connection was made we could see Don's Outlook Express screen. He proceeded to display his file manager, and then his iGoogle homepage. He then demonstrated that Judi had control of his computer also, but asking her to activate various tab movements and settings on his desktop. The presenter has the ability to 
control this access. Don noted that in a large group setting it would make more sense to deactivate the mouse control access to keep the screen appearance orderly.

CrossLoop allows users to trade places. So Judi invited Don to view her screen and he plugged in an access code for this transfer. As a result the flexibility of this interface allows a helper to demonstrate things on their machine and then turn around and actually carry out those ideas on the other person's computer. It was remarkable that we could also see these transformations over the net from Tulsa and Rock Island.

Microsoft's Sharedview program was displayed. Several members in our club have begun experimenting with this presentation and remote access software. In this setting you use Skype for voice and Sharedview for desktop sharing. As in CrossLoop you view the other person's desktop. But this program has a few more features and is more geared toward presentations and collaboration sessions. Up to 15 people can share the view on the net. With Sharedview an email invitation is sent that contains a url link to click. The presenter will see the person asking to join and accepts the session. Unlike CrossLoop, by default Sharedview does not give the user access to the presenter's computer, all you see it their desktop. There are controls on the presenter's side 
which can allow you to control their desktop, but they must activate it. Once the presenter moves their mouse the control is severed.

IBM's Lotus Unyte software was the next remote client viewed. Judi and Don had some difficulties getting this particular software to work properly thought they were able to use it fine in a test session. You use Skype for voice contact, and Unyte for desktop viewing remotely. An email invitation is issued as in Microsoft's Sharedview. Unyte has a paid version that has more features for $30 per year.

Adobe has created a remote presentation interface called ConnectNow. The remote desktop functions are similar to the other software covered by Don. The singular difference exists in the way you add users to the remote session. Rooms of 3 people are organized. You can see each person's id within the room. So while ConnectNow has presentation features, it is more useful as a collaboration tool among like-minded workers.

The last software examined was LogMeIn. This free software is geared to remotely access unattended computers. It just so happened that Don's main desktop went blank, but he had another computer that he was building on the network and he seamlessly was able to log in to this computer remotely and demonstrate that he could run programs on it. The free version doesn't allow you to copy or print files. All of these programs are user friendly. It is remarkable that we could actually share in this process, the visual presentation was seamless in all five software packages. Don noted that remote sessions need a broadband access speed to work, either a cable or dsl connection. He noted that there is Linux and Mac development of these products so that is an available option.

If you are interested in helping a fellow computer user remotely take the time to download and try out these various alternatives. Don offered to answer any questions about them via email. He is sending a copy of his Power Point Presentation to our webmaster so that it can be posted for reference. Be sure to visit our club web page at: www.qcs.org for links and further information concerning this session. The QCS thanks Don for his fine presentation of this exciting field.

CrossLoop crossloop.com/
Microsoft Sharedview connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=94
IBM Lotus Unyte www.unyte.net/
Adobe ConnectNow www.adobe.com/acom/connectnow/
LogMeIn secure.logmein.com/ home.asp?lang=en