Desktop Sharing

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With high speed Internet becoming widely used, it is much easier to connect to remote computers in a functional way. With 56k dial up this process was murder. NOT funtional.

My favortite way of connectiong to another computer is by using REMOTE DESKTOP which is built into XP. It's awesome. I find it better than PCAnywhere or similar programs. It seem more stable and fast. I have compare the two for years. PC Anywhwere has its place, however, so I use both. Depends on the need. Here are pros and cons to consider:

You can only Remotely Desktop into a machine that has XP Pro on it. (Another reason to have Pro instad of Home.) This is not so with PCAnywhere.

When you are using Remote Desktop, only YOU can use the machine. You have it locked up. It the other party logs in even under another profile, the connection is cut off. This is not so with PCAnywhere.

Remote desktop lets you use all the standard windows funtions between machines like copy and paste from one to the other. with PCA you can do these things but it is way more cumbersome.

The other computer (user) can not see what you are doing when you are connected to him with Remote Desktop. PCAnywhere lets both users not only see what is happening but BOTH users can do stuff at the same time, use the mouse, etc. This is a GREAT advantage over Remote Desktop if you need this funtionality. But most times I am connectiong to my work computer or my associates computer when they are not there so it does not matter.

Remote Desktop is faster, more stable and easier to use than PCA and uses less resources. Too much to describe here. Just trust me on this one. The exception is remotely restarting or shutting down. PCA is easier.

Remote Desktop is free. PCA costs $.

If you have a router, both these programs require that you open a port for each computer you are connectiong to. Sometimes I have views of 3 different persons computers on my screen at the same time.

These types of programs are becoming vital for business. My accountant for example works on our books remotely when he needs to help us. It's as if he is sitting right there instead of the 60 miles away he is.

There are others out there which may be good. GO TO MY PC

But I am only familiar with RD and PCA. I use them almost every day. There is a lot of info on Google.

Remote Desktop article

PC Anywhere