Desktop power in your pocket?

[SonicSilicon]

I was perusing some download sites recently when I came across a port of a popular piece of software, PC Anywhere Remote, for the Palm-Size and Pocket PCs. As it's the remote, it's a free download since it's usesless without a host (which you have to pay for.)<br><br>(If you know what PC Anywhere does, skip to the next paragraph.) What PC Anywhere does is sends the audio/visual updates from a desktop system (the Host, which could be running almost any OS) to the Remote system. What you can see on the desktop is displayed on the remote as well. All the input from the remote is sent back to, and processed by, the host. In short, you remotely control the host.<br><br>So, what does this have to do with anything Pocket PC? Well, depending on the funtionality of the host program, you might be able to harness most of a desktops power from a Palm-Size or Pocket PC over a Local Area Network (LAN) or possibly even a direct dial-up modem connection. I doubt that many of the 3D games would work well, if at all, but more application orientated programs such as word processors and gaphics creation may be quite useable.<br><br>So, what's your opinion of such an arrangement?<br><br>(By the way, the Host program can be bought for under US$100(street) by itself. The full Host/Remote bundle for Windows NT/2000/9x runs around US$160 to US$170.)

[Dan East]

You can do the same thing with VNC for free. Plus it supports Unix/Linux and other operating systems. Even over ethernet it is still a bit clunky. The main disadvantage is trying to view a 800x600 (at least) display on a 240x320 (minus taskbar, scroll bars, etc) screen.<br><br>Dan East

[Chris Edwards]

If you have JS Landscape (Jimmy.com) you can use up to 360x480 resolution on the iPAQ which would be very nice for remote control from a handheld...<br><br>Can your Palm do that? In Colour? At 360x480? For free?<br><br>:)

[SonicSilicon]

Wow! VNC looks great! I just downloaded the Win32 and WinCE (MIPS) versions. Too bad there was no DOS version. (I have a few old copies of pcAnywhere for DOS lying around, so I could try those. They were real cheap, $15 a piece I beleive.) Hosting all my old DOS programs would be great, especially since most run at 320x200 256 color. But I'll try the Win32 VNC first. I'll tell you how well both work (if they work with what I've got.)<br><br>Any comments on if this is useful? I can see how a Network Administrator would love having an wireless ethernet conncetion (802.11b) on a PocketPC and be able to just switch from one computer to another. I'm not a Net Admin, though. I just help run our LAN at home. Would this be useful for everyday geeks like me? Or is this just a technical excrecise?<br><br>By the way, I don't have a Palm. I have two Palm-Sized PCs, PocketPC predecessors (i.e. they run WinCE 2.11)Last modification: Michael Dubois - 03/20/01 at 08:58:16

[Moose or Chuck]

I think those things are pretty much useless for home networks, especially if the network ISN'T wireless. But with these things playing Pocket Counter-Strike becomes more of a reality. That would be the only use for it. Laying on the couch playing Counter-Strike on your PPC.<br>But for businesses, they could walk anywhere in the building and still be troublshooting any problems, a great advantage, especially if you like to use the buzz-word "multi-tasking."

[Dr. Phat]

Again Moose- This is for bragging rights, not functionality, unless you have a wireless network.And since Phat rules supreme, you stand corrected. Ha!<br>

[Chris Edwards]

VNC would be good for almost everything. You could control/edit powerpoints over wireless lan, you could use the real outlook, play games and other neat stuff.<br><br>Let us know what your thoughts are on VNC once you have used it for a while.

[Moose or Chuck]

Phat, I stand corrected for what? What did you correct me about? If you want to remote control a computer but have to plug in your pocket pc to that computer, what's the point? Wireless is needed.

[SonicSilicon]

Hmm, guess I should fill in some details about the LAN in my house. It extends through all three floors (basement, bround, and 2nd.) This is done using two 10/100 switches, one uplinked to the other, as the backbone. If I wanted to, I could synchronize my PSPC from the basement to my desktop system on the 2nd floor . In essence, there's not a spot in our house where I'm not less than 50 feet away from plugging in.<br><br>Many colleges are wired similarily. You can find network jacks in the halls (if youd can figure out which is the network since there's also the burgular alarm system, the fire alarm, and digital phone system.) As long as you got a Ethernet card with an RJ-45 jack and a crossover Cat-5 cable, you can plug in and access anything networked on campus. This can be a real time saver as crossing even a small Technical Community College (TCC) campus can take 15 minutes. A class could be over by then.<br><br>As for my reporting back on using VNC, it will probably be around a month as I have a few important real-life projects to help out with. That plus work and getting my bottom over to that TCC to figure out my courses for CompSci/IT. (I haven't decided which would be better, yet.)

[Jaybot]

Actually I find VNC extremely useful, because you can use a dial up connection to access you desktop.  This is really useful when combined with TightVNC host (if you browse around on the VNC website you can find a link somewhere).  Now I can access my desktop wirelessly from my cellphone and show that off.  Also, if you use the VNC remote for PPC be sure to get it from conduits.com (for free of course) it works much better because all the option boxes and such actually fit on the screen (as opposed to the H/PC one thats available on the main website)