Remote control / remote access

[ehasbrouck]

This doesn't seem to have been discussed before, so I thought I'd share my finding and experiences on remote control and remote access to Windows PC's and apps from a netBook. (So far as I know, all these would also work from a Psion 5MX, but I don't know.)

I use IBM Desktop On-Call (DTOC), a browser-based cross-platform Java remote control application (USD45). DTOC version 4 remote control of my Windows machines works perfectly from the MalayBook in Opera 5.14 with the Psion JVM installed. However, DTOC 4 falls back to "basic" mode", in which file transfer functionality isn't available. (I don't know if this is a a Javascript issue, or a browser detection issue. I don't have DTOC 5 to test if it would support remote file transfer from the netBook.) A particularly useful feature for use on the netBook is that DTOC has a button on the mail toolbar to switch the "mouse" button emulation between "screen tap = left click" and "screen tap = right click". this makes it relatively easy to emulate use of both mouse buttons on the netBook, which of course has only one flavor of "screen tap" to substitute for a single mouse button.

In additional to the Java IBM Desktop On-Call, there are Citrix (native EPOC) and VNC (Java; two packages available for EPOC) clients available for the netBook; there's also a Java client for Windows Terminal Services advertised to work on the netBook.

For Windows Terminal Services, note that the standard "other platforms" Java version of the HOBLink JWT client for Windows Terminal Services will not work on the netBook. There is a customized distribution of the JWT client for EPOC 5 (the netBook OS), available as an ".sis" (EPOC installer) file, but it isn't available for download from the HOBLink JWT Web site. E-mail "support@hob.de" for a 30-day trial version for the EPOC/Symbian version of HOBLink JWT. It's relatively expensive (USD140 per client license). I've tested it, and it does work, but it's slow and the user interface is awkward (especially if you need to emulate both left and right mouse buttons), so I can't recommend it unless access to Windows Terminal Services is essential. If you need access to your personal PC, try IBM Desktop On-Call (or VNC). They are cheaper, faster, and easier.

I've put links to all these on my netBook page at:

http://hasbrouck.org/netbook

[cangiante]

I was about to write you a message and therefore I couldn't help but reading your post.
I have just installed vnc on my desktop PC and this weekend succeeded in trying it on my netBook.
the connection works, but it is real slow.
I would like to know your opinion about the IBM Desktop On-Call (DTOC) platform: is it really faster than vnc or not?
If it is, I would likely jump at the chance of buying it, otherwise not. In the latter case I would prefer waiting for a native application for the nB.

[ehasbrouck]

I haven't tried vnc, so I can't compare with DTOC. I wouldn't wait for a native EPOC remote control app.

One other advantage with DTOC is that because the client is Java and downloaded through a browser, you can use it form any platform , including sybercafes, without having to install a clinet.

[fladda]

I've recently used the imhotek VNC on the Netbook. Worked very slowly until the 'hextile' screen redraw option was changed to 'raw'. Now works really fast from a PC running in 800 x 600 in 256 colours. Very useable.

Does not appear to be possible to save the setup options on this VNC Java-based application. So I have to reset to 'raw' every time VNC is started.

Ralph