(Credit:
LogMeIn)
LogMeIn has had its hands in many cookie jars, from the desktop to the iPhone--a good thing, if you've ever needed to view your computer files remotely by way of your mobile phone.
At the WES 2009 conference for BlackBerry on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, LogMeIn announced that a version of LogMeIn is being developed for the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm.
While still in its alpha stage, LogMeIn Ignition for Storm will turn on remote access for computer files and programs. Storm owners will be able to peer into Windows computers that also run LogMeIn Pro, LogMeIn Free, or LogMeIn IT Reach.
Mac OS X owners will need LogMeIn Free to get LogMeIn Ignition thrumming on the Storm. The application will also save passwords and will include LogMeIn's customary 256-bit SSL encryption.
While LogMeIn hasn't shared any beta release dates with us, you can sign up in advance here. LogMeIn Ignition typically costs about $40 for a yearlong subscription or $8 per month for remote access to your computers from the mobile phone.
Applications that let you access the files on your desktop from anywhere else are wonderful things, but the traditional remote-desktop app has one annoying flaw--you must browser for an e-mail, photo, or document in often tall, brambly file trees. Copernic Mobile (see slide show), in a sturdy prerelease build for Windows XP and Vista, offers the thorough indexing of a remote-access tool, but with a search component that makes finding those individuals files as simple as using a desktop search tool like Google Desktop--or Copernic Desktop Search.
Copernic Mobile--for XP and Vista--simplifies remote access from your phone's mobile browser.
(Credit: CNET)It works by downloading Copernic Mobile's remote access application to your desktop and registering for a free account. If you're using Copernic Desktop Search in the free or pro version, or Windows Desktop Search, the app will connect up with the desktop search tool's index of your computer's contents to let you search for files, e-mails, music, photos, videos, contacts, favorites, Web history, and anything else the search app keeps tabs on. It doesn't yet play nice with Yahoo or Google's desktop search apps, which is a missed opportunity to engage some stalwart users before either company begins marketing a similar solution.
After logging into mobile.copernic.com from any Internet-equipped cell phone and entering your credentials, you'll be able to launch a search (clink the proffered link to enter a secure server.) The search return interface works on the spectrum of mobile phones and browsers (I tested it on three), with a more stylized look for iPhone. Depending on your phone's capability, you'll be able to view, download, and e-mail a result. The search function worked flawlessly during our tests, and navigating the app was fast and easy on Wi-Fi, 3G, and Verizon's regular, old data network on a BlackBerry Curve, iPhone, and Samsung Omnia. While other remote access apps like the mobile-specific Sugar Sync, the Internet-portal LogMeIn Free, and others do remote access equally well, the seamless search function makes Copernic Mobile my current favorite.
For serious syncers who routinely work from multiple computers or mobile phones, SugarSync is, in more ways than one, a premium solution to file-transferring problems. More flexible than some competing PC-to-PC syncing software or mobile and PC remote access services, Sugar Sync weaves in elements of both. Lite sync some folders for online back-up and fully sync folders or files to load them on each of your computers. A change to one file exacts a change to all.
SugarSync doesn't do everything, and the mobile functionality could use some usability finessing. There are also a few tricks worth knowing to ease your way. Here's a good one--if you're not interested in transferring every icon or EXE to all hooked-in computers, before syncing your Desktop folder, either move the elements you do want to a different folder and bypass the Desktop sync, or throw everything into a new folder on your desktop and exclude it from the syncing.
SugarSync managers are available for Windows, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and iPhone. A free trial of the service is available for 45 days. SugarSync premium storage prices can be found here.
This article was updated 6:00 pm on 3/16/08.
Let's get right to the point: Avvenu Access 'n Share is phone-to-PC remote access service with a strong base and a lot of good potential. With it, you can view and edit files stored on your PC from any smartphone. Provided your computer is running when you log in to your Avvenu account, you'll see your file system reproduced on the phone's screen. As long as your phone is outfitted with a third-party document viewer, you'll be able to remotely read and edit documents. Photos also render well.
Upgrading from the basic free service lets subscribers hand-pick which documents, photos, and videos they want stored on Avvenu's servers, for access whenever the computer is logged off or powered down. A few quibbles mar the overall experience: The beta version of Avvenu's music player has ceased being supported, Avvenu's founder Keith Barraclough told me, and the number of clicks it takes to get from the file tree to the meat of your content is wearisome. Also, the search function only works if you've got Google Desktop installed on your PC.
However, Nokia's December 2007 acquisition of Avvenu spells out change. Barraclough hinted that, supported by Nokia's greater resources, users can expect to see a faster, more streamlined remote access product that fully supports multimedia playback and lives up to its potential usefulness.
Gogrok is a companion program that runs with Skype (download for Windows and Mac) to give people remote-access capabilities. More than a typical plug-in but not able to stand on its own, the Skype-Gogrok combo makes for a good voice- and remote-access tech-support duo that's not quite dynamic.
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Paying users of WebEx's remote desktop service now have the added bonus of Mac support. The service has been upgraded to be cross-platform in time for next week's Macworld Expo and throws in a couple other goodies like a remote Webcam viewer (so you can spy on your home computer from the office and visa versa), and a guest pass system that lets you send someone a one-time coupon to use your computer from wherever they are.
It's kind of surprising it's taken WebEx this long to get a Mac version of its remote client service together, but with Mac's marketshare climbing past 7 percent last month (according to Net Applications), it's clear bigger companies are starting to pay attention to the pleas of Mac users. As a start, WebEx released an iPhone-compatible version of the PCNow service in late August of last year that included mobile file access, and integration with Skype and Outlook. Similar services like LogMeIn and the Java-based RealVNC have been offering cross-platform services for quite some time now, although competitor Citrix seems content to rest on its laurels with a still PC-only version of its GoToMyPC service.
WebEx's PCNow retains its starting rate at about $13 a month for one computer, which goes all the way to $60 for 10 machines. There's also a 30-day free trial if you want to give it a spin. Personally I think casual users who only need a remote desktop service to grab the occasional file, or get a lengthly download started are probably better off with LogMeIn Free, which Rafe and I both use on our home machines with great success.
Although it hasn't exactly exploded into the mainstream music-listening population at large, the music-sharing application Simplify Media (download it for Windows or Mac) is a fan favorite of several CNET editors and staffers.
Simplify Media has always allowed you to listen to your iTunes playlists on the road or share them with friends. Yesterday, it announced support for the popular digital-music jukebox app Winamp for Windows.
When you install Simplify Media, you must choose whether it will work with Winamp or iTunes playlists. Those of us who occasionally use both apps and thought we might be able to consolidate playlists are out of luck. You can, however, change your preferred playlist program after installation. ... Read More
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