These consist of plug-ins for the Internet Explorer (Windows), Safari (Macintosh) and Firefox (PC and Mac) Web browsers.
I usually had no trouble seeing target machines’ desktops, moving files and folders, opening and shutting programs and so on.įor best results, remote machines should also have bits of LogMeIn software installed. This worked like a charm (albeit sluggishly at times due to Internet congestion). I then logged in to these machines using other computers (including a Windows XP PC at work and a Mac laptop at home). I designated as target machines an Apple iMac with Leopard and a Gateway desktop PC running Windows Vista. When that’s installed and configured (this is a simple process), the computer is available for remote logins. Then, create a LogMeIn account and download the LogMeIn Free software. First, identify a Mac or PC that will be a target machine – meaning it will be controlled by one or more other computers over the Internet.
And the software works with Leopard’s Mac OS X predecessor, dubbed Tiger, as well as the Vista, XP and 2000 flavors of Windows. In my testing, I’ve found it to be reliable and simple to use. So LogMeIn fills a need for Mac and PC users. What’s more, Back to My Mac hasn’t been 100 percent reliable.Ī different OS X feature called Screen Sharing lets two iChat users see and control each other’s screens as they gab over audio – a fantastic way for one person to help out another with a tech issue. Windows machines are also out of the picture. And Macs running older versions of Mac OS X are out of luck even if they’re using that. Mac account, which costs at least $100 a year. Macs running Leopard can control other Leopard-equipped Macs from afar – speedily, elegantly and completely.īut Back to My Mac has catches: All Macs must be logged into the same. I earlier covered Apple’s Back to My Mac, a feature built into a new version of its Mac OS X operating system. This topic may sound familiar to Mac-using readers of this column. This sets LogMeIn apart from rival GoToMyPC that charges for its software.
LogMeIn has added Macintosh compatibility, which allows Mac-to-Mac interactions as well as the usual PC-to-PC exchanges – even letting Macs talk to PCs, and vice versa.īest of all, LogMeIn is free for PC and Mac in a basic but surprisingly robust form called LogMeIn Free (a LogMeIn Pro version for Windows adds a few bells and whistles).
For those who have never experienced this, it is magical.Īnd while this isn’t new, recent updates to LogMeIn make it worth a look for those who previously passed it up.
The “target” computer’s desktop, folders and the like are viewable on the “remote” computer’s screen and can be controlled with mouse swoops and clicks. This fine service lets one computer access and control another computer over the Internet. They may be thousands of miles apart – and trying to resolve computer-specific emergencies over the telephone can be a nightmare.Įnter LogMeIn. Likewise, if you’re a tech-newbie member of your clan, you probably crave nothing more for the holidays than a bit of computer-related hand-holding.īut here’s the rub: The nerd and newb probably don’t live in the same place. If you’re the family tech geek, one of the best presents you can bestow is support.