GoToMyPC

I travel a lot and a major on-the-road challenge for me is getting e-mail. Also, as Pocket PC magazine editor and Thaddeus Computing CEO, I often need immediate access to Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, Mindjet mind maps, NoteMap outlines, and internal Intranet reports. Those documents and the software that displays them reside locally on my work PC and on the company network. Until recently, it seemed that on each trip I had to call our administrator and get hands-on assistance in order to get my e-mail or access a file on the network.

Then, our new products editor Diane Dumas introduced me to GoToMyPC (http://www.gotomypc.com), a remote access program that lets you view and control one computer from another. Thanks to this useful program, my recent travels have been a lot easier. I have had complete access to my work desktop computer and all its resources, from my home, at an Internet Café in rural Uruguay, South America, and with my laptop on a slow 19.2 Kb hotel phone line. In each location, it was as if I were in front of my work computer: I viewed my work screen and I had full access to my hard drives and company network. I was even able to get real work done in spite of the annoyingly slow hotel connection.

Easy to use

Normally, I use GoToMyPC from a Windows desktop or laptop PC with Internet Explorer. However, it also works on a Pocket PC, a UNIX device, or a Mac, with almost any browser. For example, say that I am at a public PC (terminal) at some Internet café in a distant land. First, I log onto GoToMyPC.com entering my e-mail address and an eight-plus character password. Once in, GoToMyPC automatically locates my work desktop PC. I click on “work” and am prompted to enter another password. After a few seconds, the image of my work desktop PC’s current screen pops up on my terminal. I can maximize the Windows desktop so that it fills the entire screen: it’s as if I am sitting in front of my office computer.

My desktop computer seen in landscape mode on my Pocket PC via a Wi-Fi connection to GoToMyPC.com. Green menu bar on right lets me access GoToMyPC options.

To speed things up, I installed the optional GoToMyPC shortcut on my laptop and home PC. The shortcut lets me bypass the original logon screen and asks me only for my “work” password. The whole process of getting connected takes between fifteen seconds and several minutes, depending on the Internet connection speed and whether the shortcut is used.

How I use GoToMyPC

What I like most about GoToMyPC is that it saves me time. In the past, when I was on the road, I had to access e-mail by logging directly onto our exchange server or by using Outlook Web access. In both cases, there was considerable wait-time to downloading folders, headers, and finally the actual e-mail content.

GoToMyPC makes the whole process easier and quicker. My e-mail is already downloaded and waiting for me on my work PC. Since GoToMyPC only retrieves the desktop screen image (in a highly compressed format), the process is surprisingly quick even on a slow connection.

Wherever I am in the world, it’s as if I am sitting at my desktop. Therefore, I have immediate access to all my PC’s software and data files. I can be working on a MindJet mind map or Excel spreadsheet from a public PC, even though that software does not reside on the PC.

If I need to print or access a file in my current location, I can issue a GoToMyPC file transfer command. GoToMyPC also lets me cut and paste between my work desktop and the local machine. If one of my desktop applications hangs, I can even send a Ctrl Alt Delete and pop up my desktop task manager.

GoToMyPC on a Pocket PC