yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
1.1.2 GotoMyPC by Citrix

This Web-based remote access solution has by far the best bandwidth usage of all the solutions. This means about third or even fourth the bandwidth usage of comparable solutions. This is, unfortunately, a bit worsened by the idle bandwidth usage (see the chart for numeric results), of which I'll speak later more. The other, major disadvantage of this solution is the price (the monthly rate is $19.95, the annual plan $14.95 a month) – it’s way more expensive than other Web-based solutions. For example, it’s about four times more expensive than LogMeIn Pro and two times more expensive than I’m InTouch and RemotelyAnywhere. With the Pocket PC client, it doesn’t offer file transfer or other advanced functionalities either, unlike most of the alternatives.

A quick tip: Upon registering for a trial version, by default, you need to supply your card number for the trial. If you don’t want to use the card (because, for example, you are worried about forgetting to decline the subscription before the trial period is over), you’ll be offered a 30day/180 minutes, cardless plan. Alternatively, you may also want to go here for a version that doesn’t require inputting a card number. Finally, if you just stop the registration process on the credit card setup screen, after about three weeks you’ll receive a mail offering you the card-less registration page URL.

After letting the app install the client, a GoToMyPC icon will be put in the Start Menu / Programs. By just clicking it, PIE will be fired up and you’ll be taken to the online GoToMyPC login screen.

As far as the astonishingly good bandwidth usage is concerned, I’ve directly asked the Citrix folks whether they use the infamous ICA protocol (also see this and this discussion). It is NOT using ICA, despite what I would have thought.

Note that the client no longer needs Java support to run, as opposed to older versions (see for example this for more info on the past versions).

More info: Reviews of the service are here and here; an ad is here.

Verdict

Go for this title if you want to have absolutely the best bandwidth usage and responsiveness and the high subscription price isn’t a problem. If you, on the other hand, don’t need to use a really bandwidth-saving method and/or would prefer a cheaper solution, look elsewhere – alternative solutions are not only much cheaper (if not free as is the case with LogMeIn Free), but also offer far more (file transfer with all alternative Web-based solutions – except for LogMeIn Free -, PIM / e-mail access with I’m InTouch etc).
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
1.1.4 I’m InTouch by 01 Communique

This, compared to other Web-based solutions, moderately expensive (annually, $99.95) solution is, as far as strictly the remote controlling functionality is concerned, doesn’t really have much to write home about. Not so with remotely accessing and searching (!) PIM data (Outlook and Outlook Express contacts, calendar, mails). This means you should pay special attention to this product particularly if you need remote access to your PIM stuff and e-mails.

(The remote viewer running on Pocket PC)

Note that they have two products: the $99.95 “Deluxe” version with remote control, file transfer, Web camera & PIM access capabilities. They also have a “Standard” version for half the price, which “only” offers mail/PIM access and wireless notification capabilities. (See this for the pricing information.)

Example screenshots: Remote mail; SMTP server setup; it uses its own login / password; the client loading on the Pocket PC. The Viewer also must be supplied a password; this may be different from the server password. It also supports stealth mode and contains an update module.

More info: A review of an earlier version is here. Note that the (moderately) high memory consumption (about 35 Mbytes) also mentioned in the linked review is, unfortunately, still true.

Verdict

Go give it a try if you want to have as easy remote PIM access as possible. Otherwise, for example LogMeIn Free may prove to be a bit faster, more responsive (and free).

1.1.5 Laplink Everywhere (LLE)

This is also a Web-based access service. I don't recommend it, not even for desktop PC client users, let alone Pocket PC users: its only advantage over the other reviewed remote controller solutions is the ability to access the remote desktop via Google Desktop Search directly on your Pocket PC, without your having to log into your desktop and without using third-party Google desktop proxy solutions like Project Computing’s Google Desktop Proxy or DNKA.

I haven’t included this title in the main chart because it entirely lacks remote control capabilities on the Pocket PC – it’s only on the desktop PC that it has remote control-capable clients. Furthermore, the Laplink Companion Client (the native Palm and Pocket PC client to remotely access E-mails on your remote desktop), as of version 1.1.412.812, doesn’t even start under WM5 and, under previous operating systems, while it does start, it can’t connect to desktops – it always displays the “Security negotiation failed” error message. (Also note that the Pocket PC client stores the username under [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Sproqit Technologies\ Client\ Settings\ {EE585C94-E44D- 4537-A003-B1B9E747A875}] and, it seems, it’s not possible to manually add new entries / modify existing ones. It’s set by ActiveSync; this means you must install the PPC client directly from the desktop you’ll later want to access.) Unfortunately, the Laplink folks still haven’t answered my mail so I don’t know whether this problem will be fixed or not.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
1.2.1.1.2 The Handheld PC version of TSC

Back in 2001, before Microsoft has released the official Pocket PC client, many used the Handheld PC version of TSC on their Pocket PC’s. The way it was used is explained here and here. Note that it (H/PC Pro version) should be downloaded from here and not at the no-longer-existing URL listed in the article.

Logging into the client is pretty much the same as with any RDP-based solutions.

Its only advantage (unless you use the Vijay555 hack explained above) over the “official” TSC client for the Pocket PC is that it hides the upper task bar. Also, it has a “Low Speed Connection” checkbox (missing from the PPC version), which can toggle between 16- and 256-color modes. (No high-color modes are present.) Some of its problems (there are a LOT more!) are as follows:

It can’t be installed on WM5. It only works on operating systems prior to WM5 (I’ve done the tests on my VGA WM2003SE Pocket Loox 720)

The lower Windows taskbar won’t be visible. Note that this isn’t a hacked VGA issue (Program Files\Terminal Server Client\mstsc40.exe must be manually hacked to VGA); not even real VGA mode will help in this case as can be seen in here

You can’t issue right-clicks, unlike with other clients.

1.2.1.2 Mocha Remote Client 1.2 by MochaSoft

This is a commercial RDC client. While, GUI-wise, it’s certainly better than TSC, I can’t really recommend it because it’s based on the FAR worse version 4 of the RDP protocol, unlike the built-in TSC, which is RDP 5-based. Unfortunately, the older RDP version was far inferior to RDP 5, particularly communication bandwidth-wise.

If you, however, really need to stick to RDP and really need the advantages (compared to TSC) of this client (for example, excellent scaling and scrolling capabilities) and can guarantee you manually disable any kind of animations on the remote desktop, you may want to give it a try.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
1.2.2 RFB-based (VNC) applications

Note that, after quickly listing the four different solutions, I also explain what needs to be known about different servers, encodings and server-side scaling. This knowledge will be essential in sometimes drastically decreasing the bandwidth needs of the applications. At first, I introduce the applications themselves.

1.2.2.1 VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd

Without doubt, Parys Technografx (PT) Ltd produces by far the best VNC clients for the Pocket PC. There are several of them; WM5 users will want to go straight for their latest product, Pocket Office (PO) – it offers the most for the money: it supports Tight (JPG), the most bandwidth-saving encoding protocol; it supports bidirectional (!) file transfers etc.

As far as strictly VNC clients are concerned, as has already been pointed out, PT PO has the best support for bandwidth saving (it supports the Tight encoding, along with JPG), has file transfer and is very snappy. Its usage can be a bit complicated for a newbie, but don’t be afraid: you’ll soon learn it. Just keep playing with the menus.

Note that the author of PT PO has told me may eliminate the need for manually setting whether the VNC server supports server-side scaling – automatic discovery already works in the free .NET VNC Viewer. He may also introduce automatic encoding handshake (as is the case with, say, the Mocha VNC client). He’s also working on making PT PO RealVNC-compliant (currently, it isn’t, unlike with the other Pocket PC-based VNC clients) and, finally, may also introduce clipboard synchronization (which is also supported by the RFB protocol itself).

Some example screenshots: Enter the IP; Password input; Download.

Verdict: if you want to go the VNC way (and aren’t forced to use the RealVNC server – remember, the current version of PT PO isn’t compatible with RealVNC), get this application – you’ll love it.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Starting the server on one’s computer: 1 2 3 (as can be seen, you can use your Windows login credentials) 4 5 6.

An example (desktop) screenshot of remote controlling a session

More info here and here.

1.2.3.3 RemoteControl by CrossTec Corporation; 10.0

This cross-platform solution isn't just a remote controlling applications, but also offers a lot more functionality, mostly geared towards the enterprise. This, on the other hand, also means there isn't even a price quoted. This may mean you won't want to prefer this title over the other ones if you "only" want to have a remote controller only for your desktop, unlike with the case of deploying it to your entire enterprise. That is, you should only check out this solution if your entire enterprise wants to switch to it; then, however, you will also want to take a look at alternative and, when deployed to the entire enterprise, really decent solutions like NetOp Remote Control.

As with NetOp Remote Control, the desktop PC client supports for example direct client/server voice chat (like Microsoft Netmeeting!) for, say, remote Customer Service purposes; the Pocket PC version is much dumber. To see the differences between the desktop and the Pocket PC clients, check out and compare the docs (just start the EXE file and pass it a dot (.) as the decompression directory target); it’ll extract some (2 with the Windows and 4 with the non-Windows case) PDF files to the current directory): desktop Windows; Pocket PC, Mac and Linux.

Some screenshots: installing (2); server-side configuration: TCP/IP HTTP (for gateways!); mobile client install (2); desktop client; file transfer.

It has two transfer modes: GDI (which can only be used in high-color mode; otherwise, it'll mess up bitmap resources as can be seen for example in here; the CrossTec folks are avare of the problem and will, hopefully, fix it) and the traditional, simple screen scraping. Unfortunately, there really isn't much bandwidth usage difference between the two modes (one would expect the GDI version to be much more bandwidth-friendly).

1.2.3.3.1 Vector PC-Duo Remote Control 9.60 by NetSupport Ltd

You'll find numerous references to the Vector PC-Duo Remote Control product line on Pocket PC boards. This product line has been discontinued and replaced by the above-introduced CrossTec product and, therefore, should be entirely ignored. Don't even try to install, say, the PPC client trial (version 9.0): it will complain about an old license. The nsm.lic file in the home directory of the application states the trial should expire in September 2005; still, not even setting the date back not to cause problems helps, the app will always complain of the license file being missing or invalid. Interestingly, the readme.txt of Vector PC-Duo Remote Control states the Pocket PC version supported even File Transfer and Registry Editing. The later CrossTec RC 10.0, interestingly, doesn’t support this.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
(Guys, sorry for having to post it in several pieces - the 10k post limit reults in my having to slice up the articles.)
[General Topics] mikesol:
Wow, thank you so much for this. I read the majority of it and will be referring back to it in a couple of days when my new PPC arrives - I definitely will be using it to remotely administrate my corporate network, so this information will be really handy.

I have submitted it to digg, linking to your site; go here and digg it: http://digg.com/gadgets/Access_your_desktop_PC_from_your_Pocket_PC
[General Topics] motionmind:
Wow...that has to have been incredible amount of work to compile. Thanks!
[General Topics] dam:
very nice work

you deserve a rest !

As a newbe I found it very clear.

thank you very much for the information,

I m looking forward for the app remote controle article !

cheers :)
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Great to hear that! I was seriously afraid of not explaining what for example netstat does or what firewalls / NAT'ing are.
[General Topics] bluecube:
Fantastic post, I've been avoiding getting this to work for some time but with my new unlimited data package and your post I'll be up and running in no time.

Thanks for all your hard work!
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Updated version posted - for the time being, only to my blog ( http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1571&more=1&c=1&tb=1 ); as soon as I have some free time for the slicing work, will cross-post it in here too.
[General Topics] cyberdrakula:
WOW What a thorough report!

I use TS currently and with UMTS I can get into my server without much fuss and get what needs to be done quite easily.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Pocket PC-to-desktop PC remote control news

In the Bible of Accessing your desktop PC from your Pocket PC, I’ve elaborated on how you can access your PC from anywhere using your Pocket PC.

Now, there are some updates / welcome news:

First, Citrix offers GoToMyPC for $8.25/month ($99 a year) to ex-GoToMyPC users (users that used the service a trial period that, after that, didn’t subscribe to the commercial version). This price (which is half of the regular price) is starting to be pretty good if you definitely need the solution that consumes the least bandwidth.

That is, if you would like to subscribe to GoToMyPC, it’s the best to let the trial period to run out, wait some time and, then, you’ll be offered the 50% rebate.

Second, Parys Technografx, the developer of by far the best VNC client for the Pocket PC, hasn’t been busy; they have just come out with version 1.2 of PT Pocket Office with a lot of welcome additions / fixes I’ve asked for; for example,

Auto selection of a compatible encoding e.g. if PT Pocket Office is set to request "tight" but the server does not support it then the first compatible encoding will automatically be used instead - e.g. "Hextile" with RealVNC.

The "Server Scaling On" or "Server Scaling Off" option has been changed to "PTeSVNC/UltraVNC" or "RealVNC/TightVNC" and if a connection is attempted to RealVNC or TightVNC or another VNC server without server-scaling when the option is set to "PTeSVNC/UltraVNC" then PT Pocket Office now automatically detects this and adjusts accordingly.

It will now connect and work with RealVNC4.x provided that the "RFB 3.3" option is selected in the "Legacy" options for the RealVNC server. (The developer promises to make it possible to connect to RealVNC servers in the 4.x mode in the near future.)

The file transfer works OK for you with the latest UltraVNC.

Also note that I’m working VERY hard on the multimedia remote control roundup, comparing ALL the available titles. Hope I’ll be able to publish it in this or next week.
[General Topics] mrmrmrmr:
Thank you Menneisyys. I've finally finished reading it all.

It's a really very nice documentation.

Now, I have a very annoying limitation in choosing the right application:

I can only use Remote Desktop protocol because my company policy prohibits usage of other protocols. In fact I love VNC but I couldn't stop Remote Desktop on my office PC and run VNC server on the same port.

So I will have to use some remote desktop application.

Which terminal service client software has scalability (client or server side) selection feature ?
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
TSC doesn't offer remote resolution setting capabilities in the Pocket PC version, only in the "real" desktop Windows (and, of course, Linux) versions.

BTW, are you absolutely sure you aren't allowed to run for example LogMeIn? It works just great over firewalls (because it uses HTTPS).
[General Topics] pookrat:
Excellent writeup. You've painstakingly explaied every minute detail about teh ups and downs, ins and outs, of all of the options. Great Job and thanks for all the info.
[General Topics] j3d1n4s7y:
extremely thorough and well written...have read through and now I'm off to work on it

thank you for taking the time to consolidate this information as I'm sure it wasn't easy...know that your hard work is extremely appreciated :cool:
[General Topics] mrmrmrmr:
I am only allowed to connect to my PC over tcp 3389 which is remote desktop port.

So I need a solution which connects to terminal service.

Are you sure that no mobile remote desktop client has scalability/zoom feature ?

what about wm6 remote dsektop ?
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Did you try LogMeIn? It doesn't require incoming connections at all.

rdesktop on Zaurus / Unix. If you have a compatile PPC, you could install Linux on it, and, then, rdesktop. It's kind of an overkill though.
[General Topics] mrmrmrmr:
menneisyys,

Thank you.

I assume LogMeIn is acting like a proxy server between my PPC and desktop computer. It accepts outbound connections from both and then comines them to enable the remote user login to the server side without any inbound connections.

It's a good idea but for highly secure data (as in my work) it won't be that reliable. I can't let use of a 3rd party server in my connection to the work PC.

On the other hand, your other recommendation, Linux + rdesktop is highly difficult. I can't imagine running Linux on my Hermes even if it's possible.

What else ? :)

is there any other suggestions ?

In fact, I can't believe that someone hasn't already developed a good TSC alternative for PPC.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Then, if you are allowed to run your OWN HTTPS gateway, look at the alternate solutions like pcAnywhere. Then, you(r sysadmin) can run a server in your network somewhere; that is, you'll be absolutely sure noone evesdrops into the communication.

Unfortunately, it's still the case - you can't in any way tell the desktop the remote resolution. BTW, if 800*600 is sufficient (as opposed to 640*480), give a try to the Mocha client.
[General Topics] mrmrmrmr:
in fact 640*480 is even sufficient for me.

but my hermes has only 320*240 res.

I tried to get 640*480 using Nyditot but I had the screen alignment problem for stylus. (described at http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=291818)

Do you now how to fix that problem ?

Also, if Mocha supplies 800*600 (or even 640*480) I can use it. Where is it ?
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
I've finished updating the Remote Access Bible with brand new, never-before-published-by-anyone comparative information on the new, built-in, excellent Remote Desktop Mobile client in Windows Mobile 6.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Now that the new, 4.0 version of well-known, useful remote controller application PPC Tablet supports remote desktop access, I've thoroughly benchmarked & compared it to the alternatives in my Remote Access Bible. (Note that the article itself will only be updated tomorrow; now it's "only" the heart of the article, the comparison chart has been updated with PPC Tablet 4.0-related info. (Yes, before you ask: I'll really soon publish my multimedia remote controller roundup; I've found it useful to publish the strictly remote desktop-related PPC Tablet 4-related info before finally publishing the next article.)

It's really worth checking it out if you'd like to know how it compares to the alternatives and in what scenarios it should be used (it has major, mostly bandwidth usage-related problems; still, in some cases, it might turn out to be useful).

Finally, I also recommend this remote desktop access-related post in the microsoft.public.pocketpc newsgroup; it may turn out to be useful for many.
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
At last, a REALLY decent RDP (Terminal Server) client for WM5!

In the Remote Desktop Access Bible, I've promised I would announce when the excellent folks over at H/PC Factor manage to port the excellent Terminal Server client from WindowsCE .NET to Windows Mobile.

Fortunately, the porting attempts have been successful (albeit not at H/PC Factor but at XDA-Developers); see this thread for more information. Note that the port ONLY runs on WM5, NOT on previous operating systems.

Make sure you check it out if you need a DECENT RDP client (instead of the, to put it mildly, far-from-perfect built-in Terminal Services Client) on your WM5 Windows Mobile device.
[General Topics] dam:
no SIP with logmein

Hello there,

I tried logmein and found out that I could't use my ppc keyboard to write on let's say Word on my remote desktop.:(

There is no way to resolve that issue ?:rolleyes:

Thank you for your consideration !

Cheers,

Dam
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Strange, I've nevr run into this problem - it worked with me (only the accented chars didn't show up - are you trying to enter Japanese (non-English) chars?)
[General Topics] dam:
SIP input problem with logmein

Hello Menneisyys,

I'm always impressed by how quick you follow up.:)

I tried the english and the japanese SIP. Both did not respond on the remote desktop. I was trying to write in office word.

For the english one you need to be careful because there are two methods, but both were unsuccessful.

I opened the screen keyboard on the remote desktop and tapped on it from my PPC and it worked but it has no real useful meaning...

I tried Tengo SIP, but no positive result neither.

I also noticed that when I logged out, the SIP behavior was strange, it kept on the screen and there was no icon in the tray to make it disappear or change.

I give it another try later,

Cheers :)
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
No idea. Did it work any time in your setup? If it isn't, is it a Japanese Windows?

You could give a try to other, preferably Unicode/accent-compliant alternatives (TSC etc).
[General Topics] elecconnec:
Has anyone been able to use LogMeIn with the IE in WM6? I tried and while the LogMeIn software (RACtrlCE.dll) installed, it doesn't seem to get called we you log in. Instead of the options for "Remote Control" and "End Session" I only get "End Session."

(This is using a T-Mo MDA with XPlore 1.1.)

Everything worked fine, of course, with WM5.
[General Topics] GldRush98:
You may want to try the built in Remote Desktop app in WM6. It's been improced a lot and very usable now, even over just an Edge connection! I was rather impressed.
[General Topics] banesi:
Is there a way to prevent Remote Desktop WM6 app to not log me out of my desktop? Reading this wonderful review I've concluded that it is a "feature" this RDP clients have but is it avoidable?
[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Nope, it's impossible. Not even with hacks.
[General Topics] ecsk2:
Has anyone figured out how to use logmein with Opera Mobile yet? :(
[General Topics] Bushrod:
That's not entirely true. For XP Pro, there's a software package you can buy to enable multiple sessions.

For Vista Ultimate, there is a hack for multiple sessions.