Mac Corner: Adventures in mobile computing

  
By Larry Grinnell, Palm Beach Phoenix Apple Users Group

With the advances in mobile computing devices, such as our favorite Apple iPhone/iPod Touch, you can actually take a business trip and leave your laptop at home or your office.

First, there are equivalents for many of your office applications, and now with the iWork applications (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) bundled with the new iPad, the options continue to expand. 

Once you are at your business meeting, impress your fellow attendees with one of the new inexpensive “pico” projectors. These projectors are about the size of a standard hardcover book, use a low-power LED lamp for projection onto a wall or screen. Granted, the image won’t be huge, but maybe you’re giving this presentation in a hotel room. Well, just project your image against one of the walls in your room and you’re in presentation nirvana.

After the meeting, use the same projector with your iPhone/iPod Touch to project stored movies or whatever video content you have stored. You can also use it as a larger monitor while websurfing.

Okay. This presumes everything went as planned. Your presentation went well, you made a good impression with your customer/supplier/business partner, etc. But what if things went another way?

There are a number of remote access solutions out there. First, to define what I mean by remote access, I mean gaining access to the desktop of a remote computer so you can retrieve files, run applications, or whatever is necessary to get the job done when you’re not there to do it in person.

This can be done using VNC technology. VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is the underlying technology that makes it all happen. One of the most popular “for pay” solutions is WebEx PCNow. This product lets you connect to Macs or PCs, transfer files back and forth, run applications, file synchronization, and more.

Another popular solution is LogMeIn. With LogMeIn Ignition running on your iPhone/iPod Touch and LogMeIn Free on your remote Mac or Windows machine, and do most of the things WebEx PCNow does, but for a lot less money.  For full features, including file sharing, remote to local printing, drag and drop file transfer, desktop sharing, and more, LogMeIn Pro will do it for under $70. The basic LogMeIn Free is the product we use at the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group to assist members with problems with their Macs without having to jump in the car and drive to their homes.

The bottom line is that if you have to travel, you can travel real light and do your business meetings with nothing more than an iPhone or an iPod Touch, a pico projector, and remote access software.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers are welcome to comment on this or any Mac Corner columns by visiting the Palm Beach Phoenix blog as well as by writing the editor of Palm Beach Business.com.

Mac Corner runs every Wednesday only in Palm Beach Business.com. Click to read the previous column.

About Larry Grinnell: Larry has been working with Macintosh and Windows PCs for over 25 years and worked as a senior technical writer and IT support professional for a major midwest-based consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturer here in South Florida. His musings on a wide variety of topics from computers to jazz guitar to strange foreign cars from the 1950s can be viewed at the MyMac.com website. Click here to reach him by email.

Writers of this column are members of the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group, a nonprofit organization for Apple Computing Device Users, recognized by Apple Inc., with the purpose of providing educational training and coaching to its members (students, professionals and seniors alike) in a cordial social environment. The club meets the second Saturday (1-4 p.m.) and fourth Wednesday (6-8 p.m.) of each month at the Fire Station #2, 4301 Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach (just two block south of Southern Boulevard). Click here to visit their website. Click here to reach them by email.