Remote desktop applications
Long-Distance Relationship
© Lead Image © alphaspirit, 123RF.com
Remote desktop applications allow remote access to machines, including desktop sharing, which makes them useful assistants in both the personal and professional spheres. We look at a few candidates.
If you need to administer computers over a long distance – whether for work or to help out friends or relations – the time for remote desktop software has arrived. It allows admins to repair the desktops of far-flung relatives in their free time. The software also comes in useful for businesses looking to provide support for their customers from afar. Desktop sharing is a core function, which means if a developer wants to present a new website to their colleagues, they can do so with ease.
In the end, roughly two types of remote desktop applications can be distinguished, with fairly fluid definitions. On remote desktop applications using virtual network computing (VNC), one machine operates as the server. It sends the image of its desktop as a compressed bitmap to the client. The programs run on the server; the user manages them on the client by sending mouse movements and keystrokes to the server.
During desktop sharing, applications that use remote desktop protocol (RDP) or proprietary protocols send screen content as terminal servers. This is sent over the network to one or more clients (multichannel) in the form of primitives, a mixture of images and information. They can even transmit the desktop sound if needed. The users then work on the server's desktop, alone or in parallel with other users, as if sitting directly in front of it.
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