LogMeIn: A free (and reliable) remote desktop tool

I’m in Orlando this week, teaching a series of sessions on Free and Low-Cost Social Media Tools. Ordinarily I remote in to my computer at the office using Live Mesh from Microsoft, but the software is misbehaving.

So I returned to an old standby, LogMeIn. I abandoned LogMeIn because it didn’t have all the cool features that Live Mesh does, most notably that I can store the files I need on the road in Live Mesh folders, so when I update them on either computer, all copies of the files are updated. Plus, Live Mesh lets you drag and drop files across the computers, and LogMeIn makes you upgrade to the Pro version for that.

But I just tried LogMeIn again, and I am impressed. I can’t do the file sharing, but now LogMeIn allows me to copy something on one computer and paste it to the other, so I can copy a whole file to transfer. Plus, I use multiple monitors on my desktop, and LogMeIn lets me switch between them with the click of a button.

The biggest thing I like about it today is that it works, and, of course, it’s free. The professional version is quite reasonably priced as well ($70 a year for one computer), plus they have other services such as backup.

LogMeIn – Remote Access and Desktop Control Software for Your Computer.

Live Mesh: A great tool when you’re on the road

I spent this past weekend in Denver with the family, and I would have been lost without Live Mesh. You create an account and add computers to your network. When I worked on my home computer, any file in my shared folders was updated on the Live Mesh site. When I signed onto my laptop computer, the files were automatically updated.

While I was on the airplane and working offline, the new changes were stored, and as soon as I connected to the internet again, all the files were updated on all the connected computers.

In addition, I used Live Mesh to remotely control my home computer. I could even copy a file from home and paste it to my desktop.

It rocks. And it’s free!

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