back to article GoToMyPC (finally) goes to your Mac

At long last, Citrix has squeezed out a version of its GoToMyPC remote access service that lets you both connect to a Mac from a distant PC and connect to a distant PC from a Mac. GoToMyPC debuted on PCs nearly nine years ago, but this is the first time the service has provided Apple fanbois with remote access in both …

COMMENTS

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  1. Mike Flugennock
    FAIL

    M'eh...

    ...I could probably do what I'd need to do -- mostly file transfers -- already, with the remote access and personal Web server tools included with my G4 Tower and iBook when I bought them.

    These people want twenty bucks a month _and_ want me to "register"? P'ah. I'll skip it.

  2. Subtilior

    There

    Goes the Neighbourhood.

  3. Mectron
    FAIL

    there is a sucker born every minutes

    and they all usee the grossly overpriced gotomypc service.

    1. Pandy06269
      IT Angle

      Too right!

      All you need is to install VNC, know how to open a port on your router, and get a dynamic DNS service such as NoIP (which costs less than a month of GotoMyPC for a year) or a free one like DynDNS.

      I've always wondered actually how the server talks to the agent - surely the user would have to open a port on their router/firewall anyway, which if they can do that they're a third of the way there to doing it themselves. Or does the agent poll the server, and open a connection when it detects a session's waiting - which is pretty inefficient.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meh

    SSH

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Left your PC back in the office?

    Then slap yourself on the back of the head for being a schmuck and leaving the laptop with the presentation on behind...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Guv'mint

      Yes, but if you need to take your laptop to a meeting then there's a risk of leaving it on the train for Sun journos to find (complete with unencrypted personal details of everyone in Blighty)

  6. Jason Togneri
    Alert

    "GoToMyPC (finally) goes to your Mac"

    Technically, it is already implied in the name, since Macs are also PCs. They just happen not to be Wintel PCs, although these days they're already halfway there. But Macs are Personal Computers. I'm just waiting for it to come to RISC OS...

  7. TeeCee Gold badge
    FAIL

    iPhone?

    I *know* it's obligatory to have an iPhone app version of absofuckinglutely everything these days, but in this case, why?

    To quote from the GoToMyPC ad: "Thanks lads. Where's the keyboard?"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @TeeCee

      Because it is bloody useful to be able to use my iPhone to log-in to the MacPro in the office to kick off a task or check on something. I always have my iPhone with me, like when I am walking the dog or down the pub. I don't carry a laptop with me when I am doing that.

      Oh and the keyboard is right there on the screen. As I have normally dextrous hands and trust the rather good predictive input I have absolutely no problems with it. I find an open mind is a good asset when faced with new technology you can't cope with, try it some time.

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Grenade

        Riiiiggghhtttt!

        Sort of handily reinforcing my point really.

        You can already do this sort of thing without paying the gotomypc tax, as can I (WinMo to PC here). Since this service is aimed fairly and squarely at lusers who'll be after WP, Spreadsheets etc. *and* they use the "where's the keyboard" tagline in their own ads.....

        Oh, you actually *have* an iPhone? Paying over the odds for a bundled service aimed at technical illiterates won't faze you then.

  8. JohnG

    Backdoor

    Create a backdoor to your system, with access to all the networks and devices to which it is connected - then let some third party look after the doorkeys. All hidden from the corporate firewall in an outgoing encrypted tunnel.

    Of course, this isn't unique to gotomypc - it applies to logmein and a bunch of similar offerings.

  9. Ross 7

    Watts?

    I've seen the ad on the tele and wondered if it was a connection to a Citrix application server, or actually a connection to your own PC.

    Connecting to your own PC is crazy! You'd be looking at £20 a month in 'leccy never mind subs - I hope these people have pretty aggressive green options set on their PCs. Plus Windows tends to need moderately regular reboots (especially if you haven't aggressively pruned the services) so leaving it on 24/7 isn't likely to be easy. I know it has improved of late in that regard, but a dodgy driver or service can still push everything in userland into vmem. Word's a dog at the best of times never mind when it's paging from disk.

  10. A J Stiles
    Happy

    Beh

    Some of us have been able to do this for years with OpenSSH and X forwarding.

    mymatespc:/home/guest $ xhost +

    mymatespc:/home/guest $ ssh -X myownlogin@10.11.12.13

    myownpc:/home/myownlogin $ display .digikam/pr0n/dscf0001.jpg

    Nice to see OS X getting a bit more like a proper Unix. And who knows, maybe Windows 8 will have a feature where if you know exactly what you want to do to a file and you know exactly where the file was saved, you could type a command on the keyboard to save several minutes' worth of fart-arsing about clicking on icons and menus.

  11. Mokey Joe
    WTF?

    Cheaper and quicker

    Instead of downloading more crapware to your computer mac users can just do this..

    CMD-K in the Finder

    type vnc://the.computer.to.connect.to

    And hey presto.. a vnc session offering probably all the functionality you need.

    I use mine with a free dns service on my £30 router and I can always access the computers at work or home.. (to save energy enable Wake On Lan) and you're away!

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