Thursday, February 05, 2009

Roll Your Own LogMeIn Pro with Free Apps [Remote Desktop]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/XBwDPPMLDGI/roll-your-own-logmein-pro-with-free-apps

LogMeIn Pro offers fans of the well-liked remote desktop software some key features over the free version, including file syncing and remote printing. With some free apps, you can cover most of the difference.

The Daily Cup of Tech blog recommends a few free apps that boost a free LogMeIn connection to nearly pro-level features. Key among them is the use of Dropbox, the free, multi-platform, password-syncing, Hive-Five-winning app. The basic idea is that if you need to manipulate a file you've got locally with another remote computer, simply drop your file into your Dropbox bin, and it'll arrive there in a few moments.

For printing from one computer to another, Tim Fehlman suggests using a Windows PDF printing solution, like the http://lifehacker.com/software//create-a-pdf-from-any-document-032880.phpCutePDF Writer and doPDF options we've written about before. Another good pick is the previously mentioned Yuuguu for screen sharing, as its a very simple connection (PIN and username) and works with both Macs and PCs.

The only no-go with Cup of Tech's free substition plan is remote audio streaming—something that only a fraction of the user base would likel! y want, but still a nifty feature. Any suggestions from our remote-savvy readers on getting all your remote system's audio through your local speakers?