LogMeIn

I just wanted to make a quick shout out for this software/website called LogMe In. It's basically a remote desktop program. I've used the free version for about 2-3 years now and have been pretty satisfied. I did accidentally download and install the Pro version when adding a machine. I thought they changed their offerings where the free version came with more of the pro functionality but found that you get a free 30-day trial of Pro and then it reverts to the Free. Did you get all that?

Anyway, the Pro version allows you to drag-and-drop files from the remote computer to the local computer as if you were copying from a C: drive to another drive on the same machine. Pretty cool. That's the extent of my knowledge of the differences other than the cost...which is really high for my personal use but may not be for actual businesses.

The Free version is pretty basic. Again, I haven't investigated the full functionality but what I use it for it works great. I mainly use it to remotely access one of my machines to either email a file or whatever to me. Sometimes I may just view this file on the remote machine because I need to know some quick information within the file and not the actual file.

What's nice about LogMeIn versus the remote desktop in Windows or some similar software (similar to the Windows remote desktop) is that I can list and access all my machines from one interface. I don't have to remember or find out the different IP addresses. I just click the name I gave the computer and I'm prompted for whatever username and password is required (if any) for the remote machine. If you have a fast enough machine or decent enough video card, you can adjust the display settings from functional to exactly what you see if you were physically on the remote machine. This is kind of nice but not really necessary if you aren't dealing with images. It also supports multiple monitors on the remote machine. I currently have a desktop that has two monitors and LogMeIn Free will allow me to switch between the two if needed. The really good thing that impressed me was that I was able to access my work computer through my work's firewall which I was unable to do through the Windows remote desktop after a firewall upgrade they made.

That's about the extent of my usage of LogMeIn. I really liked the drag-and-drop feature of Pro but the license pricing for a year is way out of my random-usage justification. I know there are plenty of remote desktop-type softare out there but I was looking for a very functional free version. At the time I was searching, most of the software was free-trial and then done unless you pay for the full version. LogMeIn was not and it's definitely worth checking into in my opinion.