Skip GotomyPC and PCAnywhere - it’s LogMeIn to the (real) Rescue

For those of you who aren’t aware of this yet (and yes, I’m referring to some of you in MY generation), there is a tool called LogMeIn which can give you remote access to your machine. This software trumps the heavier, bloated GotomyPC, which I favored in earlier reviews. With web based email and productivity suites, your obvious answer is “I don’t need it, all my stuff resides on a server someplace else anyway.” In many cases, that may be true - but think on the items your argument misses. What happens when you create a Word document containing business card templates for an employee, travel over to the local Kinkos to pick it up, and find they never received the file? Answer: sit down at one of their web enabled machines, remote into your box with LogMeIn, and either resend the file through your local Outlook, or copy it the Kinkos machine or your USB key (attached to same). There are dozens of cool uses for this software, and it’s amazing that a free version with such power is offered at all.

Still, you might have need for the features found only in the Pro version, which include the ability to send a remote file to your local printer, or drag and drop file between machines. You can also create an instant meeting, a feature which provides functionality similar to that found in the GotoMeeting sofware offered by the same folks who make GotomyPC. There are other options, some of them free or low cost, which perform similar functions. But for reliability and ease of use, plus a feature set which trumps all others, I’d go with LogMeIn for all your remote control needs. You won’t believe how handy it is until you find yourself without a file you need!

Mikogo - Unpolished, but functional and (still) free

Mikogo still has work to do in the online meeting space With the price of GoToMeeting what it is, the market for free and low cost alternatives has expanded significantly the last couple of years. Since I often need something along these lines for work, I’ve been experimenting with some of the free online meeting alternatives and testing them along the way. My latest test was with Mikogo on Vista (*SP1*) and coordinating a meeting with a Windows XP SP3 machine. Regarding Mikogo, a couple (unfortunate) observations. First, the Mikogo software crashes when the BROWSE button is clicked next to the recording capture location text box. The workaround seems to be fairly simple - don’t do that. Instead, right click the Mikogo icon when you are in the meeting and select Record. Second, also related to recordings, I’m not having good luck with being able to view the output. A file with a .bs3 extension gets created, but since it isn’t associated (officially) with any application, it displays the default "unassociated file type" icon. You can click it though, and it launches a small app designed to play the file. I did this on both Vista and XP SP3 and, after clicking Yes to allowing an index to be created, shows a small player window with a larger one in the background. The first is a toolbar and the larger one is the player itself. Although the player indicates the file is being played back (the progress bar is green), the file never plays. For those of you wishing to record video using Mikogo, you’d best find a different solution. You can pay for GoToMeeting and get flawless, readily available recordings, or you can grab any number of screen capture tools and send the output direct to the Windows AVI format. As far as Mikogo is concerned otherwise, its functional in most areas and gets the "free" part of screen recording done adequately. I have trouble with their menus and some other quirks (there are three … yes THREE … differently named download files, one called Mikogo.exe, another called Mikogo_Setup.exe, and a third called Mikogo-Starter.exe). Couldn’t this be simplified, guys? Its confusing as heck, and many users would quit after seeing more than one. Another annoyance is the use of icons ONLY as the clickable element instead of links AND icons in the Meeting Info screen. When you are asked if you want to send an email confirmation to participants, you have to find and hit the tiny email icon instead of being permitted to just click an underlined link. Not a big deal, but something which should be corrected. Also a bit peevish - there’s no way to dismiss the dialog box except for the Close button in the upper right - not the best programming guys, so try and correct these ASAP. We’ll do a full DimDim review later, but for now, I’d skip it. DimDim, one of the newer "no downloads required" web meeting solutions, had similar playback problems. With DimDim, you’ll get an email after the meeting is over, making the recording available to you for download or playback. For me, that’s a leap from the plane without a parachute. I want to see evidence of the recording being stored locally IN REAL TIME, because time for my high end clients is extremely valuable, and the last thing you want is to miss capturing the critical data to be documented later due to a technical malfunction. The problem with DimDim was as suspected - nothing plays back! We retrieved the email several times, downloaded the file AND tried to play it from the web, and nothing happens. Since there is no local client and therefore no tweakable settings, we’ll have to contact support to get an answer. Note that the file format is Flash Player 8 for DimDim, a bit old now but probably more compatible than the latest Flash Player 10 output. Back to Mikogo. Once it matures a bit, and can show me some better programming, you’ll feel safer with it in terms of recording. For basic meeting work, use it in combination with your own screen recording software and you should be fine.