Authored by: bynkii on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:09 PM CST

you don't even need that much. Just run Windows XP Pro and use the free
Remote Desktop Connection client from MS. it's lighter on bandwidth than VNC,
and requires no installation on your windows box

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John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
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Authored by: Aaron on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 01:17 PM CST

Many users, including my employer, still have Windows 2000 Professional
on their desktops, and terminal services is not an option.

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Authored by: iBooker on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:40 PM CST

As I just posted on Aaron's site, there's better apps to do this than osx2vnc.
I like Synergy (http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/index.html)--clipboard
integration is cool, and, although I've never tried it, screensaver
integration also sounds fun. It also doesn't require a potentially insecure
VNC server to run on your Windows box.

If you are short on desk space though, and don't want to get a KVM, RDP
is great. Runs way better than any remote desktop protocol I've tried
before, even over slow connections.

Authored by: bynkii on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:50 PM CST

That's because it's not a remote control, but remote login. Less overhead.

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John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
[email protected]

Authored by: Aaron on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 01:46 PM CST

I tried Synergy this afternoon. It requires that a command window stay
open on the Windows side to maintain the connection. I would prefer that
Synergy run as a service like VNC. Also, Synergy requires no
authentication for a connection like VNC does. Synergy data is
unencrypted like VNC data and leaves a port (24800) open as VNC
(5900) does. As of now, I know of no evidence that suggests that sending
Synergy-based keyboard and mouse data across the network is
any more efficient than sending VNC-based keyboard and mouse data.

In my opinion, osx2x setup was much easier because it does not require
interaction with the command line and editing of text files for configuration.
Those things are no big deal to me personally, but they may be negatives
to less technical users.

There are ways to make a VNC (and probably Synergy) connection
reasonably secure depending on the situation, including setting a strong
password, not advertising the service outside the local LAN,
authenticating to a directory service (UltraVNC does this), encapsulating
VNC traffic in an SSH tunnel, and maybe others I haven't thought of.

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Authored by: jc on Thursday, January 27 2005 @ 08:52 AM CST

a kvm switch sounds way easier, takes less desktop space (one monitor)
and may be cheaper when you factor in the cost of the second monitor.
Also guys who don't know vnc or advanced windows networking features
like remote desktop for xp can still use a kvm switch.

Authored by: Aaron on Thursday, January 27 2005 @ 09:39 AM CST

I'm not telling anyone to purchase a monitor. I said if you already have a monitor, but only one USB keyboard and mouse, this may be useful to you.

This information may not fit your particular circumstances and may not seem easy to you. That's fine. But some people may find it useful, and my purpose in publishing this tidbit is to inform those who may find it useful. Not every tech tip is meant to say, my way is better, discard the other way, do it just like this. It's about presenting options.

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