All About Newspapers

Enjoying ‘double vision’ with Splashtop Pro

What if it were possible to control your desktop computer back at the office from anywhere, using your phone or iPad. That’s just what Splashtop Pro offers.

Without knowing it in advance, both Lisa Griffin and I selected Splashtop as our favorite new product when addressing the group about technology important to newspapers. Sure, there are other ways to connect to your desktop, be it PC or Mac, but none of them work as smoothly as Splashtop. The biggest difference, I’ve found, is in the screen. While other methods I’ve used require the user to scroll around the screen, Splashtop actually changes the resolution of the computer monitor (that’s right, the monitor) immediately upon connection. The result is that the user sees exactly what is on the computer monitor while looking at the phone or iPad.

The installation

Users are required to create a security code during the installation of Splashtop Pro. This keeps other remote users from accessing the computer's drive.

The installation is very simple. For the past few weeks, Splashtop Remote Touchpad (for phones) and Splashtop Remote Browser (for the iPad) have been offered at a discounted price of $1.99 and $4.99, respectively. Previously, the cost for each was $19.99. Splashtop Streamer, the software necessary for the computer, is a free download for both Macs and PCs. Installation takes just a few seconds. Immediately following a successful installation, the user’s IP address is shown on the screen. One way to connect to the computer is using the IP address. The user is also given the option to enter a Gmail address. This allows the remote devices to connect to the computer using the google address, rather than an IP address. After experimenting with both iPads and iPhones, this seems to be the most dependable method. Finally, the installation requires the creation of a security code, eight digits or more.

Syncing to your computer

Once the software is installed and running on the Mac or PC, connecting from the remote device couldn’t be much simpler. If you’re having a good day, the phone or iPad will see the computer, using bluetooth, and ask you to enter the security code. At this point your computer screen will appear on your iPad or phone and you’re in business. If the device doesn’t detect the computer automatically, the user can manually enter an IP or Gmail address and the computer will appear on the screen.

Controlling the computer

Once the computer desktop appears on the screen, users can use the computer from the remote device as they would if they were sitting in front of the computer. Using finger movements on the phone or iPad, the user can move around the desktop, right-click, left click, open applications and more. Think you can’t watch a Flash file on an iPhone or iPad? Think again. Users can open and play movies on their computers and watch and hear them on their remote devices. Could you design pages in InDesign? Sure you could. But you’d have to have great eyesight. Your only limitation is the size of the screen on your phone or iPad.

Responses to Splashtop

Following the Institute of Newspaper Technology, I received several emails from attendees wanting to tell me what a great experience they had. And almost all of them added, “I downloaded Splashtop Pro and love it!”

This is an application worth the fanfare. If you don’t have a phone that works with Splashtop, you’ll be tempted to get one if you ever see the application in action. Splashtop Pro for Windows works with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. The Mac version requires OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7. Other products by the same company include Splashtop Remote Desktop, which allows Windows-based PCs to control other PCs or Macs from their desktops (sorry, no version is available to control other computers from a Mac). iPad Remote Touchpad is also available for the iPod Touch.

(Kevin Slimp is director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology and technology guru. Read past columns at www.kevinslimp.com. Newspapers can sign up to spend an hour with Kevin during live webinars at www.braincast.biz).