Several weeks ago I was technologically surprised by a non-geek. Over the phone, a good friend of mine and I were discussing a problem with his home PC. For some strange reason he could not get a particular Microsoft Excel formula to work properly.
At work I use an application that must first be installed on our work computers and allows IT people to take a look at the other computer while the person shows us what is wrong. Another geek way to access a computer is built into MS Windows called "Remote Desktop Protocol." However RDP only allows the person logging into the computer to see the screen. This makes it useless in helping to solve problems. I suggested to Steve that he install a program I use on a regular basis, "Team Viewer." I have written about that previously.
Steve said, "Why don’t you just use "Join me?" Since I am the uber-geek I responded with, "Huh?" Steve said that "Join.me" is a very quick remote connection he has used before when showing his kids something on their computers while he was out of town. Since I always like to learn new things, I asked for a demo.
There are many programs which do pretty much the same thing. Some of the more popular "remote computer access" applications are "DameWare," "Go to Assist," "PC Anywhere," "LogMeIn" and many, many others. Some of these charge for their services and others are free.
When Steve showed me how easily and flawlessly "Join.me" works I decided to give it a try.
First, if you are the person who needs someone to log onto your computer and take a look, open your browser and type in "Join.me" in the address bar. It will automatically add "https://" and take you to the site.
Now, if this is the first time you have used it go to "Share," "Basic" and the large orange arrow button. This will start downloading the small executable file to your computer. Once the download has finished, find the file and double click it to start "Join.me."
Once installed and running you can click the "Share" button and a nine digit code will be generated for you. It will show something similar to, "join.me/123-456-789." The nine digit number varies each time you use it. All you have to do now is give the number to the person you want to invite to your computer.
They go to "https://join.me,” add the code to the "Join" text box and click the green arrow. They will go to your machine and you can both see what is going on with your computer. Do not worry about anyone else using the code. Once you end the session and close "Join.me" someone else would need a new code, generated only by you, to get into your computer.
It includes many other neat features such as allowing the people you invite to have voice chats over the Internet using their free VOIP, text chat between all the members in the meeting, transferring files to each other and more.
There you go. Next time you have to give or receive help on your computer I hope you remember to give "Join.me" a try. This is another free application provided by "LogMeIn.com." Keep in mind there is a "pro" version which offers more.
