J. A. Powell, Jr.
I wake up at two a.m. with sweat pouring down my brow. Did I file that suit before the statute of limitations has run? I jump out of bed and rush to the office only to find out that I had filed the suit over a year ago. Here I am, at the office and it is 2:30 in the morning. This is going to be a really long day.
Wouldn't it be nice to crank up the home computer, log into the office computer and see that the suit had been filed? I could be back in bed with sugar plum fairies dancing in my head before my pillow got cold.
And so I began the long search for that most elusive of creatures, an affordable, fast and reliable method for connecting to the office.
At first, I ran out and bought a copy of pcAnywhere. This program allows me to remotely control the office computer from home. The office computer runs a host program that waits for a call from the client end. The problem is I could only get it to work using modems, which everyone knows, are sloooow. Also, it ties up a phone line. It can use the Internet but as you will see that is not an option.
Next, I decided to set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN attaches the office network to the Internet and allows users to log onto the Internet and attach to the office network as if they were in the office. Needless to say that is a scary proposition but, as a sacrifice for the good of the Macon Bar, I decided say he . . . uh . . . heck with the iceberg and open up our firewall and network to Internet.
There are several ways to build a VPN. The easiest is to buy a hardware VPN device. These are very expensive and, although my partners said money was no object (cough), I decided not to spend that much. Instead, I decided to use the VPN software built into the Windows NT server that we are now running. I messed with it off and on for about a month and decided that Bill Gates fooled me again. In the Windows world, VPN stands for Virtually-impossible-to-set-up Private Network. Without the VPN, I could not use the pcAnywhere in Internet mode.
Then I had a chance conversation with Nathan Watson, a local computer guru, who suggested that I try out www.gotomypc.com . Well I tried it out and I am still in shock. In five minutes, I had access to our office network. This is a service that costs $19.95 per month per computer and it is worth it.
Gotomypc.com is a service that installs a program on an office PC. That computer sends out requests to the gotomypc.com servers wanting to know if anyone wants to use it. I use my home computer to log onto the gotomypc.com web site where I have to enter my login name and password. I then see a list of available computers at my office that have the gotomypc.com software running, i.e., one. I click on the button and the office computer asks for a different password. Voila! I am logged onto a computer in my office.
The problem is I am logged onto a different computer than the one I use during the day. It is not setup like I want it. Nor is it set up like anyone else in the office wants. Gotomypc.com will allow me to hook up more computers to their service but with an additional charge each month. Did I tell you that money was no object?
I solved that problem by using a little known feature in Windows XP, Remote Desktop. Remote Desktop runs on all of the computers in the office. It allows me to remote control any of these computers from my desk. So I installed the client end of Remote Desktop on the computer I set up for gotomypc.com. Now I can attach to that computer from home or the road or the beach and use it to control my day-to-day computer sitting on my desk as if I were sitting at my desk.
Using a high speed connection, this setup is faster than an Atlanta lawyer leaving Judge Phillips's calendar call. I recommend gotomypc.com to connect to the office from anywhere else, unless of course, you like going to the office in your pajamas and bunny slippers at 2:30 in the morning.