MacDirectory 51
CLOSER LOOK
need access to your desktop system.
Thanks to virtual network computing (VNC)
it's now possible with your iPhone (or
Touch, if you're within range of a wireless
LAN). VNC is the technology that makes
Leopard's screen sharing and remote
desktop connections possible.
In terms of convenience and a slick
interface, ReadPixel's Remote Tap is the
leader of the pack when it comes to
getting access to your Mac ($6.99,
). Its greatest advantage is
the ingenious ways it simplifies navigating
a large screen from your handheld's 3.5-
inch display. It uses its own application
launcher and a system it calls Window
Autofocus to automatically enlarge the
section of the screen you're working on
and a magnifying glass tool to jump
somewhere else. The program's one
drawback is that it bypasses Apple's built-
in Remote Desktop so it needs its own,
lightweight server to be running on the
remote Mac. It also means that Internet
connections are more challenging to set
up and present more security issues if
you're not careful. WinAdmin ($7.99,
iphonewinadmin.com) uses Windows'
built-in Remote Desktop protocols to
screen share with your PC. It takes a
comparatively no-frills approach but the
setup was comparatively easy.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you're
connecting to a system behind a router
(or an AirPort serving as one), you'll need
to learn how to set up port forwarding
and will want to familiarize yourself with
some of the security issues posed by
remote access. For example, Remote Tap
gives you the option of using the Universal
Plug-and-Play (UPnP) feature available in
most routers. This not only simplifies the
task of setting up remote access but also
simplifies a potential invader's access to
your home network.
If your life is so mundane as to rarely
warrant a Twitter and your Facebook
Friends List barely numbers in the
hundreds, you may prefer The Blimp
Pilots' Distant Shore ($.99,
). The creators of
the inexplicably popular Koi Pond have
developed a social networking application
for the shy and insignificant. You wander
along a quiet seashore collecting shells
and searching for message-bearing bottles.
You then exchange the shells for bottles to
cast your own messages into the
cyberspace sea. Answers will arrive in the
grass beach hut where your trips along the
beach always begin. The process can
become rather addicting, believe it or not.
On our first excursions along the beach we
found bottles with messages ranging from
off-color jokes to a lengthy lament over a
recently lost love. The drifting bottle,
however, is only an analogy. We sent out a
when-did-you-receive-this message from
Portland, Oregon, and just a few bites of a
sandwich later, received a reply from
Manchester, England.
By the Numbers
Mariner Calc for the iPhone ($4.99,
) shows a good
deal of potential as the phone's first self-
contained spreadsheet. The initial release
boasts 145 functions that you can apply to
a 32,000 x 256 column worksheet. It can
read and edit native Excel files and, in
most cases, will gracefully report errors for
functions that it can't handle. The
program provides its own cut, copy and
paste functions. It can go to a specified
cell, but does not yet offer a search
capability. The only way to share files is
over a wireless connection and there's no
system for syncing files between
platforms. Like many of the major iPhone
applications, Mariner Calc makes its debut
with more promise than performance, but
with Mariner Software's experience with
desktop applications, we're confident that
this will soon find itself in the "must have"
category for anyone whose life revolves
around spreadsheets.
Is that 15 oz. box of Cheerios on sale for
$2.99 really cheaper than the 12 oz. box
for $1.98? If you're in penny-pinching
mode, questions like that really add up.
CompareMe ($2.99, )
could easily pay for itself on one trip to
the supermarket. It can handle virtually
any unit of measure or item count you
can imagine. Once you input your data, it
shows the results with the percentage of
discount or premium you would pay.
DISTANT SHORE
MARINER CALC COMPARE ME
