Just like being there - review of six remote access software packages - includes product directory - Software Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, May, 1996 by Joel T. Patz

Unfortunately, of the applications tested, we had the most difficulty working with ReachOut. Installation was straightforward, but the program did not test for modems and gave us a misleading error message when we selected the wrong com port. Worse still, there was no generic setting for Hayes 28.8Kbps modems (we had to use the 14.4Kbps setting and tell it to use a 28.8Kbps baud rate). Furthermore, though the box proclaims that the program "Works great with Windows 95," we found only chat and file transfer satisfactory. Connecting our Epson laptop as the host, the driver for our Imagine 128 video card installed on the Dell system crashed when we tried the remote control setting. When reversed, the Epson's screen was improperly refreshed, giving us a hodgepodge. Drive mapping, which lets you reference the other machine's disk drive (or directory) using a single letter, didn't work in our tests.

If you can get past the glitches, you can use the program's scripting to do repetitive tasks, such as connect to your office machine and synchronize directories or download e-mail. (Synchronization can occur in both directions using the program's RapidSync feature.) Security options include callback and time-out (you can control the maximum time a caller can remain connected). An audit trail on the host computer logs who called and how long they remained online, and a modem diagnostics window tells you about your modem's settings and hangs up your modem if something goes wrong--a nice much.

Remotely Possible/32

Rating: **

WIN 95

With a simple toolbar, Remotely Possible/32 lets you quickly switch between host and remote modes. Even its menu options make it clear what you're doing. The Connect option offers "Listen for Incoming Calls" and "Connect to Remote." Setup is equally easy to understand: You designate the people who can call in and their passwords.

You can quickly switch between chat, viewer, and file transfer modes using the menus or icons. File transfer lets you select a variety of files from different directories on your hard drive, then send them all at once. A countdown timer shows you the remaining time.

Remotely Possible/32's log can add date and time entries whenever someone logs on to your system, and it can track file transfer (including file name) and chat sessions, a particularly useful feature if you want to know what has been happening with your system.

When setting up, you can redirect host printing, disable the host's mouse, keyboard, or both, and set the number of rings to wait before answering. Other options let you reboot the remote system, automatically reboot the host system when a remote site hangs up, hide the application or minimize it on start-up, and name your system.

Remotely Possible/32 is capable of connecting over TCP/IP and dial-up modems; support for IPX, NetBios, and NetBEUI are planned. The program's multitasking capability allows you to include multiple host and/or multiple viewers simultaneously. And the program is TAPI compliant, meaning that it works well in yielding modem control when another TAPI-compliant application needs to use your modem.