Bosco: Remote Desktop on the Cheap

Who likes free stuff? Raise your hands. Hey, you in the back...iFelix...raise your hand. I know you like free stuff.

Now, who gets to help their relatives with computer problems every holiday season?

And who doesn't like to spend hundreds of dollars on Apple Remote Desktop or Timbuktu for remote desktop control?

Luckily, for all of use, the developers of Bosco Screenshare have just released their software as a free product. I've just spent the last ten minutes testing it out and it works quite well. It's not nearly as robust or as fast as Timbuktu or ARD, but that's countered by the fact that it's free. Free! And it's cross-platform, so if your stubborn relatives insist on buying that WinXP box, you can at least remote connect to it now to make sure that its anti-virus and anti-spyware programs are up-to-date.

I do not recommend using this with dial-up connections. Even on a broadband connection, performance wasn't that great, but it works as good as the other freeware solution, VNC. My experience has been that VNC is a lot more difficult to configure and get newbie end-users (hi Mom!) to undersand. Bosco Screenshare's interface makes sense, even for a new user.