Okay, this new feature has convinced me to upgrade to Leopard: Screen Sharing via iChat. In a nutshell, it’s a built-in remote desktop feature that doesn’t require any fiddling with your router or NAT settings. Why am I so excited about this feature? Because it will make my life SOOO much easier in troubleshooting and fixing issues on my Dad’s iMac. Yes, you can use VNC (which is what I’m currently using as my ‘family tech support’ tool) but it’s still a pain in the ass due to router config settings, telling my Mom or Dad to start the VNC server, etc.
Here’s the description from Apple’s site:
Instant Screen Sharing from the Finder
Start an interactive screen sharing session with other Macs on your network. Just select the Mac from your sidebar and (if authorized) you can see and control the Mac as if you were right in front of it. Change a system preference, publish an iPhoto library, or add a new playlist to iTunes.
Truth be told, I haven’t tried Screen Sharing but it seems to ‘just work’ like almost everything else in the Mac ecosystem. GWhiz posted a video that shows how easy it is to use this new feature. You can also see a high quality video of Screen Sharing via the Leopard Guided Tour video on the Apple site.
Hi and thanks for the link. Appreciate that. Any time you’d like to test out the ichat screen sharing… feel free to contact me via geraldb28@mac.com.
Leopard’s really well thought out and has polished off so many of the things Tiger started. It’s a superb experience from the get go.
No problem! Glad to hear Leopard is worth the upgrade.
I’ll definitely hit you up to test out the screen sharing when I get Leopard…which won’t be until I buy my new MacBook Pro…which will be when they upgrade to the new Penryn processor.