Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on October 29, 2009 by CyberNet.

Windows only
One of the new features in Windows 7 is Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7, and Microsoft decided to also offer the most of the same functionality to Windows XP and Vista users. Many of you will probably shrug this off as a pointless update, but it has something that is really useful to me. What is it?

Sometimes I Remote Desktop into one machine, and from there I have to Remote Desktop into other machines. A good example of when this might happen is if you have multiple machines in your house… you may only open one of those machines up so that it can be accessed from outside of your network. If you want to connect to other machines you simply RD into the primary one, and then from there you can access any of the other computers on your network.

The problem? If you use one Remote Desktop session inside of another that yellow/tan connection bar along the top can become tedious to use when juggling your various sessions. The more machines you connect to the more those connection bars overlay each other, and can therefore make it extremely difficult to disconnect or minimize some of the connections. You’ll often find yourself sitting there playing with the pin/unpin until the correct connection bar appears.

In Remote Desktop 7 the connection bar is now an attractive transparent blue, but what’s important is that you can slide it back and forth along the top of the window. That basically means you can stagger the connection bars for multiple sessions so that they aren’t completely overlapping each other. I’m demonstrating this in the screenshot above where I connected to one machine using RD7, and then from there connected to another machine running an older version of Remote Desktop. I’ve cropped the screenshot, but the yellow connection bar is actually in the center of the screen. I then dragged the blue bar off to the side so that it could clearly be seen.

Unfortunately the bar can still only be placed along the top of the screen (you can’t move it to the side or to the bottom), but this is still a welcomed addition. There are also a bunch of other features I’m sure some of you will love in RD7:

• Web Single Sign-On (SSO) and Web forms-based authentication
• Access to personal virtual desktops by using RD Connection Broker
• Access to virtual desktop pools by using RD Connection Broker
• Status & disconnect system tray icon
• RD Gateway-based device redirection enforcement
• RD Gateway system and logon messages
• RD Gateway background authorization & authentication
• RD Gateway idle & session time-outs
• NAP remediation with RD Gateway
• Windows Media Player redirection
• Bidirectional audio
• Multiple monitor support
• Enhanced video playback

New features available only to users connecting from a Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 machine:

• Language Bar docking
• Remote application task scheduler
• Aero Glass support
• Start applications and desktops from ‘RemoteApp and Desktop Connections’

Here are the download links for XP and Vista users:

• Windows XP SP3
• Vista SP1/SP2 32-bit
• Vista SP1/SP2 64-bit

Remote Desktop Connection 7 Homepage

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

Related Posts:

Enabling Remote Desktop On A Remote ComputerA Quick Look At Vista’s Remote DesktopXP/2003 Users Should Upgrade To Remote Desktop 6Remote Desktop For Mac OS XHelpful Tip: Create a Remote Desktop Shortcut

Nyko has what it plans to be the world’s first Wiimote replacement with the Motion Plus add-on built-in. Dubbed the Wand+, the controller will retail for $39.99 and should be on shelves by March. In addition to those fancy gryoscopes, the Wand+ has a matte rubberized back and rubberized buttons that are pretty comfortable to the touch, there’s a built-in camera for acting as a “regular” Bluetooth mouse, and the whole assembly is much lighter than a Wiimote / Motion Plus combo. Perhaps we won’t die of acute carpal tunnel after all. Check out some action video after the break.

Nyko Wand+ is a full Wii Motion Plus replacement, smashing through screens this March originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Continue reading MyFord dash and Sync App Ecosystem hands-on

MyFord dash and Sync App Ecosystem hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Toshiba may have announced a few things today at CES, but its press event was all about one major product: Cell TV. From what we can gather, the company is hopping on this bandwagon in a way we haven’t seen since it sank its teeth into HD DVD, and if all the claims pan out, you just might be looking at your next television. Details were short on future pricing and availability, but we get the idea that Tosh wants this on the market as soon as humanly possible. Reportedly, this thing will enable 2D-to-3D conversion of practically any content you watch; of course, we’ve seen content that was shot in 3D look awful when behind the glasses, so we’re not counting on the quality of the metamorphosis to be anything mind-blowing. That said, having such a chip within a TV opens up a whole new world of possibilities, and the accompanying uber-box shown in the gallery below is likely to sell right alongside of it. The purpose? To connect your “entire home” with your HDTV, not to mention bringing web content, video calling and stellar image quality to your otherwise drab den. Needless to say, we’re on pins and needles here waiting for more information, but we’ll be sure to pass it on as soon as it becomes available.

Toshiba’s Cell TV hands-on at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

While devices dedicated to DTV or bulked up for DTV have rarely struck our fancy, there’s something pretty compelling about this new Tivit unit, for whatever reason. A bit like a single-minded MiFi, the device pulls in Mobile DTV video and then pumps it out over WiFi to a single device at a time. Based on how you’re accessing it, the Tivit might appear just as a web page of channel listings to choose from, or in a fancier custom-built app on the iPhone, but to all of those devices it streams h.264 video at a pretty good quality. We tested it with the iPod touch, and while the 20 second channel change times were a little frustrating (they claim they’ll be able to get it down to 8, and that it’s Apple’s fault), everything else worked flawlessly. We had a bit less luck with the Droid, due to what appeared to be a missing codec on our end; we’ll have to investigate further. Perhaps the best part is that there’s no additional power drain on our primary device, though remembering another USB charger at the end of the day might get annoying. All in all we wholeheartedly support an effort such as this to bring new content to our existing phone, laptop and desktop screens, and if they can sell this for the $90 to $120 suggested price range unsubsidized, we might just be looking at Mobile DTV’s best shot at life yet. There’s video after the break of the thing in action.

Continue reading Tivit Mobile DTV to WiFi device hands-on: it works!

Tivit Mobile DTV to WiFi device hands-on: it works! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments