Reviews

July 1998 Issue

Networking Software

pcANYWHERE CE

Symantec Corp.’s pcANYWHERE has always been a good tool for users who need to remotely access a desktop PC, and now Windows CE users can add the same capability with pcANYWHERE CE. The software works with both CE 1.0 and CE 2.0 devices and performed flawlessly in our tests.

The software requires 200KB of storage space on the CE device and uses 600KB of memory to run, so it’s relatively light on system resources. It’s best to plug the CE device into an AC outlet though, since the constant modem use will drain batteries quickly. Users can connect to the host through a TAPI modem, via a TCP/IP dialup connection, or with a null modem cable. We tested it under Windows 95 with the TAPI option and had no problems.

When a connection was established, a portion of our host desktop appeared on the CE display and we were able to scroll around and access our desktop PC as if we actually were there. Any programs that are launched also can be worked with remotely, and we composed E-mails and test notes without problems. Screen updates were sluggish but not excessively so—a relatively small tradeoff considering the software transforms a CE device into a full-featured desktop system. The only real drawback we could find was that file transfers were limited to items on the clipboard.

Several host options are available for dealing with incoming calls. The most useful is the ability to automatically restart a host PC when a session has ended. Typically this will cause the system to stop waiting for a call, but by enabling another option, pcANYWHERE can be configured to launch the host program at startup. This should help when restoring a lost connection, although our connection was never dropped. We also were able to set up a login name and password—an important option for an administrator who wants to use the program to remotely address network problems.

PcANYWHERE CE includes CE client and desktop host versions of the program. We recommend the product for anyone who needs its functionality, despite the software’s high price.

—Tracy Baker

pcANYWHERE CE