August 26, 2003
VNC and Palm VNC
Anyone who has ever had to manage a computer from a remote location has dreamed of being able to do it wirelessly via a handheld computer. The dream of fast, convenient, virtually unbounded remote management is made just a bit more realistic by virtue of Palm VNC.
Palm VNC is an application for Palm OS devices. It enables the user to control any PC (Windows, Unix, etc.) running the freely available VNC Server application, which permits two-way desktop control between the server (the PC running VNC Server that is being controlled) and the client (in this case, the Palm OS handheld running Palm VNC). Basically, the client user "sees" the desktop and controls it just as if he or she were sitting at the console.
As with many highly useful and open application standards, there are several different "flavors" of VNC out there. The original VNC was cooked up by some AT&T engineers in the UK. The latest build can be gotten from the official VNC site at RealVNC.com. Other variants on the VNC protocol, most of which are backward-compatible with VNC, include Tight VNC and UltraVNC.
And, yes, there are even a couple of VNC clients for Palm OS to be had. I have had tremendous success with Palm VNC 2.0. This works tremendously well on my Palm Tungsten C, and I've used it to access my home machine (Tight VNC server on Windows XP) via Wi-Fi on multiple occasions from various locations. Palm VNC 2.0 is a really nice continuation of the work originally done by Vladimir Minenko a few years ago, which has now been taken over by Harakan Software.
So, if you like the idea of being able to control various computers' desktops remotely over wireless from your handheld, give Palm VNC a try...you might be as hopelessly addicted to it as I am.
Can you post how you got it to work. I have a Palm Tungsten C and I've installed Palm 2.0 and can't seem to get the thing to work. When I tap the Palm VNC icon on the the Tungsten it just says not connected
Posted by Don Page at November 2, 2003 08:01 PMYou have to have the server app running on the computer you want to view. Set it up with the password of your choice. Then, on the client device, start the VNC client app. Enter the IP or name of the server computer, enter the password you set up, and it should just work.
Posted by Craig at November 2, 2003 10:57 PMThanks for replying Craig. I never get to that point on my Tungsten. I press the icon to start the application and all I see is:
Palm VNC
version 1.40
using 8 bit color
for more help on Palm VNC see ( website address)
Not connected
Thats it.nothing else. I can tap all over the screen and nothing happens. I have the server running on my 3 machines. It works on all of them.
It is version 3.3.7
I first tried Palm VNC 2.0.4 and got the same thing except I had a moving line oscillation in the display that started from the bottom and moved toward the top and repeated until I closed the screen. The display an 1.4 is more stable.
Any ideas? I can connect to the Internet thru my access point with my Palm. I know the WI-Fi works. I must be missing something.
Don
Hit the blue button and the Menu key -- that should open up the menus so you can do the necessary config.
Posted by Craig at November 3, 2003 12:02 AMI am having the exact same problem as Don. I get the splash screen on my TungstenC and it oscillates. There is no menu or buttons to press
Thanks
Rob, as I told Don, hit the Blue key and then the Menu key (it's to the right of the space bar). That will pull up the menus.
Posted by Craig at November 6, 2003 11:42 AMI'm using Palm VNC v1.40 on a Handspring Visor Deluxe. I have not yet found a way to send a negative number from the handheld to the desktop (-1, etc.). Using the clipboard has not worked for me so far. Is it possible?
Posted by Rusty at January 17, 2004 04:50 PMI am looking for information to be able to control a music player (or entire OS) with my palm directly connected to my desktop. the only ones i can find are for wireless.
Posted by Steven at February 9, 2004 02:54 AMSteven. have you tried http://www.pdacontrols.com/
Posted by Estuardo at March 1, 2004 12:38 PMTo leave a comment or read updated entries, please visit GearBits' current site. Thanks.