Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best VNC app?

Project-79

Project-79

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 11, 2008
385
0
Canada
Why is Teleport so much more expensive than Mocha VNC? What does it have that others don't? And, are there any other VNC apps out there?

Which one is the best (features)? Which one do you like the most?

EDIT: Oh, and what is the difference between Mocha VNC Lite and the regular one?

Thanks!

P-79
 
DipDog3

DipDog3

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2002
1,191
812
I have used Mocha and it is not good.
The Lite doesn't have a Del key so no Ctrl-Atl-Del among other problems.

But...

TELEPORT is the BEST!
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
Project-79 said:
Why is Teleport so much more expensive than Mocha VNC? What does it have that others don't? And, are there any other VNC apps out there?

Which one is the best (features)? Which one do you like the most?

EDIT: Oh, and what is the difference between Mocha VNC Lite and the regular one?

Thanks!

P-79
Click to expand...

Gah- I think this has been answered many times but I'll try to make this a good one:

Mocha VNC Lite has no Ctrl-Alt-Del or Right Click ability. Full Mocha VNC has these built in. Both are pretty much crap. You get what you pay for...

A bit of a comparison between the Mocha VNC (full paid version) and Teleport:

Mocha VNC:
* Only 6 saved connection slots
* Limited to 1600x1200 maximum resolution
* Poor controls

Teleport:
* Virtually unlimited saved connections (In a scrolling list)
* Virtually unlimited desktop size, the author has used it in 3200x1200 (dual monitor mode) and I've connected to 1920x1200 no problem
* Much better screen controls and gestures for zoom, scrolling a window, right clicking, etc.
* Customized on screen keyboards to control presentations and other things.
* Auto-discovers Macs set up for screen-sharing.

In short, Mocha VNC is a waste of your time and money compared to Teleport. I have used all three of them (the two Mocha versions and Teleport). I'm a very satisfied customer, no regrets in purchasing it. :cool:
 
rockstarjoe

rockstarjoe

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2006
875
76
washington dc
I've been using Mocha VNC (paid) version and while it "works" it is kind of a pain in the butt to accomplish anything. The controls are placed awkwardly and I frequently find myself "clicking" on something when I am actually trying to select a VNC control button.

Having said that, the price is pretty fair.

Teleport sounds very tempting though. Tell me, since you have used both, does Teleport refresh any faster than Mocha VNC? Sometime the refresh times on Mocha over 3G are good but they seem to get worse as the session goes on. Thanks for any info!
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
Re: DaneGuy - WinAdmin is definitely worth the $12 too! I use it and Teleport for emergencies. WinAdmin of course is limited to modern versions of MS Windows: Server 2000, 2003, Windows XP (Not Vista compatible yet). Teleport will connect to any VNC server, including old Windows 95/98 machines and of course any Mac with screen sharing turned on. It also has the advantage of allowing the person on the other end to see what you're working on (as a consultant that is important for me at times to show things to people remotely).

Re: Rockstarjoe - I would say that the latest update v1.1 of Teleport made the screen updating much more consistent. The old v1.0 would sometimes stop updating. I don't have a 3G phone or 3G access within 50 miles of me so I can't speak for 3G speeds unfortunately. I think you'll like the control scheme of Teleport better than Mocha. The screen acts more like a laptop touchpad- you move your finger around, and the screen scrolls to follow the cursor. Pick up your finger and the cursor arrow stays where it was placed, then you can tap ANYWHERE on the screen to activate the mouse click (without moving the cursor from the position you left it). Maybe I'm not describing it well enough but it is very effective in operation :D
 
SFC Archer

SFC Archer

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2007
1,742
0
Troy, MT
CommanderData said:
Re: DaneGuy - WinAdmin is definitely worth the $12 too! I use it and Teleport for emergencies. WinAdmin of course is limited to modern versions of MS Windows: Server 2000, 2003, Windows XP (Not Vista compatible yet). Teleport will connect to any VNC server, including old Windows 95/98 machines and of course any Mac with screen sharing turned on. It also has the advantage of allowing the person on the other end to see what you're working on (as a consultant that is important for me at times to show things to people remotely).

Re: Rockstarjoe - I would say that the latest update v1.1 of Teleport made the screen updating much more consistent. The old v1.0 would sometimes stop updating. I don't have a 3G phone or 3G access within 50 miles of me so I can't speak for 3G speeds unfortunately. I think you'll like the control scheme of Teleport better than Mocha. The screen acts more like a laptop touchpad- you move your finger around, and the screen scrolls to follow the cursor. Pick up your finger and the cursor arrow stays where it was placed, then you can tap ANYWHERE on the screen to activate the mouse click (without moving the cursor from the position you left it). Maybe I'm not describing it well enough but it is very effective in operation :D
Click to expand...

You described it just fine. I also use Teleport and it is the best VNC app I have ever used. I also do not have 3G or a 3G phone and use it without problem on my Classic iPhone. I have had 2 bars on edge and it still connects and controls my laptop (slowly) but effectively. The customer service for Teleport is also awesome and they will respond to your emails, usually in less then 30 min. The only thing I would recommend is that you change your computer setting to not sleep or hibernate....screen saver is ok...as you can not wake your computer with any current VNC app. I have no regrets about purchase and is the most expensive app that I have purchased to date.

Hope that helps...Good Luck
 
Project-79

Project-79

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 11, 2008
385
0
Canada
Thanks!

Just, one more question:

Can you access the computer when it is a sleep/turned off? Or does it have to be on, to access it?

Thanks Again!

P-79
 
SFC Archer

SFC Archer

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2007
1,742
0
Troy, MT
Project-79 said:
Thanks!

Just, one more question:

Can you access the computer when it is a sleep/turned off? Or does it have to be on, to access it?

Thanks Again!

P-79
Click to expand...

It must be on and only the screen saver can come on. Teleport will NOT activate your computer if it is in hibernate/sleep or Off. As I stated above. ;)
 
Project-79

Project-79

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 11, 2008
385
0
Canada
SFC Archer said:
It must be on and only the screen saver can come on. Teleport will NOT activate your computer if it is in hibernate/sleep or Off. As I stated above. ;)
Click to expand...

Oh, Thank You.

I'm sorry, I must have missed that sentence in your comment.

Hopefully they'll add new firmware so you can access your computer while it is sleeping!

Thanks Again!

P-79
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
Project-79: If you buy the SleepOver app and your PC/Router support it you can turn on your PC remotely over the internet and then connect with Teleport. I have actually done this. Important to note that SleepOver cannot wake your PC/Mac from sleep or hibernate, only from a completely OFF state. Still, it's pretty cool! :cool:
 
Project-79

Project-79

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 11, 2008
385
0
Canada
CommanderData said:
Project-79: If you buy the SleepOver app and your PC/Router support it you can turn on your PC remotely over the internet and then connect with Teleport. I have actually done this. Important to note that SleepOver cannot wake your PC/Mac from sleep or hibernate, only from a completely OFF state. Still, it's pretty cool! :cool:
Click to expand...

Sweet, thanks!

Although, are you sure it has to be off? In iTunes, it implies that it can be asleep

Thanks Again!

P-79
 
S

SlapMonkey

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2008
149
0
CommanderData said:
Project-79: If you buy the SleepOver app and your PC/Router support it you can turn on your PC remotely over the internet and then connect with Teleport. I have actually done this. Important to note that SleepOver cannot wake your PC/Mac from sleep or hibernate, only from a completely OFF state. Still, it's pretty cool! :cool:
Click to expand...

Uh, actually the complete opposite is true. It will ONLY wake your computer from sleep mode, not if it is completely off, and it will ONLY do this if your computer is connected via Ethernet, not via WiFi.

SLEEPOVER said:
SleepOver - Overview

SleepOver is a wake-on-LAN utility for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to remotely wake up a sleeping computer. Wake-on-LAN works by sending a "magic" network packet to a sleeping computer. If the destination computer supports wake-on-LAN it can listen for these "magic" packets while it is sleeping and wake up automatically if it receives one.
FEATURES:

* Wake a pre-defined host by simply tapping it on the main screen
* Define as many hosts as you need.
* Configure up to 2 network interfaces for each host, allowing you to wake hosts over a LAN and the Internet.

REQUIREMENTS:

* Target hosts must support wake-on-LAN.
* Target hosts must have wired network connections.
* Wake-on-LAN requires iPhone or iPod Touch to have an active Wi-Fi connection.
* Wake-over-Internet requires iPhone or iPod touch to have an active Internet connection (cellular or Wi-Fi).
* Wake-over-Internet will only work if the "magic" packet can reach its destination. Your router must be configured to allow incoming UDP packets on a chosen port to be broadcast over the LAN. Many consumer routers do *not* allow this, therefore please verify your network configuration using an on-line wake-over-Internet service before purchasing SleepOver if wake-over-Internet is important to you.
Click to expand...

As for Teleport vs. Mocha, this question is getting asked just about every other day and it has been answered to death. Amazing what a little bit of searching could find... ;)
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
SlapMonkey said:
Uh, actually the complete opposite is true. It will ONLY wake your computer from sleep mode, not if it is completely off, and it will ONLY do this if your computer is connected via Ethernet, not via WiFi.
Click to expand...

Uhhh actually we are BOTH right, the author does not describe it well in his app description. Believe me, Wake On LAN and magic packets can affect a computer which is completely off. I have done so with my computer (Windows laptop) shut down/off (not in standby or hibernate). My particular laptop will not respond in standby/hibernate unfortunately :mad:
 
Project-79

Project-79

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 11, 2008
385
0
Canada
CommanderData said:
Uhhh actually we are BOTH right, the author does not describe it well in his app description. Believe me, Wake On LAN and magic packets can affect a computer which is completely off. I have done so with my computer (Windows laptop) shut down/off (not in standby or hibernate). My particular laptop will not respond in standby/hibernate unfortunately :mad:
Click to expand...

Sweet, thanks for clearing that up!

P-79
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
P-79 No problem! Actually I just solved my problem too I think. My Network card was not set to allow it to come out of standby... that's why SleepOver only worked when I was fully shut down (the BIOS Wake On LAN takes effect when shut down, Windows settings take effect when standby or hibernating). :rolleyes:
 
ViViDboarder

ViViDboarder

macrumors 68040
Jun 25, 2008
3,447
2
USA
SleepOver and a VNC viewer (Looks like Teleport) seem to be two very useful tools for remote management. Has anyone tried the app store SSH client? I have MobileTerminal on my jailbroken phone and SSH works great. My next thing to do is get my systems all set up with WOL. WOL can be sent from VPN right?
 
C

CommanderData

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2007
250
3
ViViDboarder said:
SleepOver and a VNC viewer (Looks like Teleport) seem to be two very useful tools for remote management. Has anyone tried the app store SSH client? I have MobileTerminal on my jailbroken phone and SSH works great. My next thing to do is get my systems all set up with WOL. WOL can be sent from VPN right?
Click to expand...

I have used pTerm in the app store, but only briefly as a Telnet client so far (shell access of my Router on the local network).

SleepOver (and other WOL solutions) have trouble with VPNs. Apparently Broadcast packets are not encrypted to go over the tunnel (unsure if this is the case with ANY VPN implementation, or only the iPhone's version) so they never arrive at the destination. There are two ways around it- have one always on device at the VPN endpoint that you can issue WOL commands to other devices with, or port-forward UDP packets on Port 9 of your Router (which I decided to do).
 
ViViDboarder

ViViDboarder

macrumors 68040
Jun 25, 2008
3,447
2
USA
CommanderData said:
I have used pTerm in the app store, but only briefly as a Telnet client so far (shell access of my Router on the local network).

SleepOver (and other WOL solutions) have trouble with VPNs. Apparently Broadcast packets are not encrypted to go over the tunnel (unsure if this is the case with ANY VPN implementation, or only the iPhone's version) so they never arrive at the destination. There are two ways around it- have one always on device at the VPN endpoint that you can issue WOL commands to other devices with, or port-forward UDP packets on Port 9 of your Router (which I decided to do).
Click to expand...

Those are some clever work arounds. The use of a always on computer makes it easy because you don't need a WOL application to buy, but... It defeats the purpose of WOL. Haha. Port Forwarding may be a good solution for me. thanks for the idea.
 
F

Farani

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2007
267
0
What does everyone use this for? I could see myself using it a lot if audio was supported, but it currently isn't. I'll use it a loss less without audio.
 
G

gillybean

macrumors 6502a
Jul 21, 2008
788
2
Seattle, WA
Ooh, I just got WinAdmin and it works nicely. I didn't know that rdesktop clients were out for the iPhone. Now I can just do IRC over rdesktop, which is the better solution anyway so that I don't have to disconnect when the app isn't running.
 
E

emperoruriel

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2008
41
0
question of VNC Application

How good are the connections from the computer to the iPhone?
I wonder if it is possible to maybe stream some music of videos I have on my computer or over the internet that are not available on my iPhone or iPhone internet.
 
SFC Archer

SFC Archer

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2007
1,742
0
Troy, MT
emperoruriel said:
How good are the connections from the computer to the iPhone?
I wonder if it is possible to maybe stream some music of videos I have on my computer or over the internet that are not available on my iPhone or iPhone internet.
Click to expand...

There is no streaming and there are threads that discuss this. You can only manipulate your desktop and run its applications...there is no sound at all and its not an option currently.
ooops, forgot your connection question...I use the Classic iPhone and can connect with edge without problem. Depending on the strength of edge determines the speed/refresh but it works fine for me...even on two bars.
 
F

Farani

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2007
267
0
DipDog3 said:
To control your computer with your iPhone.
Click to expand...

No I got that, I'm not an idiot. I mean what programs do you access? I'm trying to decide if I'll get enough use out of this for $25 without video streaming / audio.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom