iChat screen sharing with a PC?

[Spinky]

I was wondering if there is a free way to use the screen sharing feature of iChat to connect to a PC running Vista. The PC needs to see my screen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kkat69]

I was wondering if there is a free way to use the screen sharing feature of iChat to connect to a PC running Vista. The PC needs to see my screen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know of any iChat way, but the PC can run TightVNC and you can setup your Mac to allow VNC connections (set password) and they can do it that way.

I do this from work to my iMac at home.

 

[Spinky]

Thanks for the reply. I have never used a VNC before. Are the fairly straitforward to set up? I have read some things about port forwarding too, does that need to be turned on? Also, can you choose which screen to share or is it only the host's screen that is shared?

 

[kkat69]

Thanks for the reply. I have never used a VNC before. Are the fairly straitforward to set up? I have read some things about port forwarding too, does that need to be turned on? Also, can you choose which screen to share or is it only the host's screen that is shared?

VNC is pretty easy to setup on the Mac side. It already has it running (Leopard at least) System Preferences > Sharing > click on (and check it) Screen Sharing, and click on the <Computer Settings> button. There will be a check box that says "VNC viewers may control screen with password" and set your password.

VNC's typically run on port 5900 so you might want to ensure you have that port open to your Mac (yes to answer your other question, since the Mac is the host, it's the only screen shared. This isn't screen sharing and windows doesn't have screen sharing, remote desktop is one way each time)

You'll need your external ip address (usually found in the router settings and since you were there opening port 5900 you can get it while your at it)

On the windows box you install TightVNC and using the default settings start it, type the ip address XXX.XXX.XXX:5900 and connect. It should prompt for password and the PC user can view and control the Mac screen while your watching.

Also keep in mind it won't be THAT smooth. But it'll do the job.

 

[Spinky]

Ok. That's sounds interesting, but what I need is for the PC to be able to simply watch what I am doing on my Mac.

I do work in Adobe Illustrator from my home and the person I work for lives on the other side of the city. So she needs to be able to watch me work in Illustrator on my Mac, not control it.

 

[mathcolo]

There's always the free screensharing solution: www.yuuguu.com

 

[Spinky]

Thanks!

I tried yuuguu and it word perfectly. Exactly what I was looking for.