Remote Desktop 3 pre-beginner questions....trying to help mom.

[BetsyMePoocho]

Hello,

My mother in the USA has dementia.* She needs basic help with locating and saving and printing documents on her Mac along with getting back to her INBOX on her e-mail program.* She used to be able to do all of this on her own but things have changed.
*
My brother and I live in different foreign countries and have been helping her for years over the phone and skype but she can no longer follow instructions.*
*
We are considering installing Remote Desktop 3 the next time we visit mom.
*
Three questions -
*
1.* Remote Desktop 3 will allow us to handle these simple tasks for her from afar, yes? Please say yes.
*
2.* Can my brother and I both be an 'admin' computer to our mom's 'client' computer so bro and I can both help mom? (two separate software purchases)
*
3.* The software appears to be $79 at this time.* Is there a monthly or annual fee or anything else we will need to pay?

I did read one comment on the Apple Forum saying RD3 is not useable for helping your mom's computer over the internet, but there was only that one negative note and we would prefer going with an Apple product. Apologies if this information is out there - I have looked and have not found answers.... I am not computer swift but my husband is so please feel free to speak above me technically.
*
Our mom spends most of her day typing her life's memories and so keeping that word processing do-able is a huge thing for her wellness of being.* The staff at the assisted living home are wonderful about coming to mom's room to turn on her printer and things like this but the more my brother and I can help the better for all.
*
Thank you very much for any answers or advice.

 

[Bilalo]

Hello,

My mother in the USA has dementia.* She needs basic help with locating and saving and printing documents on her Mac along with getting back to her INBOX on her e-mail program.* She used to be able to do all of this on her own but things have changed.
*
My brother and I live in different foreign countries and have been helping her for years over the phone and skype but she can no longer follow instructions.*
*
We are considering installing Remote Desktop 3 the next time we visit mom.
*
Three questions -
*
1.* Remote Desktop 3 will allow us to handle these simple tasks for her from afar, yes? Please say yes.
*
2.* Can my brother and I both be an 'admin' computer to our mom's 'client' computer so bro and I can both help mom? (two separate software purchases)
*
3.* The software appears to be $79 at this time.* Is there a monthly or annual fee or anything else we will need to pay?

I did read one comment on the Apple Forum saying RD3 is not useable for helping your mom's computer over the internet, but there was only that one negative note and we would prefer going with an Apple product. Apologies if this information is out there - I have looked and have not found answers.... I am not computer swift but my husband is so please feel free to speak above me technically.
*
Our mom spends most of her day typing her life's memories and so keeping that word processing do-able is a huge thing for her wellness of being.* The staff at the assisted living home are wonderful about coming to mom's room to turn on her printer and things like this but the more my brother and I can help the better for all.
*
Thank you very much for any answers or advice.

I use splashtop 2 on ipad and splashtop streamer on the computer. You can control it from worldwide from any tablet or ios device as well as android butyou cant control comp on comp. it cost $3 on ipad and i think its a $10 yearly fee. You get full access over her computer as long as its open on her computer and you get full access as well as audio transports to you. Remember you control the laptop/pc from a tablet or smartphone not another laptop

 

[GGJstudios]

For remote support, including for non-computer-literate users, I use TeamViewer, which is free for personal use and works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc. It's very secure and quite simple to set up and use (no messing around with ports), which comes in handy if providing remote support to those who aren't very computer literate. You can talk them through the setup on their end and be connected to them in less than a minute. I prefer it over LogMeIn because it includes free file transfers between computers, a feature I use frequently.

 

[desertman]

If you yourself have Macs and can get Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) for $80 and if you are able, if necessary, to open the neccessary ports on your mother's router/modem/computer and then configure her computer for being accessible from ARD then this would be the best solution in my opinion. $80 would be a huge price drop; when I bought it it was still $350. And yes, everything can be set up in a way that several computers can control your mother's computer. I am using ARD since years to work from the US on Macs in Europe. ARD is a great application.

However, also Teamviewer can be used and is good and is free and requires hardly any setup. It's just not as "fluid" as ARD and misses some features that ARD has. You would have to install the host version of Teamviewer on your mother's computer and set it up for unattended access. The same host version would have to be installed on your computers and then all computers that know your mother's computer's Teamviewer identiy and password can have access to it. Easy, convenient, free. http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/mac.aspx

 

[soloer]

I second TeamViewer. It's very easy to use and as mentioned, free for personal use.

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

I third TeamViewer! I just used this last week for an elderly friend who is moving across country. He needed a little over-the-phone help with installing the free download, after that tiny blip it was VERY easy to use.

The person at the other computer opens the program, tells you 2 sets of numbers to type into your own machine in the TeamViewer program window, boom! --you're on the other computer.

 

[desertman]

The person at the other computer opens the program, tells you 2 sets of numbers to type into your own machine in the TeamViewer program window ...

That's not necessary if you install the host version of Teamviewer on your mother's computer and set it up for unattended access. Also the host version is free for personal use.