So if you are a Geek or Nerd, and if you made it to this site than I think we all know the answer to that question. Then you probably either own or use more than one computer, manage computers for friends and family, and want to have access to your files and media where ever your are.

Well I have been running into the same questions and have been looking at some solutions, both paid and free.  Lets start with Remote access and management.

If you have all of the machines using static IP addresses then no big deal just setup RDP shortcuts to them and presto you can manage the network. But if you are managing say your mother-in-laws computer and others that have dynamic IP addresses then their are multiple solutions for you.

FREE:

• Configure the machines using NOIP's client software. This will allow you to access the machines using yourname.no-ip.com instead of a hard to remember IP address or URL.

• Live Mesh is a new beta service from Microsoft that will allow you to setup a "network" (those are air quotes) of computers that can be accessed and share files within the network. I have used this solution and it works fine, the remote access piece is a little slow. but the setup and interface are simple. You will need to have a Live.com, Hotmail.com, or MSN.com account. 

PAID:

• Go-To-MyPC is a service provided by Citrix, now I am a big fan of Go-To-Meeting but I cant bring myself to pay $19.95 for access to 1 PC, $29.95 for access to 2 PC's then a reduced price for 3 - 20.

• LogMeIn has a free version and a paid version, I haven't tried this one so I will leave it to you Loyal Reader to make a judgment.

Next week Part 2: Document/File collaboration and sharing