At Last, A Remote App Worth Using.
Posted: 16 Jun 2011, 03:50And I'm not just saying that because I'm going to be attempting to cadge a full licence for a couple of months or so!
I have spent all day looking to replace the rather nice but damn expensive Citrix' Go To Assist software as it was up for its monthly renewal fee of £47 odd quid again. I am a sole trader and I run my own computer repair business from home and have probably the highest ranking website in Dorset, UK for people looking for computer repairs so I am kept pretty busy to say the least.
When possible it makes sense for me to repair anything I can online but I have never got round to working out a payment system for it and often don't charge people for my time. Partly because of lack of man hours and a hate for admin and partly because of the workload I have in the workshop. I was considering sorting something out with PayPal in the end but thought I would wait until I found a remote client that didn't want to rape me, or better still - A free one.
So I managed to delete all the reg entries and system files for Citrix out of my computer and blag another 30 day trial out of them on my other half's PAYG MasterCard. However I then went and bragged about it somewhere or other and (I assume) that is why I can't seem to do it again!
I then tried Ultra VNC Server which was just a Royal pain in the backside I thought and I just could not get it to work. I then tried Team-Viewer which wasn't as bad but I still thought was bad enough. If I got it connected I don't remember and I never used it as I fell into a coma, face down in my own spit that night! Also after doing shite loads of port forwarding and the like it turns out it's not free (by a long chalk) for businesses at all. I have to admit that as much as I also don't like people that steal software I got so fed up with it and behind in my work I did download a cracked exe for it to get something running on a temporary basis. However the full version, I personally felt sucked more butt than the free version. Also it seemed the hacker had no idea about business as whenever I started a ticket, under my business name would be displayed some random type spotty script kiddie tag like, 'HeX-hAcKoR-CraKKKed-WareZ-Massive BELLend-CReW' pointless crap! yeah, I reckon he'd be better off de-compiling his noggin.
I then tried 'Remote Support Software' which actually looked to be really good to start with and even generates a customizable invoice based on your online time after the session ends and mails it to the client. That is just nice! Also I could use my own web server that my site is on for the connection by uploading a generated script which in effect doesn't allow the software provider to block my service unless they can get at the installation on my computer. Not allot of chance of that happening if Apple can't update my jail broken iPhone!
Anyway that software was still not straight forward to set up and wouldn't allow me to enter my web address or company logo and when online, written in each corner of the screen (both host and client side) in an inch high font in different colours is 'NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE'! LOL!
So I went to see how much a licence was for a business support install and it was the only one without a price and instead said something along the lines of 'For this package please contact our support staff'! I decided to scrap that as it suggests to me that even if I was sitting down for the quote I'd still likely fall off the chair!
So next I got to finding this by sifting through Google and it is in install terms, just about perfect for both amateur and expert, engineer or 64 year old Mrs. Higgins. It took me less than 20 minutes to set up a host and client, connect them and optimize the connection.
It gives you full control of if it should load with Windows, It stops all pointless background running processes when it is closed and doesn't display loads of crap all over the clients screen that makes you look like some sort of proper that can't afford to pay for it. There are some functions in trial mode that are not available but they do not hamper the chance of properly assessing the software. To be honest I was sold within the hour!
The only issue I have is that Citrix was actually costing me more than I was making, I know that was partly my fault but I only do about 3 or 4 sessions a month so far. However it beats driving 60 miles to complete a 20 minute job. And while you can argue that is saving me money, it's actually not as I have enough work here to be able to refuse it and be better off. However I don't like to send my own customers elsewhere so really finding a decent, cheap remote client is the best option.
I am going to work on the remote support service more over the next month or two and advertise it on my website. I would like to use the full program and customise it to my business and will only too gladly advertise the software on one of the regular pages (not links!) of my site with a good description and colour photo. I will also include a '-self' HTML page directly to the anyplace-control.com website. My site is as I said highly ranked for my area and contains adverts for a limited number of applications that are useful to our customers. We don't get paid for advertising any 3rd party product on our site and do it because it's software that often resolves issues.
So I am hoping you can give me a licence to get started with and advertise the service until it is making a profit. I only estimate it being a month or so and I will send you the $400.00 for the 10 clients for two years with gratitude. That's about £150 per year, a bargain and a half for even a small company like us. If you notice me spending hours on it sooner than I estimate though, please do send me the invoice sooner as I'm not doing freebees anymore!
Shame your software doesn't do the invoice thing. If you don't feel you could offer me a free licence for a while it would be worth having it PAYG if that was ever an option but I have not found it anywhere for this type of application. It could email my customer a bill and a copy to you at the same time to allow you to calculate actual usage time. Just a thought.
Regards
Phill Thorne
http://www.dorchestercomputerrepairs.com
I have spent all day looking to replace the rather nice but damn expensive Citrix' Go To Assist software as it was up for its monthly renewal fee of £47 odd quid again. I am a sole trader and I run my own computer repair business from home and have probably the highest ranking website in Dorset, UK for people looking for computer repairs so I am kept pretty busy to say the least.
When possible it makes sense for me to repair anything I can online but I have never got round to working out a payment system for it and often don't charge people for my time. Partly because of lack of man hours and a hate for admin and partly because of the workload I have in the workshop. I was considering sorting something out with PayPal in the end but thought I would wait until I found a remote client that didn't want to rape me, or better still - A free one.
So I managed to delete all the reg entries and system files for Citrix out of my computer and blag another 30 day trial out of them on my other half's PAYG MasterCard. However I then went and bragged about it somewhere or other and (I assume) that is why I can't seem to do it again!
I then tried Ultra VNC Server which was just a Royal pain in the backside I thought and I just could not get it to work. I then tried Team-Viewer which wasn't as bad but I still thought was bad enough. If I got it connected I don't remember and I never used it as I fell into a coma, face down in my own spit that night! Also after doing shite loads of port forwarding and the like it turns out it's not free (by a long chalk) for businesses at all. I have to admit that as much as I also don't like people that steal software I got so fed up with it and behind in my work I did download a cracked exe for it to get something running on a temporary basis. However the full version, I personally felt sucked more butt than the free version. Also it seemed the hacker had no idea about business as whenever I started a ticket, under my business name would be displayed some random type spotty script kiddie tag like, 'HeX-hAcKoR-CraKKKed-WareZ-Massive BELLend-CReW' pointless crap! yeah, I reckon he'd be better off de-compiling his noggin.
I then tried 'Remote Support Software' which actually looked to be really good to start with and even generates a customizable invoice based on your online time after the session ends and mails it to the client. That is just nice! Also I could use my own web server that my site is on for the connection by uploading a generated script which in effect doesn't allow the software provider to block my service unless they can get at the installation on my computer. Not allot of chance of that happening if Apple can't update my jail broken iPhone!
Anyway that software was still not straight forward to set up and wouldn't allow me to enter my web address or company logo and when online, written in each corner of the screen (both host and client side) in an inch high font in different colours is 'NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE'! LOL!
So I went to see how much a licence was for a business support install and it was the only one without a price and instead said something along the lines of 'For this package please contact our support staff'! I decided to scrap that as it suggests to me that even if I was sitting down for the quote I'd still likely fall off the chair!
So next I got to finding this by sifting through Google and it is in install terms, just about perfect for both amateur and expert, engineer or 64 year old Mrs. Higgins. It took me less than 20 minutes to set up a host and client, connect them and optimize the connection.
It gives you full control of if it should load with Windows, It stops all pointless background running processes when it is closed and doesn't display loads of crap all over the clients screen that makes you look like some sort of proper that can't afford to pay for it. There are some functions in trial mode that are not available but they do not hamper the chance of properly assessing the software. To be honest I was sold within the hour!
The only issue I have is that Citrix was actually costing me more than I was making, I know that was partly my fault but I only do about 3 or 4 sessions a month so far. However it beats driving 60 miles to complete a 20 minute job. And while you can argue that is saving me money, it's actually not as I have enough work here to be able to refuse it and be better off. However I don't like to send my own customers elsewhere so really finding a decent, cheap remote client is the best option.
I am going to work on the remote support service more over the next month or two and advertise it on my website. I would like to use the full program and customise it to my business and will only too gladly advertise the software on one of the regular pages (not links!) of my site with a good description and colour photo. I will also include a '-self' HTML page directly to the anyplace-control.com website. My site is as I said highly ranked for my area and contains adverts for a limited number of applications that are useful to our customers. We don't get paid for advertising any 3rd party product on our site and do it because it's software that often resolves issues.
So I am hoping you can give me a licence to get started with and advertise the service until it is making a profit. I only estimate it being a month or so and I will send you the $400.00 for the 10 clients for two years with gratitude. That's about £150 per year, a bargain and a half for even a small company like us. If you notice me spending hours on it sooner than I estimate though, please do send me the invoice sooner as I'm not doing freebees anymore!
Shame your software doesn't do the invoice thing. If you don't feel you could offer me a free licence for a while it would be worth having it PAYG if that was ever an option but I have not found it anywhere for this type of application. It could email my customer a bill and a copy to you at the same time to allow you to calculate actual usage time. Just a thought.
Regards
Phill Thorne
http://www.dorchestercomputerrepairs.com