The lousy weather in Dallas this week, including enough ice to shut things down both Monday and Wednesday, reinforces the value of telecommuting in disaster planning. That may sound a bit overblown, so let’s try this: if people can be productive from home and not just the office, bad weather won’t close your business down. Remote control software allows you to control one computer from another. Keep an eye out for the Network World print edition January 22nd and the Web site thereafter and read my review of nine established players and new entrants into the market. One of the programs will work for you, I promise. Since three of the programs I tested work on Macintosh systems, I bought a used PowerBook G4. Not sure I like the Macintosh way of doing things, but I’m trying. If you have favorite Macintosh applications, let me know.
The MarketCircle people have sent their Daylite Productivity Suite and Billings 2 programs, and I’ll play with those soon. I know some folks who love the Mac and use it for everything, so I’m willing to try. I’d like to say for the record, however, that I find switching from Windows XP to Linux easier than switching from Windows XP to OS X 10.4.3 on the Macintosh. Maybe I’m just not cool enough for a Mac, or maybe I’m trying to treat it too much like a Windows PC. Time will tell.
