Our Verdict
As I walk the vast expanses of this Macworld Oregon Branch Office ( otherwise know as my rest home ) , there are times when it ’s utile to see what ’s happening on a give political machine — did my never - terminate iPhone substitute process end ? Did the stand-in of the mini generate any errors ? Is that file upload to the host done yet ? Answering these questions used to demand me sitting in front of one of the Macs in the house — using screen sharing , I could then link to the machine in doubtfulness and see what it was doing .
Now , with the App Store , though , all I need is a first - generation iPhone with the 2.0 software and MochaSoft’sMocha VNC(or the freeMocha VNC Liteversion ) . Mocha VNC appropriate you to tie in to machines running OS X , Windows , and Linux using the industry - standardvirtual connection computingdesktop sharing system . There are built - in VNC servers in OS X 10.4 and 10.5 , so you could connect to your Macs with a minimum amount of work .
There are some limit with Mocha VNC — it only supports a individual monitor on the remote arrangement , and the maximum resolution of that monitor is 1,680 - by-1,200 . you’re able to , however , soar in and out on the silver screen as you would with a entanglement page , and expose the remote projection screen in portrait or landscape mode simply by turn your iPhone or iPod tinge . button along the bottom of the CRT screen supply admittance to features such as the on - screen keyboard , Mocha VNC ’s menus , a correct mouse release , and a button to control what encounter when you drag a finger across the CRT screen — one mode move the remote mouse pointer , the other just scrolls around on your zoomed - in display .
The screen of a Mac mini, as seen on the iPhone running Mocha VNC
There are n’t many difference between the free and paid version of Mocha VNC , but the differences that exist are important . The biggest limitation in the free variation is that the only offer keyboard is the received iPhone virtual keyboard — so no function keys , and no other special keys . ( There are onscreen button for Control and Command , but not Option . ) While this works OK for control Macs , you really ask Control - Alt - Delete to crop with Windows boxes , because otherwise you ca n’t login .
The full interlingual rendition has a 2d keyboard that contain all the function key , the Windows key , page navigation tonality , and two special Windows meta - keys : Control - Alt - Delete and Alt - F4 . ( There ’s still no on - silver screen Option paint , however . ) With the paid edition , you also get a dedicated on - screen ripe - computer mouse button , and bread and butter for macros ( recorded bits of text you may place to the remote host with a twosome of strike ) .
I found the speeding of Mocha VNC to be decorous on my rest home ’s wireless connection . The initial screenland draw on a larger screen took some time , but updates were relatively quick , and typing work out at a decent , but not great , speeding . However , because there ’s no real keyboard or mouse , you wo n’t require to undertake any complex undertaking with your iPhone or iPod touch — it ’s just too hard to make for the button for the virtual keyboard and mouse . Instead , Mocha VNC is best used as a monitoring tool , or to do something fast and bare on the networked car , such as originate a download or running Software Update .
While MochaVNC substantiate cipher contagion of the VNC connection ’s password , your genuine academic session information is not cypher — so this is a putz best used within a local connection , behind a firewall . The program would be more useful if it supported datum encryption for the intact data point current , and not just the initial connection password . On Mocha VNC’sFAQ page , the developer explains the lack of documentation for encryption by writing , “ There is an way out with export 128 encryption from the USA , where the App Store server is site . 128 bits is seen as a dangerous weapon . ” ( Mocha VNC is locate in Denmark . )
The cover of a Mac mini , as seen on the iPhone go Mocha VNCThe biggest issue I have with Mocha VNC ( both the full and lite adaptation ) is that it seems to peg the AppleVNCServer process at nearly 100 - percentage central processing unit usage much of the meter . I try this with connections to both my Mac mini and my Mac Pro , and it bump on both automobile , not every single time , but quite often . I even reinstalled Mocha VNC , just to be sure something was n’t improper with my version of the program , but the mellow CPU utilization persist . In practice , today ’s C.P.U. have enough horsepower that you wo n’t notice this issue unless you enquire the remote Mac to do something CPU - intensive , such as encoding a QuickTime TV . However , it does mean that you may find the fan on your Mac really running fast the next metre you walk past the simple machine — which is exactly how I discovered this CPU exercise issue .
There ’s no apparent rationality for the CPU utilization to be so mellow — connecting from one Mac to another with silver screen sharing , for instance , does n’t drive the AppleVNCServer unconscious process to anywhere near 100 percent . Connecting to my Mac Pro from my MacBook Pro , as a test , run to the AppleVNCServer cognitive process generally using between 5 and 15 percent of the CPU , not 100 percent . ( And that ’s displaying two monitors at full firmness of purpose , versus one at a maximum of 1,680 - by-1,200 . ) understandably Mocha VNC is doing something different that ’s force the central processing unit utilization up , and hopefully this can be turn to in a future update .
If you have a destiny of Macs and/or other political machine in your household , and you want to keep an eye them from your iPhone or iPod touching , then the full variant is worth the $ 6 cost . The contribute keyboard key and right - shiner screen key in the full version are both very useful — and the extra keyboard key are a prerequisite if you want to work with Windows motorcar . However , even the barren adaptation may be sufficient if you ’d simply like the power to occasionally view the sieve of a Mac on your meshwork . You wo n’t require to apply either version for bombastic , complex projects , but for simpler stuff , Mocha VNC can salve you a walk down the hall .
Mocha VNC and Mocha VNC Lite are compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.0 package update .
[ Senior editor program Rob Griffiths writes the Mac OS X Hints web log . ]
