Application sharing

Last updated

Application sharing is an element of remote access, falling under the collaborative software umbrella, that enables two or more users to access a shared application or document from their respective computers simultaneously in real time. Generally, the shared application or document will be running on a host computer, and remote access to the shared content will be provided to other users by the host user. To transfer one application from one computer to another, The application must reside on only one of the machines connected with each other.

Contents

Granting access

Access is typically granted in one of three ways, depending on the architecture of the application sharing software.

1. If the software allows the shared content to be accessed from the web, the host user will usually define and provide a username/password combination to the remote users he/she wishes to grant access to; they can then enter the log-in information on the appropriate website and access the shared material. One example of software that features application sharing in this manner is Qnext.

2. If the software is required on both ends to access the shared content, granting access will be governed by the mechanisms of that particular software, but will usually require some sort of user authentication as well. One example of software that features application sharing in this manner is MSN Messenger.

3. The shared content (being an application or entire desktop) can be accessed using a permission based software approach. This technique helps to ensure that the application or desktop being controlled cannot be accessed without direct live approval, helping to eliminate the security risk of taking control of a desktop when the user is not present.

Type of access

Once the applications or documents to be shared and whom they are to be shared with have been determined, there are generally two types of access that can be granted to remote users.

1. Control access – the host user allows remote users to actually control, edit, and manipulate the shared content; most application sharing software allows the host to revoke control access at any time. During the remote control session, keyboard and mouse are remotely controlled. Usually a hot key is provided to revoke access.

2. View access – the host user only allows remote users to passively view the shared content; remote users have no ability to edit or effect change in the shared content whatsoever.

Uses

1. Control access – this configuration is most widely used to facilitate collaboration by virtual teams. Team members can collaborate on the same document, making instantly apparent changes in real-time.

Application sharing has been included in every version of Windows live messenger since 8.1 except for 8.2.

See also

Related Research Articles

Operating system software that manages computer hardware resources

An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.

Wiki software collaborative software that runs a wiki

Wiki software is collaborative software that runs a wiki, which allows users to create and collaboratively edit "pages" or entries via a web browser. A wiki system is usually a web application that runs on one or more web servers. The content, including previous revisions, is usually stored in either a file system or a database. Wikis are a type of web content management system, and the most commonly supported off-the-shelf software that web hosting facilities offer.

Website set of related web pages served from a single web domain

A website or web site is a collection of related network web resources, such as web pages, multimedia content, which are typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server. Notable examples are wikipedia.org, google.com, and amazon.com.

Graphical widget Element of interaction in a graphical user interface

A graphical widget in a graphical user interface is an element of interaction, such as a button or a scroll bar. Controls are software components that a computer user interacts with through direct manipulation to read or edit information about an application. User interface libraries such as Windows Presentation Foundation, GTK, and Cocoa, contain a collection of controls and the logic to render these.

Web conferencing Forms of online many-to-many communication

Web conferencing may be used as an umbrella term for various types of online collaborative services including web seminars ("webinars"), webcasts, and peer-level web meetings. It may also be used in a more narrow sense to refer only to the peer-level web meeting context, in an attempt to disambiguate it from the other types of collaborative sessions. Terminology related to these technologies is inexact, and no generally agreed upon source or standards organization exists to provide an established usage reference.

Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer from a remote location. Software that allows remote administration is becoming increasingly common and is often used when it is difficult or impractical to be physically near a system in order to use it. A remote location may refer to a computer in the next room or one on the other side of the world. It may also refer to both legal and illegal remote administration.

At Ease alternative to the Macintosh desktop developed by Apple Computer in the early 1990s for the classic Mac OS

At Ease was an alternative to the Macintosh desktop developed by Apple Computer in the early 1990s for the classic Mac OS. It provided a simple environment for new Macintosh users and young children to help them to work without supervision. At Ease replaces the Finder desktop, providing a simple tabbed panel-oriented graphical user interface in which applications and documents are represented by icons on large buttons. Aside from its security features, its interface and basic functionality is very similar to the Packard Bell Navigator.

A file hosting service, cloud storage service, online file storage provider, or cyberlocker is an internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files. It allows users to upload files that could be accessed over the internet after a user name and password or other authentication is provided. Typically, the services allow HTTP access, and sometimes FTP access. Related services are content-displaying hosting services, virtual storage, and remote backup.

A collaborative real-time editor is a type of collaborative software or web application which enables real-time collaborative editing, simultaneous_editing, or live editing of the same digital document, computer file or cloud-stored data – such as an online spreadsheet, word processing document, database or presentation – at the same time by different users on different computers or mobile devices, with automatic and nearly instantaneous merging of their edits.

Desktop sharing is a common name for technologies and products that allow remote access and remote collaboration on a person's computer desktop through a graphical terminal emulator.

Application virtualization is a software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the underlying operating system on which it is executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is still executed as if it were. The application behaves at runtime like it is directly interfacing with the original operating system and all the resources managed by it, but can be isolated or sandboxed to varying degrees.

Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.

A home server is a computing server located in a private residence providing services to other devices inside or outside the household through a home network or the Internet. Such services may include file and printer serving, media center serving, web serving, web caching, file sharing and synchronization, calendar and contact sharing and synchronization, account authentication and backup services.

In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software or operating system feature that allows a personal computer's desktop environment to be run remotely on one system, while being displayed on a separate client device. Remote desktop applications have varying features. Some allow attaching to an existing user's session and "remote controlling", either displaying the remote control session or blanking the screen. Taking over a desktop remotely is a form of remote administration.

This page is a comparison of remote desktop software available for various platforms.

Open Wonderland is a Java open-source toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. Within those worlds, users can communicate with high-fidelity, immersive audio, share live desktop applications and documents and conduct real business. Open Wonderland is completely extensible; developers and graphic artists can extend its functionality to create entirely new worlds and add new features to existing worlds.

Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to take control of a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection. RDS is Microsoft's implementation of thin client architecture, where Windows software, and the entire desktop of the computer running RDS, are made accessible to any remote client machine that supports Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). User interfaces are displayed from the server onto the client system and input from the client system is transmitted to the server - where software execution takes place. This is in contrast to application streaming systems, like Microsoft App-V, in which computer programs are streamed to the client on-demand and executed on the client machine.

A software widget is a relatively simple and easy-to-use software application or component made for one or more different software platforms.

Chrome Remote Desktop is a remote desktop software tool developed by Google that allows a user to remotely control another computer through a proprietary protocol developed by Google unofficially called "Chromoting". It transmits the keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the graphical screen updates back in the other direction, over a network. This feature therefore consists of a server component, for the host computer, and a client component on the computer accessing the remote computer.

Splashtop Linux distribution

Splashtop, previously Splashtop Remote, is a family of remote-desktop software and remote support software, developed by Splashtop Inc. Splashtop enables users to connect to and control computers from desktop and mobile devices. Unlike products using the Remote Desktop Protocol, Splashtop Remote uses a proprietary protocol capable of delivering real-time video and audio to the remote user at low latency at 60 or more frames per second.

References