LapLink Unveils Remote Access Tool

File transfer tool specialist LapLink is venturing into services this week, launching LapLink Everywhere, a remote access technology.

The subscription service lets you designate three systems you'd like to be able to access remotely at any time from any browser-enabled device, whether Mac or PC, handheld, or phone. LapLink provides the encrypted connection through its own data center.

Services are a new direction for LapLink, which has focused on desktop software for 20 years. However, a remote connection product is a natural outgrowth of the company's focus on mobile technology and connectivity.

A Standard Edition of LapLink Everywhere costs $89 yearly, and supports access to three remote systems. Additional "hosts"--remotely accessible systems--can be added in groups of three through service packs. The Deluxe Version costs $170 and includes a copy of LapLink Gold Classic, a desktop file transfer and synchronization program.

Also new this week is Remote Network Accelerator, a server program that LapLink representatives say can boost remote file access up to 400 percent. Both LapLink and PCSync, the company's $60 file migration utility, are also being upgraded with support for USB 2.0 as well as direct USB 1.1 cable support.

Traffic Tunnel

LapLink Everywhere differs from most remote control programs, says Mark Eppley, chair and founder of LapLink. Unlike BlackBerry or Treo Mail, LapLink Everywhere is device-independent, he notes. Unlike Web access to Microsoft Outlook, it's application independent.

"Our customers can choose their devices, their wireless carriers, and so on, and not be married to any particular one," Eppley says. The client component is downloadable from LapLink.

LapLink Everywhere provides security by encrypting and routing the data traffic through its own secure servers. Subscribers log into the LapLink site, similar to a Web e-mail account. Eppley emphasizes that no customer data is stored on LapLink's servers, and transmissions are encrypted at 128-bit SSL. However, the "host" system that you wish to access--say, a desktop at your home or office--must be online to for you to access it through LapLink Everywhere. You can set your firewall to allow LapLink Everywhere traffic.

The program doesn't actually open applications on a remote system, but opens the data file and renders it in HTML, formatted for the client device in use.

Nor does LapLink Everywhere support every application. It provides real-time access to Microsoft Word files, Outlook E-Mail messages, and SQL database records. It supports fax transmissions through any e-mail-based e-fax program. However, you can retrieve and transmit a file in any format between the linked systems. Then, LapLink's existing Speedsync technology, which speeds file transfer by transferring only changes, kicks in for faster file transmission through LapLink Everywhere, Eppley adds.

LapLink expects to soon add support for Qualcomm Eudora, Lotus Notes, and for Microsoft Excel, Eppley says.

Speed-Up Service

The new Remote Network Accelerator is another new field for LapLink. Although useful as a server program, the RNA can run on a standalone PC such as a notebook to boost its Internet access, Eppley says. The software increases speeds of dial-up, wireless, and broadband connections.

The program works on a remote access server, virtual private network, 802.11b, or other network connection up to T1 speeds, Eppley says. "The 'server' component can be as simple as your Windows desktop running XP or Windows 2000," he adds.

RNA is priced at $99 for a single user, and comes with both the client and server components (which can run on a single machine) and the LapLink Bandwidth monitor utility. LapLink also offers volume licenses.