Control Any Desktop Computer From Your iPad with GoToMyPC

Have you ever wanted to operate an old Windows XP desktop computer from a multi-touch, tablet-based interface? Now’s your chance.

GoToMyPC, the remote desktop application from Citrix, launched an iPad app today, allowing you to access a desktop or laptop computer from Apple’s popular tablet. Using the app, one can control any machine with the GoToMYPC software installed on it and operate it as though they were sitting in front of it.

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During our test drive of the app, it was pretty responsive. We could edit a document on the iPad and watch the desktop monitor reflect those changes in real time. Pretty nifty.

Citrix has done a pretty impressive job of bridging the gap between the keyboard-and-mouse user interface and a mobile, multi-touch one. To do this, they’ve established a few multi-touch gestures to help make navigating the desktop UI from a tablet easier. For example, taping the screen with two fingers is analogous to a right-click on a desktop. A three-finger tap of the screen will toggle the virtual keyboard.

Flash Comes to the iPad… Sort Of

For those who have been dying to load Flash content on their iPads, well, have at it. We navigated to a few Flash-based Websites and streamed an FLV video with no trouble. Of course, this is possible because GoToMyPC relies on the computing power of the machine being remotely accessed. So while Flash is still not rendered natively on the iPad, this is a decent workaround if you need it.

GoToMyPC costs $9.95 per month per computer, making it a relatively affordable remote desktop solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Companies who pay for the product in an annual lump sum get a 20% discount.

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