Don’t get too excited; this is not a new Parallels Inc product but yes, we can control and operate Windows XP in our little toy. As a matter of fact, just about every apps you use in Mac OS X Leopard can be extended to the iPod touch. All you need is a nifty little app called VNsea. “Screen Sharing” on iPod touch!

It’s cool to see your OS X’s screen. Even cooler is you have full control over it, like launching apps, manipulate files etc. You substitute the missing mouse with multi-touch input. That sounds great, except the learning curve is steep. But if all you want is to do is look at your remote Mac via your iPod touch, install VNsea today! Here’s how to do it on Leopard:

1. Install VNsea via the Installer. It’s under the Network category.
2. In Mac OS X, launch System Preferences -> Sharing, and enable Screen Sharing.
3. Take note of the VNC address in “Other users can access your computer at vnc://192.168.123.2/ or browse….”.
4. Click the “Computer Settings…” button, and tick both options. Enter the password required for Screen Sharing.
5. Launch VNsea and set it up as follows:
• Tap + to add a new entry.
• Name: Give it a name like “My iMac”
• Address: Fill-in the vnc address you noted beforehand. Just the numerics “192.168.123.2″ - nothing in front.
• Password: Fill-in the same Screen Sharing password you entered just now.
• Display: 0 (Change to 1 if you have a second monitor connected on your remote Mac and you want to see its screen instead.)
• Share: ON (Lol. I haven’t quite figure out what this does. )
• View Only: ON (Toggle off to View and Control the remote Mac.)
• Pixel Depth: 16 (higher depth will give better display quality but slows down the refresh rate. 16 is a good compromise.).
• All done.
6. Now tap on “My iMac” and let the fun begins!

 

Checklist:

• Mac OS X Tiger users:

  I only have one old Mac running on Tiger, and I can VNsea to it. However, my Tiger’s Screen Sharing setup is bundled under the Apple Remote Desktop app. Hence, it seems to me Screen Sharing is not available to Tiger users unless you have ARD installed. Look up “Chicken of the VNC” as a freeware open-source alternative for VNC.

• Windows Users:

  Buy a Mac.