Remotix is an iPhone and iPad app that allows you to remotely access your Windows or Mac or Ubuntu computer.

Remotix is powerful and really fast VNC viewer and Apple Remote Desktop client.

• Support For Most of Servers
  • Apple Screen Sharing server (present in every Mac OS X);
  • Vine Server (OSXvnc);
  • RealVNC (Windows);
  • UltraVNC (Windows);
  • TightVNC (Windows);
  • Vino (Ubuntu Linux).
• Full Support for Apple Adaptive Encoding
• Extended Keyboard Layout
• International Keyboard Support
• Full Set of Multitouch Gestures
• Flexible Server Connection Configuration
• Optional Server-Side Scaling
• Nearby Server Search and Setup Without User Intervention
• Security Without The Inconvenience
  • Mac OS X authentication support;
  • Microsoft Windows authentication support (Ultra VNC);
  • VNC Password Authentication.
• Hidden Mac Dock and Windows Taskbar

Remotix is available on the iPhone and iPad for and introductory price of $9.99.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Screens from Edovia is a new, gorgeously designed, super simple VNC client that brings your Windows, Mac, or Linux desktop to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. I had the good fortune to test drive it through the beta cycle and it really is the closest thing to a Back to my Mac-style, “it just works” experience on iOS. Features include:

• Universal – Screens will run on both iPhone and iPad – one app for both devices.
• Easy to Use – Screens is the easiest, most user friendly VNC client for iOS.
• Secure – Screens can connect to your computer through a SSH Tunnel so your session is encrypted and safe.
• Pull-to-Dock – Your Dock is hidden? No problem! Screens can make it appear with a simple flick!
• Multi-Touch – Screens supports many multi-touch features your already use on your trackpad.
• Screens Connect – Make your computer available from anywhere. Easy as flicking a switch! No messy router setup. (Requires OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard)

It’s on introductory sale right now so if you act fast, you can save $10 off the regular price.

Screenshots after the break. If you want to run your desktop — or server room — from your lounge chair, and do it in pixel-perfect style, check out Screens. And after you do, come back and tell me what you think.

[$14.99 on sale - iTunes link]

How does an audio visual coordinator use his iPad to get the job done and what iPad apps help get him through his day? TiPb’s iPad at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPad life. Here’s Aaron’s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPad Forum and share your story now!

I am the AV coordinator for a school district. My tasks include things like video editing and equipment repair, but the bulk of time is spend managing and running the theatre.

Of course I use my iPad for the usual synching with our exchange server. I use Safari to log into our help desk to check requests people have submitted to the AV dept. Things is a must on my iPad. It is in sync with Things on my iPhone and MacBook Pro. Everything from daily todo’s to major events taking place in the theater are organized in/with Things. When a new help ticket comes into my email inbox, it goes straight into Things.

In our main theater, we have an ETC Ion lighting console that can be remotely controlled from the iPad with the iRFR app. Simply turing lights on or off while on the catwalk, or sitting in the audience or fully controlling the moving lights are done from the iPad. When students are running the board, I can monitor the cue list from my iPad as a show is going on, even taking notes on individual cues.

The main sound mixing board can be accessed via Mocha VNC Lite and controlled from anywhere in the theater. Instead of mixing the sound from the back of the hall, I can be sitting where the audience will be, or various places throughout the hall.

Simple Note is used for all note taking in meetings and anytime I need to jot down some info such as part numbers, if I am working on a repair.

In my office, my iPad is on my desk in a Griffin Loop stand, ready to be used as an additional monitor with Air Display.

Since i got my iPad, my MacBook Pro has seldom left my desk, when I used to carry it across campus everyday.

What about you? Are you an audio visual coordinator? If so, which apps help you with coordinating? If not, head on over to the TiPb iPad Forum and let us know how you use your iPad in your job.

Citrix has been warning… er… teasing Windows for the iPhone for a while now, but their blog (via Gizmodo) was recently updated to reflect some updates:

As we have announced here on the Citrix Blog ( still no Press Release though … ) we are actively developing a Citrix Receiver for the iPhone that will bring the world of millions of Windows apps and developers to the iPhone. As part of our testing and demonstrations we are looking for examples of compelling applications that will not run natively on the iPhone, however if the app was hosted on XenApp and delivered to the iPhone it would provide a great visual example of the power of Citrix and the iPhone.

They cite examples including IE-only apps (ActiveX?), Flash apps, medical apps, and cut and paste (?!)

While other remote desktop and VNC clients exist for the iPhone, Citrix comes from a background deep inside the Windows kernel and are thus unique situated to develop a killer solution.

So, anybody really want remote access to Windows on their iPhone, and if so, what do you want most from it?

Citrix, the folks behind Go To Meeting and Go To My PC — and if you believe the urban myth, a good portion of the Windows kernel — have just significantly harshened Steve Jobs’ mellow and sent yet another shudder down Tim Cook’s spine.

While VNC/Remote Desktop Apps have been available for the iPhone for a while (see Chad’s Jaadu vs. Mocha Showdown), a helpful Fortune Blog reader points us the differences in the Citrix solution:

“The Citrix client gives access to hosted applications on XenApp servers — allowing dozens to hundreds of users to access their applications remotely from a single system, with the very efficient Ctrix ICA display protocol.

One approach is for individual users — the other is for a cost-effective shared application delivery infrastructure.”

(Thanks to The Reptile for sending this in!)

This application has me rather excited since I already use this service; and it works well. I am currently hooked on Jaadu and Win Admin, but this could be a very viable option for replacement of these apps. The preview page discusses little about actual functionality, but based on the third image in the above graphic, you will be able to use multi-touch to zoom in and out of the screen. 

Also, by looking at the toolbar, it looks like you can search (a shortcut to Spotlight?) left/right-click, keyboard and even a globe (perhaps a shortcut to Safari?)

All in all, very exciting indeed! We will update you as we learn more!

[This is a TiPb AT WORK App vs. App Review! Last week, it was the To Do/Task App Showdown, with Things squeaking out the victory. But which blog commenter won a copy of the winning To Do/Task App? Alex! Congratulations!

This week, the TiPb iPhone Forums voted on their favorite Remote Desktop/VNC Apps, we took the top two, and now they're going head-to-head. But wait -- there's more! One of the forum voters has already won a copy of the winning App... Congrats avt! Want another chance to win? COMMENT BELOW! and make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment form -- it won't be made public, but it will be used to contact you if you win! Check out the full contest details, then grab your iPhone and get ready to get things done -- the TiPb AT WORK Remote Desktop/VNC Showdown is on!]

Like Brian, I use my iPhone for just about everything. So wouldn’t it be nice to use your iPhone to access your computer(s) when you are not at your desk? At work (no pun intended) I rotate with team members to “take” call, meaning, if something needs resolved on a weekend or evening, it is up to me to fix it. My work does not currently supply a broadband card, so it is up to my own devices to have Internet access wherever I go to remote into my PC. The VNC applications Jaadu and Mocha allow me to do just that! For those of you that don’t know what VNC is, it allows you to remotely control another computer. Now, this ability is available on your iPhone (side rant, why doesn’t Apple give us this ability as part of our MobileMe subscriptions? Ah, I digress…)

I can now leave my laptop behind and just use my iPhone to connect to my work laptop at home or my iMac desktop and save the day! Let’s take a look at these two VNC apps!

First Impressions

Jaadu VNC: Sells in the App Store for $24.99. Though this may seem steep, it offers ease of use its rivals do not match (more on this later). This application is very professional looking. The mixture of black and blue as well as animations while loading really give a good aura of slickness to the user, I was impressed. 

Mocha VNC: Sells in the App Store for $5.99. A little rougher around the edges that Jaadu, it still gets the job done. The lower barrier to entry might be more palatable for some not looking for a “regular” connection to their desktop. But who does it better? Let’s read on to find out!

Setup

Jaadu VNC: There is some configuration needed with Jaadu, but it is detailed and well worth the trouble. After installing the iPhone App, you need to install a free client on the Mac/PC. The Mac client is actually made by Jaadu, but for the PC they recommend using Tight VNC on your PC to get you started. After following the simple instructions I was up and going using Jaadu in about 5 minutes.

The setup screen contains the typical information such as Name, IP Address, Password, etc. The advanced button offers additional choices such as color depth (Hundreds-Millions or the server can decide for you based on your connection). If you are battery conscience, then you can even turn off “fast refresh” to save battery power. Honestly, I would never turn this off as it impacts the redraw of the screen…

Mocha VNC: Mocha VNC is a straight forward setup. You have to setup a VNC server on your own, but afterwords, setting up the connection on your iPhone is a piece of cake. Mocha allows you 20 different connections (wow, that is a lot) and similar configuration options to Jaadu. It does not have as many configuration options as Jaadu, but it covers the basics to connect. Setup is fast and seamless.

Keep in mind though, you will need to install a VNC server in order to use Mocha VNC. You can read more about this here. 
 

Use

Jaadu VNC: Once connected, Jaadu really is easy to use. There is a keyboard for you to enter information into your computer. You can use this for typing a URL into the address bar, sending an email, or whatever fits your needs! 

The cursor movement is nice to. You have an option for “momentum” which provides a “floaty” mouse feel. You can double click by tapping the screen twice and right-click by taping once with two fingers. You can also use multi-touch by pinching the screen to zoom all the way out, or zoom in to a useful level of detail. All of this is done very smoothly and accurately. 

If you swap often between portrait and landscape, you are in luck! Jaadu recognizes when you have rotated your device and orientates the screen to match, However, if this function does not appeal to you, there is an option to disable as needed. You also have your standard additional keys like FN, CTRL, etc.

It is important to note that you need to run the Jaadu application to access your Mac. On Windows you need to install a VNC server as well as the Jaadu app (with Back to My Mac, the Mac already has a server running, thus no need to install additional software beyond the Jaadu client).

Mocha VNC: Mocha behaves very similarly to Jaadu, but offers alternative input methods. For example, you have a series of icons located across the bottom of the screen. You have your typical options, etc, but what is different here is that instead of using two fingers and tapping on the screen for a right-click, you tap an icon. Once tapped, that icon turns green (the icon is of a mouse…) indicating that the next time you tap the screen, it will display the shortcut menu. 

One advantage that Mocha has over Jaadu is the extensive alternative keys. Mocha gives you full and easy access to all of the “F” keys as well as the FN CTRL, etc. keys. I prefer this input method (for the function keys) over Jaadu’s.

Additional Information (Tech Babble)

Conclusion

And the Winner is…

Jaadu!

The added ability of remoting in when you don’t have a static IP really makes all the difference in the world with VNC. The added “slickness” of the app also goes a long way. If you are using VNC on the same network, either will do. However, if you need to access your computer on the same network, Mocha will work just fine.

Pros:

• Easy setup
• Static IP configuration
• Ideal tool to access your Mac/PC on-the-go

Cons:

•  Difficult if not impossible to configure behind your corporate firewall

Jaadu Final Score:

Mocha Final Score: