Use Of Vnc As Desktop Support

Bill Mannor

August 2, 2007

Cover Letter

There are several revisions I made to my paper since its previous draft. The opening paragraph was a bit confusing and out of order so I rearranged the example of the similarities between pulleys and computers. The second paragraph contains a change to the word "huge" to be "an enormous help" which fit better into the voice of the paper. Also at the end of this second paragraph is a better tie in to the thesis of the paper and a lead into the transition at the beginning of the next paragraph. In the third paragraph it made sense to give a source to support my idea that sociability of the job candidate was an actual requirement in the hiring process so I found one on Novell's website and included it in my paper. This gives the idea a more solid foundation. Paragraph four needed a bit of rephrasing so the reader was not totally confused. This final draft includes those revisions. The sixth paragraph included an example of how confusing techno-babble can be, and was meant to confuse the reader to help them understand how much easier it would be to have someone able to control their computer; however, this did not work out so well and just resulted in confusion. I added an introductory sentence to prepare the reader for this and hopefully was able to help them see my point. There are a few other simple corrections made but overall the paper's corrections and changes are cited in this cover letter. Hopefully the changes made it easier to understand and follow my paper, and convince the reader that remote desktop support is the true future of technical support.

Bill Mannor

August 2, 2007

A Remote Connection

Since man began using machines, there has always been the need for the user to acquire assistance from someone with more technical knowledge. Simple machines such as pulleys work great when the user understands the concept behind them. To understand the theory behind pulleys and how they work you may want to talk with a physics professor. At their peak computers can calculate instructions at 57 billion every second and can make some of life's tasks much easier when working correctly. As advanced as they have come to be, computers require special technicians trained in the understanding of the hardware and software to maintain them if they are not working properly. Since the internet has made its way into almost every home and small business, technical support agents have been enabled in recent years to assess and fix problems without leaving their office. This technology is known as remote desktop software. Although user interaction and cost come into question, there is no match for the simplicity, speed and accuracy of virtual network computing (VNC) as an option for technical support of computer systems.

The idea behind remote desktop support or VNC is to give one computer full access to another computer over the internet. My home computer in Dallas, TX could control my work computer seven miles away in Kaysville or my parents' computer in Houston, TX. To an Information Technology (IT) employee this is an enormous help. The ability to control a computer completely without having to be seated in front of it is a dream come true. There is really no difference in the functionality of the remote computer. Todd Tannenbaum of Network Computing notes "...you'll be able to access a command prompt and perform basic system administration, such as view and/or start/kill processes or services; reboot machines; view system logs; observe what's happening on the display; and even run GUI-based programs-all remotely" (Tannenbaum, par. 2). This works for local area networked computers as well, meaning payroll on the second floor can get help from IT on the forth without either having to visit the other's cubicle. A full analysis of payroll's situation can be done and the problem fixed completely. A similar result might be possible without using remote desktop support, but it would either require travel time for tech support to get to your site (think if your IT department were in another city) or a lengthy telephone call. Such waiting periods or complications only make virtual network computing the more logical choice when it comes to the supporting of computer systems.

That choice was not always available. Comedy sketches such as Saturday Night Live's "Nick Burns: The Company Computer Guy" show us how technical support used to be before remote desktop assistance was available. A technician would be paged and time would pass as the technician traveled to your site. Upon arriving, the technician would try to explain how to do something and in the end would get frustrated and just do it himself. The users were not educated and the technician was viewed as a bossy "know-it-all." Users' interaction with support technicians has become a large part of the hiring process. In every interview I have been a part of, the sociability of a technical support candidate has been placed at about the same level as his or her technical knowledge. Novell, an American software corporation specializing in network operating systems, states in their Dedicated Support Engineer job details and requirements that the technician must "develop relationships with the hardware vendors technical staff as well as the customer's technical staff" (Novell, par. 6). Although the attitude of the technician is not controlled by new technology or software, if the engineer is able to quickly and easily deduce and solve a problem there is much less likelihood of an incident with those whom he is to form a relationship. Disallowing a technical consultant control of the user's computer can cause more heartache in the end, and it definitely takes more time and energy. Thomas Price, computer support for his company and a reader of InfoWorld Magazine, was quoted as saying, "I can easily troubleshoot any problem a user is experiencing. Being able to see what is happening on the desktop, instead of the user saying, 'It is frozen up and won't work,' is wonderful" (Livingston, par. 4). Giving the support technician that option is an easy way for them to work more efficiently. Each business will run more smoothly in the process.

When there is a problem with a business' software the remote technician can work on the computers without the customers knowing there are "technical difficulties" since the work is all being done through the internet. "Invisibility is visibility" for the support agent. Not