I thought I would have some fun with my iPad (1st gen) and use it to get to the information and applications on my Windows laptop. I tried the GoToMyPC service 30 day free trial and installed it on my Windows 7 based laptop and then installed the free GoToMyPC iPad app.

I was indeed able to get to and limited use of the applications on my laptop from my iPad including running AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, Project Photofly, and 3ds max Design.

I was able to view large 3D files in AutoCAD, perform some Finite Element Analysis on a part in Inventor, and render a nice image from a 3D model in 3ds max.

This was just a fun weekend geek project to see how well things worked and in the initial testing they work fairly well but you do need to get used to the slightly frustrating interaction with touch and virtual keyboard interface of the iPad translating to the applications. The graphics are good and there is very little lag in response but I was also on the same Wi-Fi network. I would not say remote desktop use on an iPad of a major application using a remote client is a production solution at this time but it is nice to be able to check or read something on the application installed on your remote PC.

It was really nice to just use applications like Outlook from my iPad or check on a certain command or feature in a application installed on my laptop but from the comfort of my iPad while being lazy on the couch.

Cheers,
Shaan

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