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Review: Mocha VNC and Mocha VNC Lite for iPhone
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#2
Adwiz 
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 09:05 AM
You should have included Teleport in this review for comparison. It supports large monitors (the developer says there are no size limits), and because of its price I would have liked to see how it compares to the Mocha products.
#4
jmincey
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 09:25 AM
Rob, you say, "If you have a lot of Macs and/or other machines in your home, and you want to keep an eye them from your iPhone or iPod touch, then the full version is worth the $6 cost."
You're kidding, right? How bad would a product have to be in order not to be worth a mere $6? I think stand-alone product reviews for third-party utility software that costs no more than $15 is dubious to begin with but parsing the consumer value for a product of $6 is really pushing it.
I agree with the previous poster that for freeware or shareware utilities of modest cost, a comparison treatment (of a few or several key products) would be more helpful.
Jeff Mincey
You're kidding, right? How bad would a product have to be in order not to be worth a mere $6? I think stand-alone product reviews for third-party utility software that costs no more than $15 is dubious to begin with but parsing the consumer value for a product of $6 is really pushing it.
I agree with the previous poster that for freeware or shareware utilities of modest cost, a comparison treatment (of a few or several key products) would be more helpful.
Jeff Mincey
#5
Glenn_Fleishman
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:04 AM
"“There is an issue with exporting 128 encryption from the USA, where the App Store server is located. 128 bits is seen as a dangerous weapon.” (Mocha VNC is located in Denmark.)"
I believe that's specious, though not your claim. The US only enforces the export of certain forms of encryption to a few banned nations, including, unpopular states like North Korea.
I haven't seen a single piece of information in any of Apple's documents or other public statements that restrict the use of 128-bit keys for cryptographic use in App Store applications.
Given that you can use HTTPS (SSL/TLS Web connections) within App Store apps, which employ 128-bit certificates, that would seem to be a de facto contradiction to the developer's assertion.
I believe that's specious, though not your claim. The US only enforces the export of certain forms of encryption to a few banned nations, including, unpopular states like North Korea.
I haven't seen a single piece of information in any of Apple's documents or other public statements that restrict the use of 128-bit keys for cryptographic use in App Store applications.
Given that you can use HTTPS (SSL/TLS Web connections) within App Store apps, which employ 128-bit certificates, that would seem to be a de facto contradiction to the developer's assertion.
#6
griffman
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:15 AM
Several replies...
We'll cover Teleport separately, as I think it's worth its own review. (At the time I wrote the Mocha review, Teleport wasn't yet out, either!)
Regarding the cost -- while $6 may be inconsequential to you, it's not inconsequential to everyone. Hence, there is a need to justify its value, and to me, it's worth it if you need to run a Windows machine, or plan on doing a lot with your Macs such that you'd appreciate the right mouse button, for instance. Beyond that, though, the free version may meet your needs.
-rob.
We'll cover Teleport separately, as I think it's worth its own review. (At the time I wrote the Mocha review, Teleport wasn't yet out, either!)
Regarding the cost -- while $6 may be inconsequential to you, it's not inconsequential to everyone. Hence, there is a need to justify its value, and to me, it's worth it if you need to run a Windows machine, or plan on doing a lot with your Macs such that you'd appreciate the right mouse button, for instance. Beyond that, though, the free version may meet your needs.
-rob.
#7
dsegel
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:18 AM
I used to use a vnc client (Chicken of the VNC) to connect my Mac Pro to an Xserver at work, and we just as frequently saw the vnc server running on the Xserve to be pegged at 90-100% CPU. I think it's a bug in the Apple vnc server. Killing it solves the problem and it respawns quickly. I don't see it happen as often with the 10.5 Screen Sharing app, though.
#8
wardoggie
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:30 AM
While I generally respect Jeff M's opinions, I disagree with this one. I am glad to read this review. It beats the "reviews" on the App Store that offer valuable insights like "it sucks" or "I love it." I also find that there are a lot of free applications that are not worth my time and bandwidth to download and install, let alone those that charge a few bucks.
I use Chicken of the VNC at home and was considering Mocha VNC lite, but now that I know there's a CPU issue, I'll wait until that's fixed. And I don't do anything more sophisticated than monitor my media server via VNC, so why would I pay anything at all if there's a free solution that does what I need?
I use Chicken of the VNC at home and was considering Mocha VNC lite, but now that I know there's a CPU issue, I'll wait until that's fixed. And I don't do anything more sophisticated than monitor my media server via VNC, so why would I pay anything at all if there's a free solution that does what I need?
#9
TosaDeac
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:31 AM
So forgive my naivety regarding this topic but could a program like this be used to spy on a computer as well? Like say I was at work and my babysitter is at my house and using my computer, so I could see what she is doing? or say a teenage son instead if you want? Would they be able to see that you are "spying" on them from your iPhone?
Just wondering.
Just wondering.
#10
griffman
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:32 AM
As you're actually taking control of that machine, then yes, they'd be able to tell -- if you tapped your iPhone's screen, you'd press a button on their screen, or move a window, etc.
-rob.
-rob.
#12
jbondo
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 08:12 AM
I use the free Vine Server instead of OS X's built-in VNC implementation. The advantage is that it supports 16-bit connections, which speeds things up somewhat over the 32-bit connections that OS X's VNC otherwise requires. I can't verify the CPU utilization at the moment, as I'm not on my home computer... maybe someone else here can check that out and report back..
-J
-J
#13
flybynight
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 11:45 AM
So what happens if you have a machine with multiple monitors or a 30" display with 2560x1600 resolution? Does it just not connect, or do you only get a portion of the screen? The former would be acceptable, since reduced to an iPhone screen, that resolution wouldn't do you much good anyway.
#14
Adwiz
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 11:59 AM
What happens with a large screen is that the sides and bottom of the screen are simply cut off. You can't scroll down to the dock, for example, making the whole thing useless.
In frustration, I purchased Teleport and found it to be a superior product in pretty well every way. Sure, it costs more, but I think it's worth the price. It does see the whole screen, is faster and more responsive, has a more intuitive interface, and hasn't crashed on me (yet).
In frustration, I purchased Teleport and found it to be a superior product in pretty well every way. Sure, it costs more, but I think it's worth the price. It does see the whole screen, is faster and more responsive, has a more intuitive interface, and hasn't crashed on me (yet).
