If you access your computer remotely, then services like Apple's "Back to my Mac" have their conveniences; however, this and similar services are useful for individual machines only. On the other hand, if you have more than one device on your home network that you might wish to directly access, then using a virtual private network is beneficial as it places your system on your home's network so you can communicate with devices as if you were at home.

Often the implementation of this is to use a hardware-based VPN (likely built into your home router) to configure the remote connectivity to the network, or use a server software package like Apple's OS X Server to set up a VPN service. However, starting with 10.5 Leopard, the client version of OS X also contains a VPN server that can be activated and configured to manage remote connections to your network.

The VPN Server Configurator tool has a quick option to automatically scan your network and select a starting configuration to use.

The VPN service in OS X is the "vpnd" daemon, that can be configured using the OS X Terminal and access to various hidden files in the system; however, there is a third-party utility called ... [Read more]

Windows 8 leads with tiles, apps, sync -- and a learning curve, too

Microsoft's ambitious Windows 8 gamble may have launched this past October, but it's 2013 that will make or break the new operating system. I have five recommendations that Microsoft should implement sooner rather than later to keep Windows 8 from going the way of Vista.

Make the case for Windows RT "That's right, it filets, it chops, it dices, slices, Never stops, lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn And it mows your lawn and it picks up the kids from school" --Tom Waits, "Step Right Up"

Tom Waits wasn't talking about Windows RT when he wrote and recorded "Step Right Up" in the mid-'80s, but he could've been. Microsoft wants the tablets that run the OS to be unifying devices that are portable like a tablet, but powerful enough for the heavy lifting of Microsoft Office. Claiming that the OS can step up to that challenge, and actually proving that it can, are not the same thing.

Here's the problem with Windows RT: Even after writing CNET's FAQ on Windows RT, I still have problems clearly explaining what it is and why people should want it. It's "Windows 8 Lite," but it's so much complex than that. Sure, the Surface is a nice piece of hardware, but besides its utility as a ... [Read more]

Hiiii-ya! This ain't your father's Karateka -- and that's a good thing.

At the risk of dating myself (again), I have extremely fond memories of playing the classic action game Karateka on my -- wait for it -- Apple IIe.

That was 28 years ago, heaven help me. The game's creator, Jordan Mechner, went on to develop the better-known Prince of Persia, but I remember being totally entranced by Karateka's then-amazing graphics and compelling damsel-in-distress storyline.

But would I want to play that same game today, even if it were perfectly emulated like that other '80s classic, Karate Champ? Frankly, no. I've never been a fan of arcade or console emulators, because the controls usually don't translate well and the graphics, well, suck by today's standards.

That's why I'm delighted that Mechner, back in the saddle, went the Pitfall route in developing the glorious new ... [Read more]