LapLink Gold is LapLink's full-featured remote-control program, containing both master and host code. However, Gold Host, the host-only code for desktops and servers that do not need the master code, gobbles up approximately 12,620 KB of memory while dormant and 13,488 when active. If you have the room, the weight pays off in features and performance. In bitmap transfers, LapLink scored second, behind Spartacom's Linktivity, and in file transfers, it ranked fifth. But its price for 1,000 users exceeded that of most of our other participants. LapLink Gold also did not fare well under the ERD test for remote control-it did not detect a communication problem with a host for more than 3 minutes, though, once restarted, it was able to pick up a file transfer where it was interrupted.
LapLink sports most of the remote-control features we were looking for, lacking only a facility for clipboard transfers and session recording options. Like pcAnywhere, it supports directory synchronization using delta file transfers with SpeedSynch technology. SpeedSynch compares files and sends only the changes. LapLink also distributes files to several computers simultaneously and automates the operation using an Xchange Agent. Also, as with most of programs we tested, an administrator can use a text or voice chat feature to interact with end users in real time.
Although LapLink lacks a centralized facility to log remote-control activity and monitor and modify the application once it's out in the enterprise, it does provide a distribution utility for clients to pull the Gold Host software from a central server. We copied the setup files from the CD to a shared directory on our test network. Once there, we modified the host setup script (Setup.iss) to provide for a silent installation. The setup script let us change default connection settings, initiate security, apply licenses and install LapLink computer names. But it did not give us the fine-tuning available in pcAnywhere's network installation script and provided no central configuration for the application once it is installed on remote PCs. To change configuration, you need to reinstall the host software. Even then, the installer will not launch while the LapLink Scheduler is in memory. You need to unload it manually before installing from the network.
We had a problem logging in to a LapLink host on our Windows 2000 PCs, which started LapLink before the Windows logon. Rather than providing a handy button on the tool or task bar, like pcAnywhere, the command is hidden in the "session" pull-down menu. Alternatively, CTRL+SHIFT+D will do the trick. If this is difficult to remember, you can configure your own CAD sequence in the remote-control options. In addition, LapLink provides a "Surf Up" utility that enables end-users to access files from a remote computer using a Web browser with optional SSL security.
If you need to connect PCs outside of a network, LapLink is well-suited to the task. Although many programs provide support for modem-to-modem communication, LapLink maintains support for direct connections using serial, parallel, infrared and USB interconnects. You can even do a push install to another PC using the serial port and a null modem cable.
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