Page 767 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

The third feature, called Remote Desktop, lets you take control of an

unattended PC—presumably your own, back at home. It requires a Pro
version of Windows, plus a good deal of setup and some scavenging
through the technical underbrush. But when you’re in Tulsa and a
spreadsheet you need is on your PC in Tallahassee, you may be grateful to

have it in place.

In this age when your documents, photos, calendar, address book, email,
and other stuff is all online anyway, Remote Desktop is somewhat less

useful than it once was. If you’re interested in diving in, though, see the free
PDF appendix “Remote Desktop.” It’s available on this book’s “Missing

CD” at missingmanuals.com.

Quick Assist

You may think you know what stress is: deadlines, breakups, downsizing.
But nothing approaches the frustration of an expert trying to help a PC

beginner over the phone—for both parties.

The expert is flying blind, using Windows terminology the beginner doesn’t
know. Meanwhile, the beginner doesn’t even know what to describe. Every

little step takes 20 times longer than it would if the expert were simply
seated in front of the machine. Both parties are likely to age 10 years in an

hour.

Fortunately, that era is at an end. Windows’ Quick Assist feature lets
somebody having computer trouble extend an invitation to an expert, via
the internet. The expert can actually see the screen of the flaky computer,

control the mouse and keyboard, and make technical tweaks—running
utility software, installing new programs, adjusting hardware drivers, even
editing the Registry—by long-distance remote control. Quick Assist really

is the next best thing to being there.

The fine print

A few notes about Quick Assist: