Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, along come the rest of my suggestions for your Holiday wish list.  In this article, I’ve selected some eye-popping technologies like remote computer access, multimedia management, even more specialized multimedia tools, PDF file converters, and one-of-a-kind utility programs for busy music educators.

Remote Computer Access: Freedom!
How many times have you needed access to materials only found on your desktop computer at home while you’re at school? There are two different solution options waiting for this problem: Web access software and point-to-point software. With both, you can easily access your home computer with full control to download and print files needed at school.

A point-to-point software solution has the advantage that the software can be owned, so it doesn’t require an annual subscription. pcAnywhere by Symantec, now in its 12th edition, is my long-term favorite. It works simply and securely with both Mac and PC platforms. The new host invitation feature allows end users to establish a reverse (outbound) connection to the helpdesk without needing to know IP addresses. The gateway functionality makes it easier for remote users to access the pcAnywhere hosts they need. Powerful file-transfer capabilities allow users to upload and download files across different platforms.

The alternative is Web access applications, which connect through a Web server. This method of remote access can offer certain advantages over a point-to-point remote application such as no need to update software as it is upgraded and the offering of conferencing capabilities. My favorite remote Web access application for the PC platform is GoToMyPC. This application allows users to access and work on a PC on-the-fly from any location connected to the Internet. Get reliable, convenient and secure access to e-mail, files, programs, and network resources from anywhere. It features automatic setup and can automatically launch, install, and configure itself. Even novice users can be up set up and ready to go in minutes. There is a Universal Viewer that launches automatically when connecting to a PC, allowing users to view and control the PC from another Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows CE, Macintosh, Linux, Unix, or Solaris computer. No pre-loaded software is required. With GoToMyPC, the user’s PC can be accessed from any Web browser on any operating system at any time. This even allows users to access an office PC from a Macintosh at home

GoToMyPC provides the most secure Internet connection available in a remote-access service. All data is protected with AES encryption using 128-bit keys, dual passwords, and end-to-end user authentication. Optional one-time passwords can be used to provide maximum security. Nobody can “see” or track what is being accessed, so there is complete privacy. Users can even print documents remotely to any local printer. File transfers between PCs can be done by simply dragging and dropping between screens.  Ultimately this system increases file organization between computers and eliminates confusion. One practical usage of this application is in inviting a guest or a second person to temporarily view or share control of your PC, which is great for tech support, demos, or “conference” viewing of info. Save time by meeting on-the-fly on your PC.

The granddaddy of remote access software for the Mac platform is Timbuktu Pro for Mac OS X Universal Application for PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. For almost two decades, Timbuktu Pro for Mac OS X has been the standard for remote control on Macs. Its simple setup, user-friendly interface, and multiple security options make Timbuktu Pro for Mac OS X the best remote control choice for your home, classroom, or small business. You can view the screen of a remote computer or share your screen with remote computers to collaborate, teach, or provide technical support, operate distant Macs as if you were sitting right in front of them, send large files without using e-mail, and find and connect to other users using Rendezvous. Timbuktu Pro 8.6 runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, delivering optimal performance for both architectures in a single package. Timbuktu Pro also features integration of Skype’s popular Internet Telephony software to enhance Timbuktu Pro’s connectivity options for conferencing, chatting and more for more creative remote access uses.

More Odds and Ends Apps
The PDF (Portable Document File) has become nearly as important as Microsoft’s Word and PowerPoint for both the education and business worlds. Having a PDF creator/converter is a very important tool for everyone’s office needs. PDFs can be used to e-mail receipts to customers with a watermark for authenticity, put manuals online without losing formatting, put manuals on CD and ship them cheaply, archive Web sites to compatible file formats, put blueprints and specs online, and send proposals electronically to prospective clients. PDFs are great for putting professionally formatted documents on the web. When my family did some concert presentations in Santiago, Chile, I just made a copy of the original flyer in seconds and posted it as a PDF file with all color, resolution, and layout formatting maintained perfectly [www.kuzmich.com/Flyer_Australia_Chile_Spanish.pdf].

To find PDF creators, there are many available by doing a Google search for “free PDF converter.” However, my favorite PDF converters for purchase are PDF Converter 4, PDF Create! and PDF Converter Professional 4 [www.nuance.com], Click2PDF by Blue Squirrel [www.primopdf.com], and PDF995 [www.pdf995.com]. For the best of the souped up PDF creators and converters, investigate PDF Converter Professional 4, which gives the music educator / business professional everything needed to work with PDF files in one, elegant application. Users can create, edit, convert, and share PDF documents and forms faster and easier than ever before! For the ultimate PDF product, investigate Adobe Acrobat [www.adobe.com], which has two versions: standard and professional.

For those music educators who do workshops and clinics without Internet access, WebWhacker 5.0 is an offline browsing and searching tool that enables you to save your favorite web sites into easily transferable storage media and organize them into categories.  There is nothing better than this program for the individual who needs to give a Web presentation where Internet access is limited. Developed by Blue Squirrel Software, WebWhacker 5.l0 downloads entire Web pages or sites, including text (HTML), images, and other objects, and stores them on your local desktop machine or on removable media such as CDs, ZIP disks, thumb drives, etc. Whacked sites provide a locally stored mirror image of the original Web site, which can be navigated, viewed, annotated, and searched locally with a standard Web browser. By reducing your dependency on an Internet connection, it can save time and money.

Grad-a-Site by Blue Squirrel is a powerful Internet tool (expanded version of WebWhacker) that allows users to grab complete sections of the World Wide Web. This program is great if you need an industrial-strength tool that can download an entire Web site while retaining the original filenames and directory structure. When you grab a site, it is downloaded onto your hard drive. You can then surf without costly Internet charges. Grab-a-Site can be told specifically which sites to grab by using the Include filter. It can also filter out any unwanted sites with the Exclude filter.

ClickBook 10.0 by Blue Squirrel is a printing wonder program that can do a myriad of printing enhancements. It can print double-sided without a duplexing printer as well as print organization charts or schedules on large posters. Plus, it can fit a large spreadsheet onto one page by shrinking what would be several pages onto a single sheet. It can also combine documents, Web pages, and other files into a single print job. ClickBook has over 170 layouts to choose from, and you can create your own, so the options are limitless. What ClickBook does is to take exactly what would print if you were not using ClickBook, and then shrink and/or rearrange the pages to fit the layout of your choice.

File Compressors
File compression is important in conserving disk space on a hard disk for applications and files not used regularly. But other advantage include the ability to send large files over the Internet as compressed attachments, as well as being able to fit more onto CDs, DVDs, and other media. The two leading compression applications are Winzip by Winzip, for PC, and StuffIt Deluxe by SmithMicro, for both Macs and PCs.

Winzip 11.1 is the original and most popular compression utility for Windows. It is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that quickly zips and unzips your files to conserve disk space and greatly reduce e-mail transmission time. WinZip 11.1 is available in Standard or Pro editions. It offers a thumbnail image view and automatic compression selection, plus improved compression for audio files (WAV) and the ability to open .BZ2 and .RAR files. Winzip11.1 also adds expanded data backup functionality and includes a new internal image viewer that allows users to browse through multiple images within the Zip file.

StuffIt Deluxe 11 is designed to save time and space and that’s why it’s your complete compression and archive management solution for both PC and Mac platforms. It can reduce folders and files by up to 98 percent of their original size. Stuffit achieves what no other compression product has been able to do, to reduce the size of JPEG photos by up to 30% with absolutely no loss in the image’s quality. StuffIt also expands and accesses over twenty different compression formats, including Zip, TAR, SEA, RAR, EXE, and many more.  StuffIt works well with antivirus software like McAfee and Norton Antivirus to ensure that users are automatically protected when files are expanded (unzipped). Both applications offer free 30-day full-working trial versions.

Desktop Publishing
For those educators who are not computer savvy with software applications and need desktop productivity, consider Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 as a one-stop shop desktop publishing application. Its user-friendly interface is great in that it allows users to create impressive marketing materials for print, Web, and e-mail with powerful design tools, customizable templates and a familiar Office environment interface. The result is that you can quickly and easily create, design and publish. It includes enhanced artwork from Smart Art and, best of all, Publisher 2007 integrates seamlessly with all of the Microsoft Office 2007 applications. There are a wealth of templates that can be used to immediately create, design, and produce flyers, invitations, posters, Web pages, forms, business cards, and more. Its application extends far beyond traditional word processing documents and includes a myriad of artwork to paste in the templates, providing a professional touch without requiring multimedia expertise.