If you’re reading this blog you’re likely the unofficial tech support for at least some of your friends. You probably know there’s no shortage of screen sharing app on the web, but the overwhelming majority of it is a pain to set up. The problem is getting your technically challenged friend to launch any service. If there’s a client to download or a service to sign up for, getting the screen share up and running alone can take an hour of giving instructions over the phone.

Good thing Quick Screen Share exists. In just a few clicks this software can establish a shared screen. You’ll be given a simple link to share with your friend, and you’ll be up and running in minutes. Quick Screen Share comes from the team behind Screencast-O-Matic, a free screencasting app for creating video tutorials which we’ve featured before. Like Screencast-O-Matic, it’s really easy to use.

Using QuickScreenShare

The first step couldn’t be simpler: just head to QuickScreenShare.com. Choose whether you want to share your screen, or see someone else’s screen, and type your name:

Once you do this you’ll need to give the application permission to run on your computer. You’ll see a window similar to this:

Deny the application permission and nothing will work, of course. Once everything is up and running you’ll be given a link to share with your friend:

This link will only work once, so do not worry about long-term security implications. Just get the link to your friend however you can – IM or email are probably the easiest ways. Your friend will need to only click the link and grant the appropriate permissions.

Once everything is ready there will be a countdown before the viewing window will open:

Everything that happens on the shared screen, including mouse movements, will be visible in this window. It’s also possible for the viewer to share keyboard and mouse control. Controls for this are at the window’s bottom:

Still confused about how this all works? Check out this screencast from the team behind Quick Screen Share:

Like I said, it’s a very simple process.

Conclusion

Note that the screen sharing is achieved through a direct peer-to-peer connection. That is, no third party server is involved once your computer is connected to that of your friend. As such, this setup might not work in corporate environments, or any security-conscious place.

Also note that, while stable for me, Quick Screen Share is still in beta. You might run into problems using it, even if I didn’t. Turning off any special effects, such as the Aero desktop on Windows, might help if your connection is slow.

For residential connections, I can’t think of a better service than Quick Screen Share. Can you? If so, share it in the comments below, along with any tips and tricks for using Quick Screen Share.

Of course, that is just one scenario where screencasts are useful. Some other popular examples where screencasts are used include:

• Showing off your skills at using Photoshop or some other complex app
• Creating “How To” videos for use in your blog posts
• Creating e-Learning tutorials

How to Create Screencasts With Screenr

Screenr makes creating and sharing screencasts very simple. You need to have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your system and the Java plugin enabled in your browser, but Screenr itself is a web app so you don’t need to install it. Screenr will prompt you to automatically install Java if you don’t have it, hence there is no need to install it separately beforehand.

Screenr works on both PCs and Macs. Screencasts are created in high-definition Flash format so they can be played everywhere on the web, including on iPhones. You can also use your microphone to record your voice during the screencast. Screenr is used exclusively with Twitter and all screencasts are public. For other options, you should check out 5 Free Screencasting Apps for Creating Video Tutorials.

Create Your Screencast

For the sake of this article, let’s say I want to create a screencast of a walkthrough of the new Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus software.

Go to Screenr and login directly with Twitter using OAuth. Clicking the Record your screencast now! button loads the recorder. You can record screencasts of up to 5 minutes length.

In the recorder, you can select the audio option for your screencast. For our example, I minimized the browser window, and loaded the Security Essentials window. I then resized the recorder window to fit the Security Essentials window. This optimizes the screencast for clarity as well as download size.

After clicking the red Record button, I viewed all the tabs in the Security Essentials app, as if I were performing a walkthrough. All my actions are automatically recorded. When I was finished, I clicked Done.

Publish and Share Your Screencast

When you are finished, you are automatically taken to the Screenr website, where you can preview, describe, publish, and share your screencast. You have the option of tweeting your screencast automatically or do it separately. Once you publish, you can see Screenr making web and iPhone versions of your screencast and uploading them.

The Share section on the right lets you embed your screencast on a blog, upload it to YouTube, download an mp4 version, or delete it from your profile. Here is the sample screencast I created using Screenr:

When you share screencasts on Twitter via Screenr, users who view your screencast can share and comment on them. They can ReTweet your screencast to share it with others, and their comments are sent to you as Twitter @Replies.

Will you use Screenr for your screencasting needs? Did you find it easy to use? Tell us in the comments!

If you browse through sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and Blip.tv, you will see that there are lots of video tutorials but with very few of them clear to view and understand.

There are many things that are needed to create a great video tutorial and in this article, I will try my best to teach you some techniques I have learned along the way.

The Right Apps

To start creating a screencast, the you will need to first of all download an application that will allow you to record your screen. For Mac OS X, there are a few applications such as iShowU, ScreenFlow and Screenium. You can try out these apps by downloading them from their website. However, to be able to use the full functionality, you will have to purchase a license. If you are a Windows user then I recommend using Camtasia Studio because it has a lot of great features. Camtasia Studio for Windows is very similar to ScreenFlow for Mac OS X.

A free alternative for both Windows and Mac OS X is Jing. Jing is a screen capture tool from the creators of Camtasia Studio but has been created specifically for screencasts. Although the application can be used without any real limits, the only downside is that the limit on a single recording is five minutes.

For Linux users, there is an open source project on Sourceforge called Xvidcap.

Set The Right Resolution

The first thing to do when creating a screencast for the online audience is to set your screen resolution to the lowest possible setting.

The reason why we do this is so that we can record as much of the screen without losing too much quality when we compress the screencast after we have finished recording. Also, when viewers on video sharing websites view it at full screen mode then the screencast dimensions will most likely be smaller than their resolution. This means that they will be able to see everything clearly including the text.

The Right Gear

When creating a screencast, it is very important that viewers can understand what you are saying so that they can easily follow what you are trying to teach or show. For this reason, it is not recommended that you use the microphone that is built into your laptop because there is a chance that they will hear the fan and you may sound distant and unclear.

If you are going to create a screencast then invest in a standalone microphone or a headset. The headset that I use is the Logitech ClearChat Pro headset and it works great.

The Right Words

If you are doing a screencast for a video tutorial on how to create a script in PHP, for example; it is a good idea to perform a test run, create the script and think about what you would say at certain steps and making notes so that you can best describe what you are trying to get across. If you are creating a long screencast,it is better to pause the recording a take a break for a few minutes because if you make a mistake that you can’t resolve when recording the screencast, you can start again from the recording before you paused. If you are showing off a new tool to perform a certain task, then take some time to introduce the tool and the link to download it so that you do not cause confusion. Most probably, your viewers are those who are new to computers and don’t really know the means to search for the tool you are showcasing.

When you feel that there is no more that you can explain to the user, end the recording by letting them know the ways that they can contact you if they need help. List your Twitter username or email address.

The Right Format

Because the screen resolution was a very low setting, when it comes to exporting our screencast, keep the dimensions to 100%. The image below shows the settings I use for exporting my screencasts. For a short screencast I did recently, the size of the exported MOV file was 32MB and the duration of the screencast was 7 minutes 30 seconds. That works out to 4.3MB per minute which is relatively low to other compression techniques I have used in the past.

Compressing a file can take some time, depending on how long the screencast is and its dimensions. So go and grab a cup of coffee while you wait for it to finish.

The Finishing Touches

When the file has been successfully encoded and compressed, I will then open it with QuickTime Player and add a logo at the beginning of the screencast as well as a link to my website so people who stumble upon my videos on video sharing websites know where they can find more of my stuff.

Now that you have finished all the recording, editing and exporting, it is now time to upload your screencast to as many video sharing websites as you know. I upload to many video sharing websites because different people use different services so the more video sharing websites you upload your content to, the wider the audience you will reach.

If you have a website, then you should also embed it there. When displaying screencasts on my website, the service that I use is Blip.tv because the compression of your screencast when it has been uploaded is very good and hardly any quality is lost. They also have ads within the videos so you can make a little bit of money.

It is time to promote your newly created screencast on your website, so tweet about it and ask people to retweet. Add it to StumbleUpon and del.icio.us, use Facebook to promote it and here are 5 more tips on promotion, hope they come in helpful. Don’t forget to add it to tutorial websites if it is relevant to them also.

If there is anything else that you would like to know about creating a screencast then please feel free to post a comment below and I shall reply the best I can.

Now you can collaborate across countries and time zones with ease and for free.

I started by browsing on over to: http://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=94

I downloaded and installed the 3.2MB application. Once it finished installing it prompted me to restart any and all Microsoft Office applications and Firefox”¦ Wait”¦ What?

Microsoft acknowledged that it is not the only popular browser on the market? WOW! That’s a huge step for the boys in Redmond. Before we start let’s take a look at the system requirements. That way we don’t get you all worked up over nothing

System requirements:

• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows XP Service Pack 2
• 700MHz CPU
• Memory: Minimum 256MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
• Hard disk: 10MB of free hard disk space
• Display: Minimum 800 × 600 screen resolution (1024 × 768 recommended)
• Applications: DirectX 8.0 or higher installed on your computer
• Internet connection: Broadband Internet access, 300 kbps minimum. Slower connections may work, but the experience may not be optimal.
• A Windows Live ID if you want to start your own sessions (you do not need one to join someone else’s session).

I did as I was told and restarted my applications. And then I fired up SharedView.

The box above was shown in my upper left hand corner of my desktop.

I signed in using my old school Hotmail account and proceeded to click on Start a new session.

It gives you the information you need to get to your participants. The users that will connect to your session will need all the above information. They do not need anything, not even a email address to connect.

When the users click on the link they will see this:

They need to click install and run the attachment like so:

They run through a brief installation and then you will see the attendee arrive and then they will be displayed in your participant count at the top of your screen.

Hit the share button and define what you want the participant to see:

The application does not have many options but here they are:

To see Microsoft’s real world example you can click on over to here.

All in all this is a great free application that you may find very useful in your daily activities. Do you love another similar application? What are you waiting for ““ share it with us in the comments.

How about a full blown free screen sharing application that includes file transfer and remote control?

This is cross platform and works on Windows and Macs. The presenter simply downloads the 1.3MB Windows installer file and runs it on the machine that they want to share.

(You can also grab Mikogo’s Mac installer here).

You do need to sign up for a free account as well ““ but the person you are sharing your screen with does not.

You can download the application first or set up your account first ““ it does not matter. Either which way after you have an account password (it will be emailed to you) and the program running in your system tray you can go ahead and click on ‘settings’.

There are 4 basic pages to Mikogo’s settings. The only thing you REALLY need to fill out is the user name, password and your display name in the first page as seen below.

The second page is how you can define what is shared. If you want to share everything you do not have to worry about these options. If you want any applications opened after the connection not to be shared simply un-check the box at the top to ‘Show new applications’.

The third page is self explanatory and just has settings for what is displayed if you pause the meeting and a storage path to record your meeting. There is also a box to apply a password to your meeting.

The last settings page allows you to setup your proxy or connection. If you have a normal setup you can safely bypass these settings.

When you are done with your settings you can choose ‘start a meeting’ from your system tray. You will see the following screen and then the confirmation that the meeting has started.

You will then be given your meeting ID number and basic information on how to get your participants to connect to your session.

Then you instruct your user to go to the Mikogo website and click ‘Join a meeting’. They will download a small file and then will see this screen. Have them type in your meeting ID as well as a display name for them.

That’s it – they now see your screen. You can also give them control of your mouse and keyboard as well as initiate a file transfer.

Do you have another free screen sharing tool? Is it better than Mikogo? Let us know in the comments.

Many different companies have come up with many different ways for accessing each of these systems in different ways. Some of these include GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, Windows Remote Desktop, VNC and several other remote access tools that we have profiled on MakeUseOf.

However most of these require some type of firewall configuration, or cost money or are just incredibly insecure. One virtually unknown product, GBridge, provides remote access, file sharing, file syncing and backup capabilities, all only requiring a Google account.

GBridge uses what they call a ‘Revolutionary VPN Infrastructure’ to extend Google’s GTalk into a secure collaboration tool. Once the product is installed (Windows Only), it simply asks for your Google Talk account and automatically displays the rest of your GTalk friends that may or may not have the product installed. If they do have it installed, you may collaborate with them, using each of the tools I am going to describe below. This is all done with a simple install, and no firewall configuration.

Desktop Sharing

GBridge utilizes VNC to not only access your own computer, but also any of your friends or family PC’s to access them remotely and control their desktop. Again this only requires that they have GBridge installed and that they have a Google Talk account.

SecureShare

The SecureShare portion of GBridge allows for quick and easy access to any files on your additional computers with extreme VPN-like security. You can then again allow only certain friends to access these shares as well. Very handy for quickly transferring files without e-mail or FTP-like transferring.

AutoSync

Keep folders in synchronization across the globe. Removes the need to manually transfer and update files on a regular basis. With no size limitations, auto scheduling and even incremental transfers.

EasyBackup

Set up automatic scheduled backups to local or remote locations. Gives you peace of mind having your critical data stored off site somewhere.

GBridge is a very slick application that is very easy to setup on any Windows 2000, XP or Vista machine and gives you all the big capabilities of the remote access tools, plus much more.

Do you have any similar secure solutions like GBridge?

Well, after my last Make Use Of article, I had a brainstorm: why not use the most painless remote control and viewing application and the best URL truncator together to get rid of my support headaches? I almost started tapping my fingertips together and muttering “exxxxxcellent…” under my breath.

It’s a two step plan.

Step one: download and install TeamViewer on my laptop. I browsed over, grabbed the 1.1MB setup file and had it installed in less than a minute.

Step two: create a snurl.com address that points to the TeamViewer “customer module”. Snurl graciously shortened the URL to: http://snurl.com/2jbo8.

I can’t believe I didn’t do this ages ago.

Why did I choose TeamViewer? There are two major reasons: portability and a zero-configuration connection. Setting up a painless remote support system is no good if it requires multiple steps for the person on the other end. My goal is this: if I can make this so easy that my wife doesn’t get irritated when I talk her through the process, I’ve achieved my goal (and I’m still married).

TeamViewer doesn’t require any ports being opened on a user’s router, and they don’t need to know their IP. Talk them through getting the link open in a browser and running the file, and they’re presented with this screen:

Can it get any easier?

As long as you’ve got the software running on your end, all they have to do is read you the two numbers and they’re done! Type the first one in the “Create Session” box, enter the password when prompted, and the connection initiates within a few seconds. You’ve got full control of the remote PC – in about a minute, start to finish. The connection is fully encrypted “based on RSA private-/public key exchange and RC4 session encoding,” as described on TeamViewer.com.

If you can type, you can get a TeamViewer connection running

TeamViewer at work, controlling my wife’s laptop…

It also supports pretty much everything else you’d want a remote control app to, like session recording, file transfer, chat, scaling, multiple monitor support, and more. TeamViewer even runs on Mac. It’s totally free for non-commercial use, and that’s what I’m aiming for – all I want to do is minimize the amount of my free time the people I love consume with their PC woes!Think you have an easier method? I’d like to hear about it – really!

(By) Lee Mathews is a blogger who writes to share downloads, links, and tech advice with other slightly frustrated users at Unsightful.com.

(1) HealthVault
Service that many US families should find really useful. In simple terms, HealthVault is an online safebox for all your medical records. It’s not just a storage place to keep medical history but also to share records with doctors, place to where medical documents can be faxed and auto-archived, and lots more.

(2) Windows Live (Office Suite)
Long-awaited online office offering from Microsoft. I know, there are plenty of other online office suites, but many of us are still hesitant when it comes to compatibility issues. What if the document won’t open? What if text styling gets messy? … Well, who if not Microsoft can guarantee 100% compatibility with Microsoft Office. Although the service is yet to go public, you can opt-in now and get notified as soon as it’s launched. (Update: Some people have suggested that it’s going to more like a document storage and sharing service rather than online office suite)

(3) TellMe
Tellme is a free alternative to costly 411 directory service. Lets you quickly obtain contact details and directions to local businesses (repair shops, pizzerias, restaurants, etc.). You can access it via toll free number, text messaging, or TellMe mobile client. Check out TellMe video demo here.

(4) Windows Live (Safety Scanner)
Online Windows health check-up and maintenance center. Includes virus scan and removal, hard drive space recovery and performance tools. The only drawback, it doesn’t work with Firefox and thus you need IE to access it.

(5) Tafiti
Looking for a comprehensive research tool? Check out Tafiti. It’s a single application that integrates multiple search engines, visual search, webpage sharing, and a handful of other features for online research. Tafiti will work on any browser but you do need to have Microsoft Silverlight (free).

Software

(6) Win XP Powertoys – PowerToys is a set of tiny all-purpose apps that add to your Windows experience. Currently, the package counts 15 different programs, including ‘Alt+Tab’ replacement, all-in-one unit converter, right click image resizer, and virtual desktop manager.

(7) FolderShare – Simple and memory-friendly program with a bunch of cool features. FolderShare lets you access your PC remotely, share files with others, and synchronize files across multiple computers and mobile devices. It’s a pretty useful app to have on your arsenal.

(8) Sysinternals Suite – Over 60 troubleshooting utilities bundled in one suite. Most of the bundled apps are rather techy and may require technical skills. Although some of the apps are 100% automated. For instance, PageDefrag (excellent paging-file defragmenter) is one of such apps.

(9) ConferenceXP – Live screen sharing and collaboration application for groups. Highlights include local screen streaming, browser screen sharing, and live collaboration sketchboard.

(10) Windows Live Pack – Brings Windows Live services to your desktop. Cool part about it, you have an option to choose which services to get. Package includes, Family Safety suite, web photo gallery, online storage service, Windows Live Writer blogging tool, and some more.

Got another Microsoft goodie ? Let us know in comments!

Screen-Sharing and Remote-Collaboration Apps

1. CrossLoop – secure, easy-to-setup, screen-sharing application for your Windows desktop.

• Share your screen sessions with others.
• Share/Collaborate on running programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) with friends or colleagues.
• File transfer and sharing.
• Available in more than 20 languages.

CrossLoop Video intro:

2. TeamViewer – slightly more complicated than Crossloop (not for dummies) but provides more or less same capabilities. Remote desktop sharing, collaboration, file transfer, chat, etc. You (the sharer) can decide whether you want to share the desktop or just allow the file transfer. More details can be found here.

3. Yuuguu – little desktop application (Mac, Windows) that lets you (a) share your screen with others, (b) collaborate on running programs with friends, and (c) access and control someone’s PC (friends, family, etc.) . Yuuguu comes with in-built chat application that allows you to store and keep history of all Yuuguu conversations online.

4. Unyte Lyte – Offers simple screen-sharing without any remote-control capability. Basically, the only thing you can do with it is to invite someone and guide them through documents, websites, etc. On the other hand, it can be integrated into your Skype client.

To Access your PC remotely

5. SoonR – access your PC remotely using your mobile or any other PC (work, school, etc.). Search files, view/share documents (PowerPoint, Word docs, etc.), access email clients (Outlook, Mac Mail, etc.), run your Skype client, and lots more right from your mobile or any web-enabled PC. Check it out in action in the video below:

6. FolderShare – free utility from beloved Microsoft , allows you to access your PC remotely (from work, school, etc.), share files (read/write) with others, and sync. files across multiple computers.

• Share files up to 2 GB in size. No restrictions on bandwidth or number of files.
• Sync any file type: files are synced and transferred in their original format.
• Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac.

Note: To access your PC remotely it’s required that your PC remains ‘ON’ with remote-access program running.

Other

7. sVNC – “sVNC is a downloadable application that users who need support can easily install, so a Mac guru (like you!) can help them out.“. Basically, it’s a program that enables you to provide remotes users with access and control of your system.