Overview Of Our Software

Product Overview

AstroApp Overview:

AstroApp is the program you use to share out your computer with up to 10 viewers at once for a meeting or view up to 10 remote computers at once. After downloading it unstuff or unzip the program and launch it. You may be prompted to create a new AstroCity username if it believes this is your first time launching the application on your computer. If not you can create one with the "Create New User..." menuitem found under the "Login" menu. You can then login to AstroCity using the login window. After doing so your FriendsList will appear. This is where you can add other AstroCity usernames that you wish to chat with or have control your desktop. After adding someone as a friend and they are logged in you can highlight their name and click the "Invite to Control My Desktop" button. After they accept the invitation a window will open up on their computer allowing them to view and control your desktop. You can also click the "Request Control of Desktop" button. After they grant the request a window will open up on your computer allowing you to view and control their desktop.

AstroAppPalm Overview:

AstroAppPalm is the program you use to view a shared computer from a Palm Powered device. Once downloaded unzip and install it onto your handheld via hotsync. After running it you may be prompted to create a new AstroCity username if it believes this is your first time launching the application on your PDA. If not you can create one with the "Create New User..." menuitem found under the "Login" menu. You can then Login to AstroCity by selecting "Login As User..." found under the "Login" menu. After doing so your FriendsList will appear. This is where you can add other AstroCity usernames that you wish to chat with or have control of their desktop. After adding someone as a friend and they are logged in you can highlight their name and click the "Request Control of Desktop" button. After they grant the request you will see the contents of their desktop in the full screen viewer of your Palm device. You can then use the 4 stylus modes as described below to control the remote mouse and navigate around the desktop.

AstroAppPalm allows you to save whatever is currently in the viewer as a picture. This ability is found under the "Image" menu. You can also view a desktop or a saved image in 3 levels of Zoom: Normal (1X), Zoom Double (2X) and Zoom Quadruple (4X). This ability is found under the "Zoom" menu. By default, you can also push the up and down page buttons on the front of your device to zoom in and out respectively. Viewing in Double and Quadruple modes decreases bandwith significantly.

Most likely you will be viewing a remote desktop that is larger than the display on your Palm OS device. Currently AstroAppPalm has 4 ways to view different parts of that larger desktop. You do this by "scrolling" with the stylus.

We offer 4 stylus modes: Grab Scroll, Scale Scroll, Mouse Button, and Mouse Move.

Grab Scroll works by moving to another part of the remote desktop or saved image in response to you moving the stylus. While you move the stylus the same point on the desktop stays under it. It's sort of like putting your index finger on a piece of paper thats on a smooth desk. As you move your finger around the paper moves too but not relative to your finger.
Scale Scroll works by showing you a part of the desktop relative to where your stylus is on the palm screen. So if you tap the top left corner of the palm screen you will see the top left corner of the remote desktop. Tap the middle of the screen and you see the middle of the remote desktop. Hold the stylus down while moving it and you will see everything in between.
Mouse Button mode works by imitating the mouse on the remote desktop. When you touch the stylus to the palm screen it causes the mouse button to be down on the remote desktop. As you move the stylus in mouse button mode the mouse will move on the remote desktop. If you move the stylus within about 1/4 inch of the border of your Palm's screen then the part of the remote desktop your viewing will shift so that you can see more of the desktop in the direction that you are moving the stylus.
Mouse Move mode works exactly the same as Mouse Button mode except that it does not simulate the mouse button being down. Therefor it just moves the mouse around. This is good for "hover over" features on your desktop.

You can switch between the 4 different stylus modes via the "Special" menu. You can also have a list pop-up of all 4 modes by pressing the leftmost hard button on the front of your palm also known as the Phone button on the Treo. There is also a "Configure Hard Buttons..." dialog that lets you change which button will bring up this pop-up list as well as a few other options you can configure for each hard button. You can have a hard button simulate a left click, right click, scroll wheel up and scroll wheel down.