If you are thinking about the kind of Remote Viewing that is a Shirley Maclain New Age psychic ability and perhaps also Modern Mysticism that includes other abilities such as Astral Projection, that’s not what I meant. No, I’m talking about the ability to take over control of a remote computer, perhaps a laptop, on a large network. Enterprises that have large computer networks use software that permits network administrators to update machines on the network, view their screens, and control those machines to keep the network secure and all of the software updated. Theosophy is another matter entirely – more occult than computational – although Dr. Strange of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed adept at both.
For the past decade, I have pursued my hobby of astrophotography from the desktop computer in my study. In my backyard, a variety of astrographs housed in a hobby observatory have captured ancient photons so that I might make images of deep sky objects – star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and the occasional comet. Until recently, I had been using a program called TeamViewer to control the laptop in the observatory from the comfort of the desktop in my study. This allowed me to stay warm during the winter and to avoid mosquito bites during the warmer months. There are a number of similar software products that allow this kind of remote control. TeamViewer is very capable, and it is free to anyone who needs it for personal, non-commercial use. Unfortunately, the algorithms that TeamViewer uses to determine whether you are using it for non-commercial purposes are not quite up to snuff, I think.
To keep my machines more secure while on the internet, I started using AVG VPN some months ago, and TeamViewer decided that I was controlling the laptop from another city – the sort of thing one might do if providing computer assistance for a buck. Alas, they disabled TeamViewer on my computer. My efforts to address the problem with the company were futile. Looking for alternatives, I stumbled on the fact that the Windows 10 operating system (OS) itself has a built-in Remote Desktop capability. It only works in the Pro edition of the OS – not the Windows 10 Home edition. My desktop runs Windows 10 Pro; the laptop runs the Home edition.
Paying for a Team Viewer commercial license would cost me ~$100/year. Updating the laptop to Windows 10 Pro would cost me $100 as a one-time expense. It was a no-brainer. I upgraded the laptop. So, now I can once again control the observatory laptop from the comfort of the desktop in my study. As a bonus, I have downloaded an iOS app that lets me control the laptop from my iPhone!
It may not be astral projection, but it is a form of astro-projection. 🙂