Chapter 10. Microsoft Smart Display and Remote Desktop

Many people have cordless phones at home and in the office. Instead of using a tethered phone, a cordless phone allows you the freedom to use the phone anywhere in the house, without the constraints of wires. The same concept applies to computing. How often have you dreamed of using your computers anywhere in your home? A notebook computer is one such solution. However, if your primary computer is a desktop system, synchronizing documents created or modified on the notebook with your desktop is always a chore. It would be better to use the same desktop computer but with the mobility to use it anywhere at home in the garden, garage, or even the washroom!

Microsoft thought of this concept and calls it the Microsoft Smart Display (previously code-named "Mira"). In this chapter, I explain what a Smart Display is and how you can use it together with your Windows XP computer. I also explain Remote Desktop, the underlying service behind the Smart Display, and how you can use it to connect from one computer to another.