I'm a frequent user of VNC software to connect to numerous remote machines. VNC allows you to remotely control a machine and view the active session. This is different from RDP (Remote Desktop) because it doesn't log off the active session and start a new one for you. This is different from Citrix b/c VNC is FREE!
I used to use Tridia VNC most frequently because it supported great compression and the ability to speed up the connection by eliminating colors and whatnot from the transmitted data (which is good when you are doing lots of console work - speed is the important part). However, today I found out that my favorite VNC vendor, Tridia Corporation, has discountinued the production and distribution of VNC products. Here's a quote, "After nearly four years of development, Tridia has come to the conclusion that VNC, including its many commercial versions, is unsuitable for deployment in a business environment". The letter on the home page goes on to talk about security holes and lack of centralization. They do have, of course, a replacement product for sale.
In my search for a replacement, I went to TightVNC to see what their latest model offers. I frequently use TightVNC as well, but it did not previously let me set my own custom compression values. Now, it not only gives me far enhance configuration control concerning compression (alliteration), it also hooks into the video display driver to speed things up. TightVNC goes one better and now offers (well, in a week or two) built in FTP across the VNC session! Awesome! This project is open-source, so if you'd like to make a contribution (either financially or through some mad samuri code skillz) I'm sure it would be welcome.
If you've never tried VNC before - give it a shot the next time you have to connect to a machine other than the one you are currently sitting in front of. This works great for remotely administering servers and working with lab machines. You can even get this set up and walk your parents through some tricky OS operations like sending mail with attachments (if their broadband connection allows it).
-- Matt Ranlett