I have a problem with the whole “Post-PC Era” thing. The problem is that trying to do any real work on a tablet is a miserable experience. Typing and keyboard issues aside, there is so much that you can’t do on a tablet that we take for granted on PCs. Much of that has to do with the limited tablet interface and the fact that desktop applications are so much more full-featured than apps. Also, file management doesn’t exist at all on tablets, which can be absolutely maddening. In my opinion, the only serious “work” that users can do on a tablet is email, web browsing, note-taking, and perhaps writing (if you can live with the touch interface or a flimsy add-on keyboard). I call my iPad my “couch computer.” It’s a handy little device to have around, but it’s good for little else.

What would be nice is a way to access and control a desktop computer and all its applications and files from a tablet. The only remaining obstacle to doing real work would be the tablet interface. But full functionality and access to files could be re-established if the tablet simply served as a portal to a full computing experience.

Such solutions have existed for a while, such as GoToMyPC and LogMeIn. But these run into interface problems as well since PCs rely on precise control of a mouse, which is difficult to emulate with finger-controlled tablets. However, a new product, called Parallels Access, may have solved these problems. Reviewed by Walt Mossberg, Parallels Access claims to turn the desktop experience of a computer into a full-screen tablet experience that makes controlling a PC remotely quite easy.

Unlike many others, [Access] doesn’t force you to constantly try and emulate the precise mouse pointer for which most of these computer programs were designed. It runs them like iPad apps, in full screen and at the iPad’s resolution, yet preserving full functionality and the ability to switch among open apps and windows on the computer. It works over both Wi-Fi and cellular connections.

File sharing is still a bear, but Parallels is said to be working on a solution. Also, the program is quite pricey — $80 PER YEAR, PER COMPUTER accessed. Ouch! But it may be worth it for the ability to do real work on the road. Read the article, check out the accompanying video, and be sure to read the comments, where a less expensive program with similar capabilities called Splashtop is discussed (with Splashtop’s CEO providing some interesting notes).

The “Post-PC Era” may be a clever marketing take, but at this point it requires better “Post-PC” apps and a remote PC, too.

Read full article: http://on.wsj.com/17kK3Xf