Accessing a home or office computer from your phone while you are out and about may be a bit too geeky for some, but there can be real benefits. I normally use it to view sites that are not compatible with mobile browsers, or to set my computer to record a TV show.

Windows Mobile already has remote desktop and VNC options, but Remote Touch offers some benefits over these. Remote Touch is quick, the screen will not shrink to an unusable size, and you can zoom in on the part of the screen you are interested in.

Another handy feature is that the computer screen doesn’t get locked. This allows the computer to remain active after you have disconnected, or you can use the software as a remote control.

Remote Touch works over IP, so after a little bit of port forwarding, your remote desktop is accessible from anywhere with a wireless network connection. There is a client which is installed on the device, and a tiny server that runs on the desktop.

Remote touch is still in Beta so you may come across the occasional bug. On the bright side, you can also expect improvements in stability and features over the coming months. It worked fine for me on my HTC Touch.

For a detailed video on Remote Touch, and the download, visit the authors website.

Have you ever wanted to control your computer with a game controller? It could be convenient to use a game controller from the couch to control Windows Media Center or move through PowerPoint slides.

JoytoKey is a small program that allows you to setup the movement controls and buttons of a game controller, into emulated keystrokes and mouse movements. You can setup different profiles for different programs and games, as well as separate configurations for different controllers. You can even configure a button on the controller represent a key combination.

This program is useful in the case where games don’t offer any game controller support, or where some newer games don’t offer support for older controllers, especially where drivers haven’t been updated over the years. JoytoKey allows you to split the axis controls into two separate buttons.

For example; if you have a first person shooter game that does not currently support a game controller, you can setup a profile for your controller to work with the game. Each button will represent a key from from your keyboard. Once all the buttons are configured, you have effectively added game controller support for your game.

Read more and download your free copy from electracode.

If you would like to control your mouse cursor only with your controller, check out this article for a simple alternative.

Do you want to turn your Windows Mobile device into a worthwhile alarm clock? G-Alarm could very well be the option for you.

G-Alarm is a reliable alarm clock for Windows Mobile devices. It is packed with features, many of which I have not seen in other alarm clock software.

You can set up unlimited alarms, a snooze function, use a random MP3 file from a playlist as your alarm, and you can even fade in the music so as to not stun you awake. That’s just the beginning.

My favourite feature of G-Alarm is a maze that you need to complete before you are able to disable the alarm. It isn’t all that challenging, but it will be enough to ensure even the heaviest sleeper will wake up properly. All of the features can be turned on or off, making this program ideal for most.

I have had this on my device for a week while I have been testing it out. I am happy to say that G-Alarm has not let me down yet.

G-Alarm has been tested on a bunch of devices from the HTC range, though it should work on other Windows Mobile devices.

Grab your copy from the authors website, AGEye.de.

There are a number of programs that make it easy for us to combine a scanner and a printer, so that we can use them in place of a photocopier.

I wanted to find a program that would make this job a piece of cake. I think I have succeeded, oddly enough with a program called Photocopier.

When I first loaded up Photocopier, I searched for the options to see what functions were available. However, there weren’t any fancy options, but this proved to be a good thing.

This program is so simple to use, it detects your scanner and your default printer and automatically uses those devices. These default settings will work very nicely for most simple home computer setups.

All the basic options available are on the main window, and they are kept to a minimum. We can choose the number of copies, brightness, basic scaling, and if we want to print in black and white or colour. This program has all the basic functions I have ever wanted to use on a photocopier.

Photocopier 3.03 is available for free (inoffensive popup on exit) from Nico Cuppon Software. There is also a commercial version available.

Windows Mobile has an inbuilt alarm system that works quite well, but it has some limitations. It is not finger friendly, there is no snooze feature, and we are limited to what sound files we can play as an alarm.

SnoozeAlarm II is a small program that can turn your Windows Mobile device into a worthwhile alarm clock. The buttons are large, making it easy to configure and set. Most importantly, there is a snooze button which is easy to press when you wake up. The snooze time is also configurable.

SnoozeAlarm II lets you wake up to an MP3 file rather than the default WAV files that come with Windows Mobile.

The only feature that SnoozeAlarm II doesn’t have which I would like to see is a feature to set the alarm to sound on weekdays only. Strangely enough, the built in Windows Mobile alarm does allow for.

Grab your copy for free from Spoontools.com.