Remotely Control A Computer through your Android Smartphone

I have the tendency of going around the class while lecturing. I hate the idea of always being in front of the computer while having a lecture. I need to interact with them more. Having a PowerPoint slides in any class is a must. However, concentrating too much on the computer and the slides will only leave a feeling of unprofessionalism. So I decided to install a remote control app in my Samsung Galaxy S smartphone in order to remotely control my PC during the lecture. So I could be able to change slide  and open other application from somewhere else.
The DIY activity requires;

1. an Android smartphone,
2. a computer (I’m using Dell Studio 14 with Windows 7, 64bit),
3. PCRemote Advance client (installed in the phone – download from ),
4. PCRemote server (installed in the PC – download from ),
5. and wireless network (PCRemote also capable of handling Bluetooth connection. However I found out that by using Bluetooth the response is very slow).

STEP 1 – Connecting through the WiFi network
Make sure both PC and phone are connected to the same wireless network. If you don’t have a WiFi connection, you can turn your PC into a WiFi Hotspot (access point). However you need to install another software which is available from another tutorial – http://blog.kerul.net/2011/03/turn-laptop-into-wifi-hotspot.html .

STEP 2 – Install and configure PCRemote server (in the PC)
In order for the phone to be able to communicate to the PC, we need to install the PCRemote server (available at http://feishare.com/android/pcremote).

After finish download, turn on the server, and you’ll see this window.

Please set the Default file for Media Player and PowerPoint.

STEP 3 – Install PCRemote Advance (in the smartphone)
Activate Android Market in your phone, and search for PCRemote. There are two versions of PCRemote, regular and Advance. Both are free.  I chose to install PCRemote Advance. The different is just that in Advance it is supported by ads, while in the regular version, you could donate.

After installing the app, you’ll see this screen.

Tap on the Discovery Server (first) menu to detect the PC you’d like to remotely control.

Tap on the “Click me to auto discovery” to find your PC (which you have installed PCRemote server as in STEP 2).

You will see the “Network: Connected to IP_ADDRESS”, or sometimes the IP_ADDRESS is the computer name. It means that your phone now is a PC remote controller.
This menu is to control Powerpoint slide.
To control the volume, or playing and stopping video.
Use this to control the mouse movement.
Hope this article helps.

Why don’t just buy a slide remote controller?    I got too many gadgets already, wireless mouse, a broadband modem, a USB external hard disk, a satellite speaker, a USB phone charger, etc. Too many gadgets for only 2 slots of USB in my DELL Studio 14.