What I needed, at least until we worked out a solution that would let my new son get the sleep he needed while still giving me access to my computer during the evening, was a way to access the main computer even when I couldn't necessarily access my office.

Enter remote access software. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical that it would even work at first. You know how things are with computers -- there's ALWAYS something that gets screwed up and requires some calls to a support line. (And if you're lucky, whoever is on the other end of the line will actually speak the same language as you.)

So it was with that in mind that I downloaded and installed some of the remote access packages that I found online. I'll get to the ones that I think are the absolute best in the second, but first I just wanted to give you an idea of how these things work.

So, like I said, here I was all ready to be completely frustrated because this plug-in or that update or the other pre-requisite software wasn't installed properly and the installation of my remote access software wasn't going to work as it should.

I could not have been more wrong. I am not kidding when I tell you that this was one of the first times I had ever truly been blown away by what a piece of software could do.

I would say it took probably about 10 minutes before I was completely set up, logged in, and -- I am NOT kidding you -- controlling my desktop computer from my laptop. Now, I want to be clear about this -- I'm not talking about "sort of" or "virtually" being able to get to files on my main computer. I'm talking about literally controlling that computer, and everything about it, remotely.

I'm pretty lucky because, as I said, I do get to work from home, so in a true emergency if I really ever needed to get back into my office to get to my computer I certainly could (my son would have just had to miss a few minutes of sleep that night). But for people who don't have it as good as I do -- who live 15 minutes or half an hour or a full hour away from their office -- I can see how this kind of program could be an absolute lifesaver. Not to mention a relationship saver if your significant other doesn't like your workaholic tendencies.

All in all I do have to say that remote access software in general is some of the most impressive stuff I've come across in recent years (the other being voice-recognition dictation software -- but that's for another article; you wouldn't believe this stuff!) and it definitely does work as advertised, as long as you get a quality package.