• Tweet

NetPortal Usage

I started off by downloading NetPortal 1.2 from the Apple Store and then installing it to my iPhone 3GS. Soon after, the application was installed and like most apps, it’s logo appeared on my phone’s home screen. I must admit, the logo certainly doesn’t look amateur being that it looks very professional and in keeping with the existing  Apple buttons.

Once opening NetPortal by clicking its glossy purple logo I proceeded by reading the popup which prompted me to add a connection. This can be done in two ways, either by IP address or Computer Name, I went for the latter of ways as it seemed less complex. Users who belong to a DNS Domain (mostly company networks) are also catered for as an option to enter the DNS Domain suffix is also present. The option to enter the username and password for the machine you’re trying to connect to is optional, therefore, if your phone is stolen or your friends get hold of it, they won’t be able to access your machine without a valid password.

Once a computer / server has been added, its display name and logo will appear in the ‘machines’ page of the app. From this page, you can connect to a machine by clicking its icon and if not stored in the settings page, you will be prompted to enter the username and password for that particular machine.

When connected, you can begin to browse the files and folders on that machine. Browsing is made very simple with the addition of logos and file extensions for certain files and folders.  However, as you’d expect, the application cannot open every possible file type, therefore, what I feel is needed is some sort of indication which lets the user know if NetPortal cannot open that file type before he/she goes and tries to open it. If however you did try and open a file which the app doesn’t support, presently, you are issued with an error prompt.

Like Windows where you can create shortcuts, NetPortal allows you to create ‘Bookmarks’ to specific folders which you can name however you like. This enables you to quickly navigate to a specific folder which may be commonly used.

Two other panes in NetPortal are the ‘Recent’ and ‘Favourites’ sections. These do not link to files or folders on machines, instead they link to machines directly and local storage (iPhone hard drive). This I find a little odd, as most users will probably only connect to one or two machines, so it would seem more beneficial to have links to folders and files too.

Also to make finding folders and files more easily, you can arrange them in three different ways: last modified date, folder or file name and finally or file size. These are the main organisational structures most people use and simply speeds up browsing for a specific file/folder.

To satisfy us geeks, who like to fiddle, Stratospherix have created a Config page inside the app for light tinkering. Here, you are able to set whether system/hidden files are shown, change DNS and user settings,  set start-up preferences and also view how much space is available and how much is used up on the iPhone’s hard drive.

Related posts:

1. Hyperdesk DarkMatter: Subspace Hypersuite for Windows Vista
2. Microsoft ordered to stop selling Word by Judge
3. Microsoft Blacklists Leaked OEM Windows 7 Key
4. Microsoft Unveils Office 2010, Free Online
5. MobileMe Gets Even Worse