I am typing this paragraph remotely on my home Windows PC, using an iPad in the middle of a Macy's in a mall, over the Internet. I am using the latest PC version of Microsoft Word for Windows, which doesn't run on the iPad. Yet I have full access to all of its features and to the computer's file system and other programs, and I am able to use them via the iPad's touch gestures and keyboard, without a stylus. The iPad is controlling the PC, which is a couple of miles away。

你現(xiàn)在看到的這段話，是我在一家梅西百貨(Macy's)店里，通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)用一部iPad在我的Windows家用電腦上打出來的。我還使用了不與iPad兼容的最新的Windows PC版Microsoft Word文檔，不過我卻能使用它的所有功能，也能訪問電腦上的文件系統(tǒng)和其他程序，而且還能不用手寫筆、而是通過iPad的觸控手勢和虛擬鍵盤來使用它們。是的，我是在用iPad控制幾英里外的PC電腦。

This feat was made possible by a new iPad app I've been testing called Parallels Access, released Tuesday, which can remotely control either a Mac or a Windows PC. It isn't the only iPad app that can remotely control computers, but of the ones I've tested, it does the best job of treating the computer programs it accesses as if they were iPad apps, without sacrificing functionality. The programs continue to reside on the computer。

讓這一創(chuàng)舉變成可能的是一款名為“Parallels Access”的新款iPad應(yīng)用，最近我一直在測試它。這款應(yīng)用于8月末發(fā)布，它可讓你遠程操控Mac或Windows PC電腦。它并非唯一一款可遠程操控電腦的iPad應(yīng)用，但在我測試過的應(yīng)用中，它在像處理iPad應(yīng)用一樣順暢處理它訪問的電腦程序、同時又不犧牲功能這方面是表現(xiàn)最好的。那些程序都繼續(xù)保留在電腦中。

Parallels, a company based in Seattle that's best known for its namesake program that allows Macs to run Windows, calls this 'appifying' your computer programs. What it means by this is that it adapts them to the iPad's familiar interface, including app launching, touch gestures, scrolling and text selection。

它的開發(fā)商是西雅圖Parallels公司，該公司最知名的產(chǎn)品是可使Mac電腦運行Windows程序的Parallels軟件。該公司稱Parallels Access就是將你的電腦程序“蘋果化”，意思就是使那些程序適應(yīng)iPad的常見界面，包括應(yīng)用的啟動、觸控手勢、頁面的滾動和文本選擇等。

Unlike many others, it 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。

與其他許多應(yīng)用不同，它不會強迫你不斷去嘗試和模擬為大多數(shù)電腦程序設(shè)計的精確的鼠標指針。它像運行iPad應(yīng)用一樣運行這些電腦程序，用全屏并且以iPad的分辨率將它們顯示出來，同時它還保留了完整的功能和在打開的電腦程序和窗口之間進行切換的功能。它在無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)和蜂窩網(wǎng)絡(luò)的環(huán)境下均能運行。

Despite some drawbacks, Parallels Access is a very good way to make your iPad more of a productivity tool and to integrate it with your computer, without forcing you to use your iPad the same way you would use a computer。

盡管它存在一些缺陷，Parallels Access仍不失為一個加強iPad的實用功能并使它與電腦融合的非常好的方法，而且它也不會強迫你以使用電腦的方式去使用你的iPad。

The two biggest drawbacks involve price and file transfers. Access costs a hefty $80 per computer per year, though there's a two-week free trial for every Mac you use. For Windows machines, it's free for 90 days because compatibility with Windows is still in the beta phase (though it worked quite well in my tests)。

Parallels Access最大的兩個缺點是價格和文件傳輸問題。它的價格高達每臺電腦每年80美元，不過每臺Mac電腦能有兩周的免費試用期。至于Windows電腦，由于與Windows的兼容功能仍處于測試階段(盡管它在我的測試中運行得非常不錯)，它的試用期達90天。

Also, the app cannot yet directly move files from computers to your iPad, though the company is working on it. For now, to get a file from the computer to the iPad, you have to remotely call up the computer's email program and send it to yourself on the iPad, or upload it via a file-sharing service like Dropbox on the computer, and then retrieve it from the Dropbox or similar app on the iPad。

此外，盡管Parallels公司正在努力解決這個問題，但該應(yīng)用現(xiàn)在還無法直接將文件從電腦傳到你的iPad上。就眼下而言，若要把文件從電腦傳到iPad上，你得遠程調(diào)用電腦上的郵件程序，然后在iPad上把它發(fā)給你自己，或者在電腦上通過Dropbox這樣的文件共享應(yīng)用將文件上傳，然后在iPad上用Dropbox或類似的應(yīng)用檢索文件。

Another limitation: It doesn't work on Android. The company says it is considering an Android tablet version of Access, but has no immediate plans to release one。

它的另一個局限是，現(xiàn)在它還無法在安卓系統(tǒng)(Android)上運行。Parallels公司稱它正在考慮開發(fā)安卓系統(tǒng)平板電腦版的Parallels Access，但暫時還沒有發(fā)布該應(yīng)用的計劃。

Here's how it works. First, you download the free app to your iPad, then you install a small companion utility on your Mac or PC, which runs in the background. Then you fire up the Access iPad app and you see a home screen with all of the available computers. Just click on one and the iPad takes it over. The link is established over a secure, encrypted connection, and you can opt to lock the computer and blank out its screen during the remote-control session. You can also opt to require the use of the computer's login credentials。

現(xiàn)在就介紹一下Parallels Access的運行方式。首先，將免費應(yīng)用下載到iPad上，然后在你的Mac或PC電腦上安裝一個在后臺運行的配對小程序。接下來，啟動iPad上的Parallels Access后，你就會看到一個顯示所有可連接電腦的主屏界面，點擊選定一臺電腦，你就可以通過iPad來操控它了。你可通過安全的加密連接方式來連接電腦，也可選擇在遠程操控期間鎖定電腦，讓屏幕顯示為空白。你還可選擇要求使用電腦的登錄憑證。

Once you have the computer on your iPad screen, you don't see its normal desktop, with tiny icons generally meant for a mouse pointer. Instead, you see a Launcher screen in which your Mac or PC apps are presented like large, iPad app icons. You can add or remove app icons。

開始在iPad屏幕上操控電腦時，你看到的并非平常那種電腦桌面：桌面上排列著一個個通常用鼠標指針來點擊的小圖標。在你看到的主界面上，你的Mac或PC電腦上的應(yīng)用顯示成了像iPad應(yīng)用那樣的大圖標。你可以添加或刪除應(yīng)用的圖標。

You tap an icon and the program -- like iPhoto or Microsoft Excel -- appears in full-screen view on the iPad. I tested a wide variety of Mac and PC apps and all worked fine via Access, with almost no lag, even over a 4G cellular connection。

點擊圖標后，對應(yīng)的程序(比如iPhoto或Microsoft Excel)就會在iPad上全屏顯示。我測試了大量不同的Mac和PC應(yīng)用，它們通過Parallels Access都運行得挺順暢，幾乎沒有滯后，在4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)環(huán)境下也是如此。

Access places a small toolbar at the edge of the screen, which can be moved or hidden. This can take you back to the Launcher, bring up a bar at the bottom that lets you switch among apps and windows, and brings up the iPad keyboard, which is augmented with special keys the iPad lacks, but computers use. These include Escape, Tab, function keys, Control, Alt, arrow keys and the Window key on PCs or the Command key on Macs。

Parallels Access在屏幕邊緣設(shè)計了一列小工具欄，它可被移動或隱藏。它可以讓你跳轉(zhuǎn)至主界面，調(diào)出屏幕底部一列可讓你在各應(yīng)用和窗口間進行切換的圖標，還可調(diào)出iPad虛擬鍵盤，它增加了iPad缺乏、但普通電腦采用的特殊鍵，包括Escape、Tab、各功能鍵、Control、Alt和方向鍵，以及PC上的Windows鍵或Mac上的Command鍵。

The toolbar can bring up settings, which allow you to go into mouse mode, just like a PC; reveal the whole desktop; and display the special keys without the whole keyboard。

這個工具欄可讓你進行設(shè)置：你可以選擇進入鼠標模式，就像在PC電腦上一樣;可以顯示整個桌面;可以顯示特定的鍵而不是整個鍵盤。

I was able hear the sound on the iPad from audio and video files, and select various menu items and icons. Access invisibly modifies things like small toolbar icons so that, even if you tap on them imprecisely, they still activate. I even dictated text using the iPad into a program on the remote Windows PC。

我能在iPad上聽到音頻和視頻文件的聲音，還能選擇不同的菜單項和圖標。Parallels Access還悄悄修改了工具欄小圖標這樣的東西，以便讓你在即使沒點準圖標時仍能啟動程序。我甚至還通過iPad向遠程Windows PC上的一個程序口述輸入了文本。

Parallels Access really shines when typing. I was able to type easily on the remote programs。

Parallels Access在打字方面確實有出眾表現(xiàn)，我能在遠程程序上輕松地打字。

When you select text, it brings up the standard iPad selection handles and the standard black iPad control bar for things like copying and pasting, just as if you were in a standard iPad app. For more precise selection, it brings up the standard iPad magnifying glass feature, and if held down a bit longer, it even places a mouse pointer inside the magnifier. I used this to resize a photo in a Word document. (This particular task takes some practice。)

如果你想選擇文本，它會調(diào)出標準的iPad文本選擇抓取點，以及控制復(fù)制和粘貼操作的標準的iPad黑色控制列，它就和使用標準的iPad應(yīng)用一樣。若想進行更精確的選擇，它還會調(diào)出標準的iPad放大鏡功能，長按文本后，放大鏡內(nèi)甚至還會出現(xiàn)一個鼠標指針。我利用它在一個Word文檔中調(diào)整了一幅圖片的大小。(此任務(wù)需稍加練習(xí)。)

The program includes many touch gestures and taps. A two-finger tap acts like clicking the right button on a mouse and other simple gestures allow things like dragging and dropping。

該程序包括許多觸控手勢和點擊手勢。例如，雙手指點擊相當(dāng)于點擊鼠標的右鍵，其他一些簡單的手勢可以實現(xiàn)拖放這樣的操作。

For Windows 8, Parallels Access places both traditional programs and the Start-screen touch apps together in the Launcher, so you don't have to switch modes. In my tests, it worked well with both kinds of programs. On the Mac, if you are using Parallels Desktop to run Windows programs side by side with Mac programs, both types of programs show up on the Launcher and can be used remotely。

針對Windows 8系統(tǒng)，Parallels Access將傳統(tǒng)程序和開始屏幕上的觸控程序一同安排在主界面上，這樣一來你就不必切換模式。在我的測試中，它在這兩種程序中均運行得不錯。在Mac電腦上，如果你想在Mac程序之外再用Parallels Desktop來運行Windows程序，這兩種程序都會在主界面上顯示，而且均可遠程使用。

I ran into zero glitches when controlling a Mac remotely. And even though the Windows access is in beta, I ran into only two glitches: a single instance of jittery scrolling in a photo program on the remote PC, and a single instance of lack of audio from the iPad when playing one of many videos I tested remotely。

在遠程操控Mac電腦時，我沒有遇到任何故障。即使是在使用測試版的Windows程序的過程中，我也只遇到了兩個故障：一個是遠程PC上的一個圖片程序在滾動時出現(xiàn)抖動;另一個是在播放我遠程測試的眾多視頻時，iPad上有一個音頻沒有聲音。

If you're willing to pay the money, Parallels Access is an excellent way to make remotely controlling a Mac or PC from an iPad a frustration-free experience。

總之，如果你愿意花錢的話，Parallels Access是你順心地通過iPad遠程操控Mac或PC電腦的絕佳方式。