From the makers of LogMeIn Join.me is a web browser-based tool that allows you to share your PC's screen with anyone who has access to the web. The technology used to be known as 'Express', and is aimed at small business and social media users. According to LogMeIn, Join.me is supposed to be simple, fast, easy and light, and to be used by anyone: regardless of ability and the device they are using. Give that company a gold star for fulfilling its aims. To share your screen, simply download a small application to your Windows or Mac OS X PC, and send the 9-digit code generated to your potential collaborator (an email is automatically created). They either click a link in the email, or go to the join.me website and input the code, and they can see your screen.

Via a single click on the Join.me interface you can VoIP or IM your collaborator. You can even give them access to your desktop via the 'Share control' feature, should they need to make changes to whatever you are working on. And because the screen viewer requires only a Flash-enabled web browser, plenty of mobile devices can view your PC's desktop, too.

Security is handled by 256-bit encryption, so no-one can hack in to your sharing session. You have to boot the Join.me utility and give your sharer the code before they can see anything, and you can shut them out at any time, so your data security is in your own hands. Unlike LogMeIn, you cannot use Join.me to access your PC when no-one is there to let you in. It's a simple, two-way street.

And it works fantastically well. Even better, right now Join.me is free. According to Kevin Bardos, VP web collaboration for LogMeIn, when Join.me comes out of beta it will be pay for, but the company will retain a free version. He could give us no steer on what form the pricing would take.

Bardos did promise a Linux version, and one that allows you to share your mobile phone's screen, as well as a Flash-free browser app for Apple's iPad and iPhone. Trust Apple to be awkward.

Credit: Matt Egan@PCadvisor