KDE Connect

Pros

• Shares files over multiple devices running different platforms
• Includes a presentation mode
• Allows users to push URLs to mobile phones
• Processes Android notifications from a desktop PC

Cons

• Interface primarily designed for GNU/Linux users
• Virtual touchpad can be somewhat unwieldy

KDE Connect is a data transfer application that lets users share files and information over a local network. It's a port of a GNU/Linux application that's been partially optimized to work with PCs running Microsoft Windows. Those who deploy multiple types of system software can use it to share materials between different devices seamlessly.

Since it's in the repositories of many major GNU/Linux distros, users shouldn't have any trouble getting a client version installed after they've configured the server version on their Windows machine. Admittedly, the Windows version does still have the look and feel of the K Desktop Environment and doesn't really appear that much like a native app. Many users will appreciate this, however, since in some ways it's actually better designed than most other apps in the file sharing space.

Users of Android mobile device users can install a client version on their phones as well, which they can then use to control the full-sized implementation on a networked Windows machine. Virtual touchpad functionality makes it relatively easy to control a PC from a phone using KDE Connect, though most users will have to practice for a while before they get used to the exact gestures needed to manipulate software on their home machines. Few people would ever want to write code this way, but it's possible to start up a Windows Command Prompt session doing so.

Since KDE Connect relies on a slick implementation of the TLS encryption standard, the software normally keeps any packets sent through it relatively safe. When it mounts a storage device, it uses SFTP to send and receive files, which is much safer than the original FTP implementation that's actually blocked in many modern routers.

Shared clipboard functionality makes it possible to copy and paste text or any other material between all of the devices that are connected to a single KDE Connect session. As a result, it's possible to read and reply to Android push notifications without ever leaving Windows. Creative users might even be able to turn KDE Connect into a sort of mobile phone remote application that lets them control a media player on their Windows or GNU/Linux box much the same way they'd manipulate a television set.

Presentation slides are every bit as flexible once they're loaded into KDE Connect. Users can switch back and forth between them using a few gestures on their phone. The Windows application they're using to display their slide deck should respond the same way it would if they'd used a keyboard.

Networking devices together couldn't be much easier than KDE Connect makes it, especially for users who are willing to spend some time messing around with configuration files.

Pros

• Shares files over multiple devices running different platforms
• Includes a presentation mode
• Allows users to push URLs to mobile phones
• Processes Android notifications from a desktop PC

Cons

• Interface primarily designed for GNU/Linux users
• Virtual touchpad can be somewhat unwieldy