RealVNC released its flagship VNC product for the Raspberry to coincide with the device's birthday at the end of last month, enabling users to connect to their Pi from any Windows, Mac or Linux computer. Once VNC has been downloaded to the Pi, users can apply a free license or, for an enhanced set of features, a personal or enterprise license.
Raspberry Pi users will also be able to connect to their Pi from an iPad, iPhone, Android or Chrome device by downloading RealVNC's free VNC Viewer app, which is available in the Apple App Store, Google Play or the Chrome web store.
VNC can be used with Raspberry Pi in two ways. If the Raspberry Pi is connected to a monitor or TV and is running a graphical desktop, the connected user can see exactly what a user sitting in front of the Pi would see - to support generic remote access and also good for sharing a screen with a friend, for instance. If the Pi is not running a graphical desktop, then graphical remote access can still be obtained by creating a virtual desktop instead - "ideal for users who have built their Pi into a robot", said RealVNC.
"We were inspired by the Raspberry Pi community and how it has changed the way people interact with computers," said Andy Harter, CEO of RealVNC. "We're delighted that VNC is now available on another platform and excited about becoming part of the Raspberry Pi story. It has become way more than a little computer, there are ever increasing applications of the technology and we're looking forward to VNC growing this further."