Zero-Install Remote Screen Sharing Apps?

Both as someone who supports online learning and as someone who supports remote users of various software services, I have a keen interest in screen-sharing software and techniques, as these are often the quickest way to diagnose and troubleshoot problems.

Now there are a huge number of good solutions that let you share your own desktop/screen with remote users without requiring them to install any software. I’ve written before about my ongoing fondness for Webdialogs Unyte, and I’ve had good success too with Glance (though it is not free). In addition, you can find good write-ups from Robin Good and a more recent writeup from Online Tech Tips on tools that make it very simple to share your own screen.

The piece I am missing, though, is a simple way to help users having trouble share their screen with me. And simple is the operative word here, ideally meaning no install or other configuration on their end. Of the various solutions mentioned in these articles, SkyFex seems the only one that may fit that bill (though only for Windows, and its website makes me very nervous). Of the others CrossLoop seems promising because it’s install is pretty painless, but the idea is to find a solution that does not burden already troubled users with additional downloads and installs.

It may be that such a beast does not exist. I can imagine a host of technical reasons this may be so. I am also not overly keen on the idea of bringing the user into a system like Adobe Connect/Breeze or WebEx and getting them to share from within there, as the overhead seems just as bad. But before I give up I thought I’d ask you folks – what’s the best way to help remote users share their screen with you, and have you found an easy, no-install way to do this? – SWL