Sreen sharing...searched forums, but i am still confused

Question

I have enabled in system preferences for another 10.5.7 user to share my screen. I assigned him a password and sent him the IP address. But now we are confused....how does he actually get to my mac...sorry if i am being brain dead here.....but i don't even know how to use ichat.

Answer 1

Unless you need to allow this other user to share/access your screen when you are not there, you don't need to have enabled anything in system preferences. The both of you could do this from iChat.
So here are two condensed primers on "attended" screen sharing and "unattended" screen sharing:
1. "Attended" screen sharing: You both are at your computers and you both have video-capable iChat and you both are currently engaged in a video chat with one another. In iChat's menubar, under "Buddies", there is a "Share My screen" choice and a "Ask to Share (my buddy's) Remote Screen." You select one or the other depending on who's doing what and follow the prompts. I've only done that once myself, so can't remember all the particulars about ending screen sharing and regaining video (as I recall, the camera video was preempted to carry the remote screen) but I believe audio was still carried, certainly text chat was still carried. You both need to have AOL instant message accounts (sign up at https://new.aol.com/freeaolweb?ncid=snsuswebr00000034&promocode=825297). You do not need to download any AOL/AIM software; iChat has all the functionality needed. Then launch iChat and follow the prompts to enter your AIM account information.
2. "Unattended" screen sharing:
(a) iChax: this is a third-party application or plug-in that enhances iChat's functionality. I am not personally familiar with it but as I understand it, it has the ability to auto-answer inbound iChat requests and do screen sharing when you're not there. Also, as I understand it, you need to have your computer on, you need to be logged in and you need to have iChat running.
(b) System Preferences Sharing screen sharing: you do what you have already said you have done, and from the friend's Finder, on the menubar under "Go," the friend chooses "Connect to Server" and at the prompt, enters: vnc://yourComputer'sIPaddress
Your computer's IP address will be the address that your computer echos back when you visit http://checkip.dyndns.com.
This still won't work until you have set up port forwarding in your home router, forwarding port 5900 to your home computer. Depending on your router, you may need to have set up your home LAN to assign static IP addresses, at least to the computers to which you are forwarding ports. Look at your router's user guide to find out what you have to do in order to configure your router to forward port 5900 to your computer. You could also refer to http://www.portforward.com/ but I don't think that all the info there is 100% infallible. Your best choice would be the router's user guide.
Your computer needs to be on, but you don't need to be logged in.