I haven't read all the above posts, just skimmed through them, but something like RealVNC could have done the job quite nicely, and it is even possible that realvnc was already installed on the systems, i know of a few admins who use realvnc to help them manage their networks, and I have used notepad to chat to people when I am using VNC to help them fix their PC's

edit:
GM: No, the graphical remote viewer works frame by frame. It's a Java application, so there's nothing to save on your hard drive, or at least if it is, only one frame at a time.

SK: So did you get the one frame?

GM: No.

SK: What happened?

GM: Once I was cut off, my picture just disappeared.

SK: You were actually cut off the time you were downloading the picture?

GM: Yes, I saw the guy's hand move across.
This would fit VNC quite nicely

edit2: My bad I should have watched it first... he says he was using this http://www.remotelyanywhere.com/