Slashdot Mirror
Apple Remote Desktop 2 Released
chasingporsches writes "Today Apple released Apple Remote Desktop 2, a major upgrade of their network management software. New features include new software management support, and VNC support, which allows you to control and view any VNC-enabled Mac, Windows, or UNIX-based machine. Unlimited client price is $499, 10-client $299. It's not available as a free upgrade, but you can get a discounted price if you purchased the previous version today or later."
Even $50-100 off for existing owners would have been a nice bone to throw.
Boo Apple thumbs down hiss boo.
~jeff
Is this a dream or nightmare of an administrator?
There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
Hopefully this isn't a sign of "up-to-date" programs to come, especially with Tiger on the horizon.
Let's compare updates
Windows 95 -> Windows 98 -> Win ME-> Win XP
OSX 10.0 -> OSX 10.1 -> OSX 10.2 -> OSX 10.3
Now I can't imagine why anyone would have "upgraded" to Win ME, but I'll put my 10.1 -> 10.2 upgrade up against that.
Windows charges for updates to its systems as well, the small # of features added in each update make it not worth the cost.
Mac OS X updates typically offer a compelling list of added features and improved system speed.
The OSX full price is comparable to the Windows upgrade price $129 vs. $99. People with 2-5 Macs can buy a Family Plan license for $179.
What compelling feature was added to Win ME that made you want to upgrade from Win 98.
Also, I can sell my old system software on EBay, since I am not upgrading, an upgrading windows user could not.
My other sig is extremely clever...
There are lots of tools that provide this sort of thing for a Unix box, both free and commercial. Hell, rolling your own with expect and ssh is simple; I've done it several times.
Why would a pretty GUI on top of this sort of thing be a nightmare?
I forget what 8 was for.
How insightful. Blame the customer for being poorly informed.
Yes, I will. If people are going to buy a product they need to be well informed about that product, including any planned or upcoming releases. Be intelligent and take responsibility for your decisions. It's not like it was a secret that new stuff was due.
Your statement would make sense if this was the first time Apple did this sort of thing.
Actualy, the more it happens, the more it makes sense that you should be paying attention to product cycles.
I used to have to monitor the spy sites who would watch the plastic production facilities for discontinuing work on current products to know there was a new one on the way from Apple.
Or, you could realize that Apple has a ~6 month product release cycle and not buy new machines without checking up on when the next one's are due.
Another example is their Operating System releases. No direct upgrade path from Jaguar to Panther, and the same looks to be true from Panther to Tiger.
WTF?
Oh sure, every year or two let's sink another $120+ USD into a new OS that isn't more then a glorified SP with a few goodies thrown in to make me giggle.
I see you've subscribed to redhat.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Well, I've bought the upgrades. One thing that's a little different. There is alot of new software out there (games come to mind) that won't work unless you have like 10.2.8 or something, some even 10.3.
I think my point is that for at least 5-6 years game designers and other software companies made sure their software worked on windows 95. What my gripe is, is that there are apparently things missing from each osx (vertex shaders for ati cards) that are missing that get added in a later release.
It seems you need to buy the last release of osx in order to run some new software you may buy, which just seems kind of nuts. In addition, when was the last 10.1 security update?
What do you get upgrading from 98 to ME (I think you lost stuff here)
While ME was a piece of crap, it did add some things that didn't get added to 2000 like Zip folders.
At least MS doesn't sell software that requires XP (anything that requires XP comes with XP). Apple routinely abandons old OSes and sells software that only works with the very latest OS.
Not a bad idea but why the hell would they announce it at a DEVELOPERS conference?? Last year they announced the G5 because it was a huge step for nearly all developers on the Mac platform. Having good information about the forthcoming system was very beneficial to software and hardware developers alike.
But something like this for the iPod is best suited for a consumer-oriented event. There's very little that can currently be done in the way of iPod development by 3rd parties (Apple seems to keep to a few select partners), so I don't see this being a big focus, even for a keynote 'wow'.
It isn't like version you already bought won't work... You bought this software knowning its abilities and decided to pay the money for it. Would it have been nice for Apple to have given you a discount? Yes, absolutely, just about any discount is 'nice'... Do you deserve to bitch and moan because you no longer have the latest ang greatest? No.
Then keep on using your old versions. I know folks still using 10.1 and 10.2. I'd certainly upgrade to 10.2, but 10.3... If it's just a glorified SP, then skip it. No one is making you buy a new OS- nor are they making you upgrade your ARD. If the old one works... USE IT! It has nothing to do with being poorly informed. Since when has Apple had evil applications that expired when a new version came out, forcing you to upgrade whether or not you want to or have the money, why would you assume they would start with that policy now?
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
Windows '98. Windows '98SE. Windows ME.
How are these not charging money for 'service packs'? They were about the same (less, in my opinion) level of refinement over the previous version as different versions of OS X, and cost 3 times as much.
Just because Apple releases small point upgrades rather than gunnysacking them for a while to put together huge "Service packs" doesn't mean Apple doesn't give its users some free upgrades.
This is really biting Apple in the ass that they are changing only the minor number on each version of OS X. I like it better, but it really does seem to be easier to keep the drones complacent if you instead change a number (or set of letters) that has no relation to anything in particular the way Microsoft, Intel, and AMD have been doing lately.
While Microsoft might not abandon old OSes, other vendors are. The latest version of Adobe Premiere, for example, requires Windows XP.