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Apple Releases Remote Desktop 3
Dan Uricoli writes to tell us MacFixIt is reporting that today Apple computer has released remote desktop 3 " Some of the new or updated features include; a Remote Spotlight search, Dashboard widget, Curtain mode, user history reports, and more.
In a related story Microsoft announced that Windows Vista Remote Desktop will ship in 18 - 24 months.
Using ARD as a VNC server was "challenging" enough that everyone just installed the open source osxvnc instead.
Improvements were in order.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
I notice this costs money and is priced by how many computers it can manage. Is this the Mac equivalent for Windows Remote Desktop or is this more of an administrative tool?
This is still hundreds of dollars. While Microsoft's Remote Desktop product is still free with most versions of Windows, and Linux still comes with Remote Desktop like functionality still universally built in. And heck, even on OS X you can rig something for free if you're willing to muck about with configuring VNC.
I can't help but think this is taking Apple Remote Desktop from something that would be a great and useful tool to something ignored and forgotten. Apple doesn't seem to realize that "mac networks" as not-infrequently existed ten years ago don't exist at all anymore. There are no longer Mac system administrators chomping at the bit for improved software to administer and keep track of their networks. The Mac's primary problem in that realm right now is just convincing system administrators to use it, or even in some cases just convincin them to allow a mac on their Windows-only network. Those networks that are mac-only are likely small and running on a shoestring budget. In these contexts, what use is it to commit resources to something like Apple Remote Desktop? It seems like the kind of thing that's a great solution in a large-scale mac-only network, but that's the kind of thing that only exists anymore... at Apple Computer's headquarters. It's kind of like SunRay, Sun's fantastic thin client solution which Sun's own offices use, and no-one else anywhere does.
If Apple moved Remote Desktop into the OS and made it free and universal, like Linux and Windows do, I'm sure it would be widely used. But as an expensive standalone... hell, I've never even encountered someone who uses this thing. You can't simultaneously beg for customers and try to charge those customers $499.
See the one in the lower right of the picture here? winxp.apple.com... Yet, no where does it specify that ARD works on Windows machines.
"Don't want your admin tasks to be seen? No problem, turn on the new Curtain Mode to block the local user's view of their desktop. This is perfect when you're updating a public display."
It would of course be fun to have a curtain drop on the user's screen. Fix what the user screwed up and then have the curtain and "house lights" go up with a ta-da! sound. The mystery of how IT performs its functions is safe.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
That was my first thought as well? WTF? VNC and RDP are Free!
But...Look deeper and you'll see if offers moree than just basic remote access. http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/
When you consider what comes built into Active Directory and XP I agree it seems a bit odd to pay for this. But on the other hand look at it this way, the unlimited Edition is only $499. Compare that to how much a few hundred Macs cost and this becomes a no brainer.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
See subject
Oh wait...there is no upgrade pricing.
That sucks.
True. Photoshop should come bundled too.
Curtain -> Locks the client and hides from view the client's screen while you control the client computer. Widget -> using Mac OS X Tiger's Dashboard, to provide an easy way to observe the screens of client computers. You dont have to have ARD3 open to use the widget. The Application Usage -> reports that have been in use (any user account on the client) and chronology of when applications were active.
Continuing to release a piece of software nobody wants forever is exactly the kind of thing Apple would do. Ever hear of OpenDoc?
Ok, maybe I'm just dumb, but isn't this just a glorified VNC client and maybe server? I mean, all this stuff about putting the remote computer to sleep, waking it up, remote spotlight search, etc. is stuff I do all the time using a free vnc server and client. The only real differences I see is that this has the ability to not just lock the remote user out, but to make your actions invisible. Also, the screenshot shows that you can manage multiple computers at once. So it seems to me that unless you really need to be looking at more than one computer at a time or really don't want to let your user know how to do whatever it is your doing, then your better off just saving 300 bucks and downloading a free vnc client/server.
This is not a sig. This is a llama-duck. Quack.
Still trying to figure out if this the the big 30th anniversary surprise everyone insists Apple is going to release? Or was it Boot Camp, or the recent OSX 10.4 update and iPod volume control. I can't tell. Did Apple even remember it was their Anniversary? Or, did they ignore it like everybody else and feverently working on their Invisi iPod?
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
For those who are Apple consultants (like me), Specialists, or other folks with ASW (Apple Sales Web) access, it's already been posted there as a .dmg file with a pair of serial numbers that expire at year-end. One caution, though - I installed the update over a copy of 2.2 that I'd done the Rosetta hack on to make it run on my MacBook Pro - after I installed the new version it would not recognize my existing version's application password. I had to re-enter the ID and passwords for all the various Macs I manage - fortunately I had almost all of them written down!
.plist doesn't work). I only have 40-odd machines to keep track of, but this could be an issue for folks with more who already put the older version on an Intel Mac.
Interestingly, installing the same update on my older PowerBook didn't cause any problems, and the whole list imported properly. Not a super big deal overall, except ARD gives you no way to save the usernames and passwords for transfer (moving the
That said, it is definitely an improvement on the older version. And, unlike most older ARD revs, it manages older client versions just fine. You give up the new encryption feature when you do so (no biggie if you connect via a VPN anyway), and I don't know what else yet, but it's reasonably slick thus far.
For those of you wondering "why does Apple charge for this when Windows gives you Remote Desktop for free?", ARD is not really analogous to Windows' Remote Desktop. To get what Windows gives you, just use any VNC viewer with the built-in VNC client on the Mac. ARD is intended for network administrators, and the remote control features are almost a bonus. Package management, reporting, and all that sort of fun stuff is what you get with ARD.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
That hyperlink technology is definitely useful, but it is patented, so use it sparingly!
Try managing a 100-seat Mac lab with VNC.
See Subject
"This is Zombo Com, and welcome to you who have come to Zombo Com" - www.zombo.com
Is there a keyboard shortcut (yet) to go into / out-of full-screen mode? 90% of the time I don't want/need/use full-screen mode, but I find it odd that I have to disconnect, go into preferences, choose the Control/Observe tab, change the option, and re-connect ... all to get into / out-of full-screen mode.
Every other type of application that gives you a remote has some settable option to do this...
Am I missing something (ARD 2.2)?
-Kurt
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
Come on people. This remote desktop is just an interface for the OS. Even MS gives their remote desktop away for free. I think it's ridiculous that Apple wants so much money for it.
-- Cheers!
I started using ARD 2.2 about 3 weeks ago and I love it. So I was keen to get hold of the latest version, however after visiting the UK Apple store and talking to customer services I find not only is there not a free or min cost upgrade for recent purchases, but there isn't an upgrade path of any kind. I think someone at Apple has forgotten something. Mark
For all of you who are shrieking about how outrageously overpriced ARD seems to be, compared to the "free" Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection or VNC, a few important points that nobody else has managed to mention:
VNC only does ONE thing: it allows remote control of machines graphically (screen sharing). In order to do any of the things one might wish to do to a remote machine, you have to SEE its desktop and perform those tasks as if you were actually sitting at the other computer. There is no way to perform tasks simultaneously on multiple remote computers, or to simply send instructions to the remote computer, except by controlling it and manually performing them using mouse/keyboard just as you would if you were sitting there. The VNC protocol is essentially bitmapped and everything being done - every frame of every screenful of data - has to be transmitted continuously, and all you get is a mirror image of the remote computer's screen.
RDC is functionally similar to VNC, with the following additions:
(1) In addition to screen sharing, you can also optionally map your printers and disks so that they appear on the remote computer while you're controlling it, so you could, for instance, print a work document and send it to your printer wherever you happen to be at, or put a software installation CD in your drive wherever you happen to be at, and then install that software onto the remote computer because it would also appear in its My Computer as an available drive. Likewise, you can map sounds on the remote computer to yours so that you can hear them.
(2) The RDC protocol is (for lack of a better term) vector-based, meaning that instead of transmitting the remote computer's screen image pixel-by-pixel, this is all performed using the RDC display language. To use an anology, if VNC is a bitmapped inkjet printer, RDC is a postscript printer. This makes the RDC protocol much faster, and remote control is significantly snappier and more responsive as a result. This also means that the desktop you are controlling does not need to be appear identically on both machines; consequently, if the remote computer has a giant widescreen monitor and you're connecting to it on a laptop with a much smaller screen, you don't have to choose between everything being scaled down in size to fit or having to scroll around in order to view the total desktop area; the placement of the taskbar and desktop icons will be adjusted to fit your screen's size.
Comparing RDC and VNC, they mostly have the same features and work the same way: whatever you need to accomplish on the remote computer has to be done by screen sharing and performing the tasks as if you were sitting at the other machine.
Apple Remote Desktop is a VASTLY different product.
First of all, yes, ARD does have a screen sharing capability, just like VNC and RDC, and apparently uses a VNC server as the underlying mechanism. The ARD client component has been a standard part of Mac OS X since Panther (10.3) and can be installed on any other machines free of charge. So any Mac can BE controlled remotely either right out of the box or by installing the client which doesn't have a cost. Any Mac can CONTROL another one with any VNC client, without purchasing any copies of the full ARD product for either machine. Of course, if you do have the full ARD product, it allows you to remotely control any other computer that either has the ARD client OR is running the VNC server, including *nix and Windows machines.
However, beyond screen sharing, ARD does a ton of other things that neither RDC or VNC do at all, period, including:
(1) A huge number of tasks can be performed on a remote computer simply by transmitting commands to that computer -- NOT by viewing its screen and then manually performing the task. This includes everything from shutting a machine down to installing software packages and executing UNIX commands and shell scripts. NONE of these tasks require you to actually view the remote computer's sc
Kill the troll's karma already. Maybe he'll learn to RTFA next time
The "client" ( server? ) is free, and is built into the operating system. You can click a button, and it can then be controlled by any VNC client. What have you gained here?
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PS. This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...
/. is good for you.