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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.

5 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Remote desktop came out with XP by xswl0931 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    See subject

  2. Re:Still fricking expensive, though by mstahl · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Those networks that are mac-only are likely small and running on a shoestring budget.

    I don't know where you've been looking for mac-only networks but obviously you have never stepped foot inside a company in the creative industries. Photography, design, print, and graphics happen almost exclusively in mac-only environments (such as the one I work in). Our IT department (and likely many, many others in similar companies around the world) uses ARD to remotely install software so that a technician doesn't have to come over from the other building just to sit and wait for installs to happen.

    In addition, ARD is used extensively in mac-only computer labs on University campuses everywhere. It can be used to allow a single person to sit at a desk in front of the lab and read questions from users in the form of administrator messages. It saves the trouble of having to search in a lab for someone who needs help and it allows an administrator to better multitask while helping students.

    Don't assume that just because you personally don't have a use for something that it's useless. If there weren't a multitude of sites that used ARD version 2 and were all willing to purchase licenses for it, Apple wouldn't bother to come out with a third version.

  3. Re:Still fricking expensive, though by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I use ARD 2 faithfully it is a great product that was WAY more capabilites than windows remote desktop, I can manage and view the screen of up to 72 workstations at a time (great for a school envirnment), I can roll out software updates to all clients with one click, run shell scripts on 2000 OSX computers with one click.

    I look forward to using ARD for doing things such as dynamicly rolling out software, for example you can say "Make sure all eMacs with 512MB ram or greater install office 2004 when they boot up on the lan" and from that point on any computer fitting that description (with ARD enabled) will autmaticly download and install office 2004 from the admin machine. (yes I know you can do this with AD, but until now I havn't seen anything that can do it nicely on a MAc) I can run software usage reports to collect data on all applications that are run on the network over a given time period great for making recomendations on what software is used enough to purchase updates for and what software is hardly being utilized. I can copy a file or a string of text on a client (or admin machine) than paste it on the other ARD3 will send the copy / paste data back and forth (this I have not seen anywhere).

    With ARD I can run a small script to collect all client computer information (location, computer name, printers, mac addy) than when I re-image a school full of computers run another script that configures all the machines. imaging, than configuring 150 computers in a day complete with their proper names and default printer configurations is incredibly powerful and because the machines are Macs I can do it all from a single image no mater what mix of iMacs, eMacs, G5 towers etc.. are in the system.

    I could go on but I have to go order my copy of ARD 3.

  4. Re:LOL @ Curtain Mode by Ryan+Amos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Mystery? You mean the fact that I have to sacrifice newborns to Steve Ballmer get my exchange server to not crash once a week?

  5. Re:Still fricking expensive, though by Fulg · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As the other respondant has noted, you don't need to install anything; it's already installed in OS X 10.3+; just open the preference pane and configure it.

    WTF! You mean that all this time, I was fighting with osxvnc for NOTHING?!

    *runs over to the Mac running 10.4*

    Wow. Indeed this works quite well from the Win32 VNCviewer. I always believed you had to buy ARD to do this (and then only control Macs from other Macs, not cross-platform like I'm doing now with VNC).

    Thanks a bunch, even though you now make me feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner :)

    --
    gcc: no input sig