TidBITS#747/20-Sep-04
=====================
We need to work through some control issues this week: Adam
reviews Apple Remote Desktop 2.0, which lets you control other
Macs and much more, while we also announce the publication of
Take Control of Panther Volume 1, a new print collection of
our first four ebooks, along with the Japanese translation
of Take Control of Users & Accounts in Panther. Also in this
issue, Yahoo gets into the online music business by purchasing
MusicMatch, and we cover the releases of Ovolab's Phlink 1.5
and Apple's Security Update 2004-09-16.
Topics:
MailBITS/20-Sep-04
Yahoo Shells Out $160 Million for MusicMatch
Take Control Expands to Print
Passing the Remote to Apple Remote Desktop 2.0
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/20-Sep-04
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-747.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2004/TidBITS#747_20-Sep-04.etx>
Copyright 2004 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
<http://www.tidbits.com/terms/> Contact: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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MailBITS/20-Sep-04
------------------
**Security Update 2004-09-07 1.1 Fixes FTP & Safari** -- Just
after we put last week's issue to bed with a warning about
Security Update 2004-09-07 1.0, Apple released Security Update
2004-09-07 version 1.1, which offers two important fixes.
First, the update changes the Safari version number to provide
compatibility with Web sites that improperly identified Safari
as a different browser; Apple also offers advice on detecting
Safari's user-agent string and on object detection. The 1.1
version of the security update also fixes the installation of
the FTP server (it turns out that tnftpd is just a renamed version
of lukemftpd, if you were confused) to eliminate the user login
problems, and in our testing this appears to be true. The 1.1
version of the security update ranges in size (depending on your
version of Mac OS X) from 7.1 MB to 12.6 MB and is available via
Software Update and Apple's Software Downloads page. There are
no other changes from the 1.0 version, but we can now recommend
that everyone install it. [ACE]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07809>
<http://www.apple.com/support/security/security_updates.html>
<http://developer.apple.com/Internet/safari/safari_faq.html#anchor2>
<http://developer.apple.com/Internet/webcontent/objectdetection.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/>
**Security Update 2004-09-16 Fixes iChat Vulnerability** -- Apple
last week released Security Update 2004-09-16 via Software Update
and as separate downloads. The update includes a new version of
iChat that fixes a potential problem whereby someone could send
a link that would launch an application on your Mac. After the
update is applied, clicking such a link brings up a dialog that
asks you to confirm that you want to run the application. If you
don't use Software Update, three separate downloads are available,
each about 1 MB in size, depending on the version of Mac OS X and
iChat you're running. [JLC]
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate200409161035ichat21.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate200409161028ichatav20.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate200409161028ichat10.html>
**Ovolab Phlink Adds Network Caller ID Announcements** -- Ovolab's
Phlink is a USB device that plugs into your phone line and, when
bolstered by the Phlink software for Mac OS X, enables all sorts
of fun telephony-related functions triggered by receiving a call.
The recently released Phlink 1.5 adds a particularly cool and
welcome feature that I've been wanting for a while - network
caller ID, where a copy of Phlink running on a Mac connected to
the Phlink device broadcasts caller ID information (you must have
that service from your local phone company) for incoming calls to
all other Macs running the Phlink software on the local network.
<http://www.ovolab.com/phlink/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07511>
It's a brilliant feature and seems to work fine. The only
confusing part is that the Phlink software erroneously implies,
during installation, that it won't work without a Phlink device
attached. One solution might be to have Phlink ask if it should
install in minimal, network caller ID notification-only mode,
if it doesn't detect a Phlink device during initial setup. The
network caller ID notification is limited to a transparent
window that appears and then disappears; the remote copy of
Phlink doesn't seem to log the fact that a call came in or
perform any actions based on the remote notification.
The primary competition for Phlink is Parliant's PhoneValet,
which offers a roughly similar set of features for handling
incoming calls, though PhoneValet doesn't yet have network
caller ID notification. [ACE]
<http://www.parliant.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07380>
**Take Control of Users & Accounts in Panther in Japanese** -- In
our continuing expansion of Take Control to other languages, we're
pleased to announce the release of the Japanese translation of
Kirk McElhearn's "Take Control of Users & Accounts in Panther."
Translated once again by our volunteer Japanese translation team,
the Japanese version of "Take Control of Users & Accounts in
Panther" costs $7.50, and we're also offering a $1.50 discount
for anyone who buys this translation along with the Japanese
translation of Matt Neuburg's "Take Control of Customizing
Panther." As with previous translations, Japanese speakers who
already purchased the English version of "Take Control of Users &
Accounts in Panther" are entitled to a free copy of the Japanese
translation; if you didn't receive mail from us, click the Check
for Updates button on the first page of the English version of
"Take Control of Users & Accounts in Panther," and then click
the download link at the bottom of the page. If your copy lacks
the Check for Updates button, you need to upgrade with the
instructions we sent on 10-Apr-04. If you have any troubles,
please use the form on our FAQ page to ask Tonya for help. [ACE]
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/jp/panther/users.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/jp/panther/customizing.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/faq.html>
Yahoo Shells Out $160 Million for MusicMatch
--------------------------------------------
by Geoff Duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Apple's iTunes Music Store may be the current 800-pound gorilla
of the online music industry (as far as paid downloads are
concerned), but now Yahoo - possibly the most visited site on
the Internet - is getting into the fray, paying $160 million
in cash for MusicMatch, a Windows-only online music service.
<http://www.itunes.com/>
<http://www.yahoo.com/>
<http://www.musicmatch.com/>
Yahoo already offers a free online streaming audio service called
LAUNCHcast; it works with Windows and (badly) with Mac OS 9; Mac
OS X has never been supported. LAUNCHcast features user-defined
stations with major label artists as well as independent artists
from places like GarageBand.com.
<http://www.garageband.com/>
By acquiring MusicMatch, Yahoo gets an online music service with:
* A 700,000 song catalog (compare to 1 million songs for iTunes,
500,000 for the preview of MSN Music, and 700,000 for Rhapsody
and Real Music Store)
* Songs for sale at $0.99
* An $8 per month subscription online radio service that lets
customers listen to any song in the MusicMatch library
* MusicMatch Jukebox, a highly regarded jukebox application for
Windows that supports many portable digital music players, but
not the iPod. One of the key things about MusicMatch Jukebox is
that it makes it trivially easy to purchase a song you hear via
one of its stations.
MusicMatch is privately held, but it has about 170 employees and
its annual revenue is estimated at about $50 million. MusicMatch's
all-you-can-eat music service has about 250,000 subscribers. Yahoo
expects the acquisition to increase its online music audience from
about 13 million people to nearly 24 million people by the end of
the year.
I see a few take-away points from the acquisition. One is that
Yahoo isn't so much trying to compete with Apple's iTunes Music
Store as trying to get a leg up on other Internet entry points -
Google, MSN, AOL - by offering both digital music downloads and
a streaming music service.
The second is that, if Apple wants to keep the iTunes Music Store
vital, it needs to offer some sort of online streaming audio
service (for free and/or on a paid subscription model) and make
it simple for users to purchase tracks they hear on the streams.
Third, if Apple wants to keep innovating with the iPod (and
justify its never-declining sticker price!) it may have to look
back to the days of transistor radios. Remember, Apple was the
company that brought wireless networking to the masses, and
recently shipped wireless music to stereo systems via AirPort
Express. Can the day really be that far off when iPods sport
wireless technology and are capable of tuning in online audio
streams from your base station - or from hotspots in your
neighborhood, your school, and your favorite coffee shop?
Take Control Expands to Print
-----------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
We started the Take Control project, about a year ago, with one
goal: to publish in a whole new way. The key to our approach was
the production of electronic books, which are more timely, more
focused, more economical, and more easily updated than print books
can be. In this way, we felt, we could avoid the problems that
bedevil the traditional publishing industry.
Nevertheless, we're cognizant that, much as ebooks have many
advantages over print, a lot of people prefer to read on paper,
and many people think only of traditional books when they need
technical documentation. Of course, if you have an ebook, you can
print it out on your own printer; our ebooks look quite good when
you do that. But not everyone has a printer or wishes to consume
that much paper and ink, and besides, for most people the
presentation and experience of reading a nicely bound book is
better. Another good thing about print books is that they already
have a large marketing and distribution channel, and it makes
business sense for us to try to take advantage of that.
Therefore, to better serve those who prefer traditional print
books, we're pleased to announce that our first Take Control
collection is now available: Take Control of Panther, Volume 1,
published in association with our friends at Peachpit Press.
It costs $30 (discounted to $20.39 at Amazon right now) and
is a 272-page collection of our first four Take Control ebooks:
Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Upgrading to Panther," Matt
Neuburg's "Take Control of Customizing Panther," Kirk McElhearn's
"Take Control of Users & Accounts in Panther," and Glenn
Fleishman's "Take Control of Sharing Files in Panther." The
print book collects the latest versions of these ebooks in
a nicely designed, full-color layout. In addition, I've
written an introduction, and the book includes a professionally
created index.
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321287649/takecontroleb-20>
**What's Different** -- Even though Take Control of Panther,
Volume 1 looks like a normal print book, it benefits from many
of the advantages of the Take Control model.
Perhaps most notable is that everyone who buys the print book
is entitled to download free copies of each of the ebooks inside.
Although it's hard to compete with the resolution of print and
the familiarity and accessibility of a physical book, there's no
question that our ebooks still offer benefits such as internal
links for references (no flipping around trying to find a
section), clickable URLs and scripts (no extra typing), and
of course, free updates. So we expect that a large percentage
of the people who buy the print book will also download the
ebooks, thus also gaining a gentle introduction to the brave
new world of electronic books. While it's a simple matter -
and economical - for us to provide a free copy of the collected
ebooks for print book buyers, including minor revisions as they
appear, the finances of print publishing sadly don't allow us
to offer the print book to existing ebook owners at a larger
discount than provided by Amazon.com, other online booksellers,
or brick-and-mortar bookstores.
I've released electronic versions of my last few print books, but
the experience has been somewhat unsatisfying, since a design that
looks great in print generally works poorly when viewed on screen.
Unfortunately, the effort of reformatting a print book for online
display, particularly one that's as heavily formatted as a Visual
QuickStart Guide, is far too great to consider. With Take Control
of Panther, Volume 1, we were able to move in the proper
direction: electronic to print. We publish all of our ebooks using
Microsoft Word, and we're careful to rely on styles at all times.
As a result, it was relatively easy to import the Word files into
InDesign CS, and future books will be easier yet. The tricky part
was creating the InDesign template, since most book templates
aren't set up for ease of import, but Jeff Tolbert (whose day
job is a freelance designer and illustrator, when he's not writing
ebooks about GarageBand) came up with such a template (we did have
to buy a tool to augment InDesign - the Smart Styles CS plug-in
from WoodWing Software).
<http://woodwing.com/smartstyles.htm>
A big problem with traditional print books about software is that
the software can change soon after, or even before, the book goes
to print, thus making the book wrong and out-of-date. And once
a traditional print book is published, there's no calling it back.
Our approach eliminates this problem. All of our ebooks went
through at least one revision before being included in this print
collection. Those revisions have enabled us to keep pace with
Apple's upgrades to Panther, incorporate user feedback, and
eliminate mistakes. For example, Glenn's book "Take Control of
Sharing Files in Panther" put considerable effort into explaining
soft mounting - which Apple eliminated entirely in Mac OS X
10.3.3! So Glenn updated the ebook, and the print book includes
that updated version. And what if, in the future, Apple brings
back soft mounting, or makes some other drastic change? No
problem: we update the ebook, and every print book customer
downloads a free copy. Thus our books are more accurate than
traditional print books both before they are published (because
they've had a history as ebooks) and after they are published
(because they continue to evolve as ebooks)."
We also anticipate increasing the timeliness of print books.
To be sure, this book is coming out a long time after Panther
was released; but most of the slowdown came in the contract
negotiations, with actual book production requiring only a few
weeks. And the production itself will speed up as we learn to make
our Word files more appropriate for import into InDesign, and as
our collaborative editing process improves. Plus, many of our
print books, like this one, will probably be by multiple authors,
who can all be working at the same time, which should contribute
to speed of publication as well.
The print books also contribute to the sustainability of the
overall Take Control model in another way. We've negotiated with
Peachpit so that authors receive, proportionally, a considerably
greater percentage of the book's price than has traditionally been
the case. And republishing in print means that the author receives
some revenue that wouldn't have been there if the ebook were the
only outlet for that content. The result is that our authors, who
put significant and ongoing efforts into writing and maintaining
their ebooks, are more fully recompensed for those efforts. This
encourages the authors to keep their ebooks up to date, and that,
in turn, benefits readers.
**More to Come!** Take Control of Panther, Volume 1 will soon be
joined by two additional books (by the beginning of November,
since we're just finishing the layout now): Joe Kissell's Take
Control of Apple Mail (bringing together his two ebooks about
Mail) and Glenn Fleishman's Take Control of Your AirPort Network
(which was long enough after its 1.1 revision to stand on its own
in print). Both will be a bit shorter and less expensive - 160
pages and $17 are our current estimates - but they'll still be
full-color and offer free copies of the ebooks. They'll also sport
different cover designs from Take Control of Panther, Volume 1,
since we're still working with Peachpit to refine the overall
look of the cover.
So take a look, and if you've held off checking out our ebooks
because you prefer traditional print books, we hope you like
what we've done.
Passing the Remote to Apple Remote Desktop 2.0
----------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For many of us, the days of working with a single Macintosh
are long gone. I regularly use my main desktop Power Mac G4,
my 12-inch PowerBook G4, the 450 MHz Power Mac G4 that's our
internal file and backup server, the PowerBook G3 that acts
as a wireless gateway for our long range wireless Internet
connection, Tonya's old blueberry iBook that's our kitchen
Mac, and our Xserve at digital.forest that runs Web Crossing.
Obviously, I access some of these computers directly, but sitting
down at others ranges from difficult (the internal file server,
which lacks a monitor most of the time), to impossible (the
Xserve, which is across the continent). For such Macs, remote
control software is essential.
Before Mac OS X, I used Netopia's Timbuktu Pro to control remote
Macs, and in fact, I still use Timbuktu Pro 5.2.3 in Classic to
control the two servers we still have running Mac OS 8.6. But
about the time I became interested in examining remote control
software for Mac OS X, Apple had just released Apple Remote
Desktop 1.0, and Netopia didn't feel the need to respond to my
requests for a review copy of Timbuktu. As a result, Apple Remote
Desktop got the nod, and I started playing with it. That initial
version was functional, but honestly, not very good, so I never
formally reviewed it. When Apple came out with the Remote Desktop
2.0, though, I was extremely interested to see where they'd taken
the program and if they'd resolved the irritations I had with 1.0.
<http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/>
**Apples and Oranges** -- One thing that becomes immediately
apparent when using Apple Remote Desktop 2.0 is that it isn't
just remote control software like Timbuktu. That program has
always focused on the fastest possible screen sharing, and
helping you move files back and forth with the specific machine
you're controlling. Remote Desktop does much more, including:
* Remote control and assistance: You can control or observe any
Mac or other VNC-enabled computer (more on VNC later). You can
fit a controlled or observed Mac's screen into a single window
(no scrolling!) and you can even observe multiple remote Macs at
the same time, which is great for classroom situations. If you
choose to observe multiple computers but opt not to show them
all at once, Remote Desktop utilizes Apple's 3-D rotating cube
effect to display all the observed machines. Also helpful is
the capability to send messages to, and lock the screens of,
remote Macs.
* Asset management: With Remote Desktop, you can extract a great
deal of information from remote Macs, which is essential to anyone
attempting to manage multiple computers. These reports can tell
you what USB and FireWire devices are attached, how much RAM is
installed, what software versions are installed, how the network
settings are configured, and much more.
* Software distribution: Remote Desktop enables you to copy files
to and from remote Macs, and to install packages on remote Macs.
* Remote administration: You can send Unix commands to remote
machines to be executed, and you can set startup disks. I couldn't
test this, but Apple tells me that Remote Desktop ties into
NetBoot as well, enabling you to select specific NetBoot images
to boot from.
You can also set whether non-administrator accounts are allowed
to perform any given action within Remote Desktop, which is useful
for making sure that certain people don't have full and
potentially damaging control over remote machines.
To be fair to Timbuktu, the fact that it lacks some of these
features is because Netopia has built them into a different
program: netOctopus. And although both Timbuktu and netOctopus
support Windows and Macintosh, Timbuktu costs between $50 and $100
per copy (depending on platform and quantity), whereas netOctopus
starts at $65 per client, making the pair far more expensive than
Remote Desktop, which costs $300 for 10 clients or $500 for
unlimited clients.
<http://www.netopia.com/software/products/tb2/mac/>
<http://www.netopia.com/software/products/netoctopus/>
**Remote To Do Lists** -- Whereas Timbuktu Pro is designed for a
one-to-one interaction, Remote Desktop is designed for one-to-many
interactions. That becomes clear when you observe multiple Macs at
once, of course, but as soon as you start examining all the items
in Remote Desktop's Manage menu, you realize that Apple has given
the program a task-based orientation. In other words, almost any
task you can perform with one Mac, you can perform with multiple
Macs.
This approach turns out to be wildly cool for anyone accustomed
to the tedium of performing the same set of tasks on multiple
machines, one at a time. For instance, if it's time to update
your asset database with the current configurations of your Macs,
you can just select them in Remote Desktop's main window, choose
Memory from the Report menu, set the options as you want, and run
the report to learn the Macs' DIMM configurations. Some reports
can take a while, but a status window shows the progress, and
a report window pops up at the end with all the information
you need.
You can export or print reports out of Remote Desktop, and if
they're the sort of thing you want to run on a regular basis, you
can set them up to run on a schedule. You don't necessarily have
to think in advance that you'd like to schedule a task to run
regularly, since Remote Desktop tracks tasks you've run (until
you quit), and you can set up the scheduling after the fact.
One particular note: the Remote Desktop 1.0 software that's built
into Mac OS X 10.3 Panther doesn't work with Remote Desktop 2.0,
but Remote Desktop 2.0 can update the 1.0 client software on
multiple remote machines over the network, just like any other
task. It isn't even necessary to reboot the remote machines
after updating.
**V Is for VNC** -- One of the most interesting changes in Remote
Desktop 2.0 is its reliance on the open VNC protocol for screen
sharing and remote control. It means that the Remote Desktop
client software is actually a VNC server, and the Remote Desktop
application is in fact a VNC viewer.
As a result, any computer with a VNC viewer can control a Mac
that has the Remote Desktop client installed and configured to
allow VNC access. Since VNC viewer software is available for
many platforms, this VNC support makes the Mac fit into a cross-
platform network better. Of the available VNC viewers for Mac OS
X, I had luck only with the free (and endearingly named) Chicken
of the VNC. Why use Chicken of the VNC? As long as you've bought
at least one copy of Remote Desktop and upgraded all your clients
to 2.0, you can give Chicken of the VNC to people who need only
remote control, all without paying for additional copies of Remote
Desktop. A free Windows VNC Viewer that I tried - UltraVNC - also
worked, though not particularly well.
<http://www.realvnc.com/resources.html>
<http://cotvnc.sourceforge.net/>
<http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/>
The opposite situation is also possible: a Mac running the Remote
Desktop application can in theory control another computer running
a VNC server. I say "in theory" because I spent a frustrating hour
trying to control my Windows XP-based PC. At first, I tried the
free RealVNC (making sure to set it to use the VNC 3.3 protocol),
and even though I was able to control it with Chicken of the VNC,
Remote Desktop wouldn't connect at all. Then, based on a
suggestion on Apple's discussion forum, I tried UltraVNC's server
with no more luck. I may continue to fuss with the Windows VNC
servers, just on principle, but for the moment, I'll stick with
using Chicken of the VNC to control the PC.
<http://www.realvnc.com/>
I've used VNC software a number of times over the years, and this
experience fits in with my previous encounters. I've usually
succeeded in finding some combination of software and settings
that works, but it often requires a significant amount of testing
and tweaking before I end up with a functional setup. Consider
yourself warned. I'm happy that Apple chose to rely on VNC, but
as soon as you venture beyond Remote Desktop on both sides of
the connection, don't assume the experience will necessarily
be smooth.
All VNC enables is remote observation and control, and only
with a single computer at a time. So even though you could
theoretically control a PC with the Remote Desktop application,
you can't include that machine in any tasks or run any reports
on it, as you could do with a Mac.
Opening up access to a Mac via VNC is a security concern, even
though you can password-protect a VNC-accessible Mac and the
password is encrypted in transit. The problem is that the
graphical session data transferred back and forth is not
encrypted, so an evildoer could conceivably record that traffic
and decode it to learn passwords and other confidential
information. Luckily, you can tunnel the VNC connection through
SSH for additional security. VNC also requires that you open
up port 5900 in your firewall. You can reduce these security
concerns by running Remote Desktop on only specific occasions;
an included kickstart utility lets you launch and quit Remote
Desktop via the command line, which you can access via a
secure SSH session.
<http://www.realvnc.com/faq.html#security>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108030>
While on the topic of controlling Windows-based PCs, note that
Microsoft provides a free program called Remote Desktop Connection
that enables Macs to log into and run programs on PCs running
certain versions of Windows. Remote Desktop Connection uses
Microsoft's Terminal Services, not VNC, and my impression is that
Terminal Services works quite well when both computers are running
Windows. However, I've tried the Remote Desktop Connection client
for the Mac, and although I was able to get it working eventually,
it was flaky and proved to be too much trouble to use on an
ongoing basis. Your mileage may vary.
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download
&location=/mac/DOWNLOAD/MISC/RDC.xml&secid=80&ssid=9&flgnosysreq=True>
**Areas to Improve** -- Although Remote Desktop is a solid and
capable program with entirely reasonable performance, there are
areas in which I'd like to see improvement.
Although remote control performance is good (and it's of course
directly related to the speed of your network connection), there
is always room for performance improvement. That said, I've had no
trouble controlling my Xserve over a 1 Mbps Internet connection.
Also, I can't find any way to view the second monitor attached to
a controlled Mac, but most of the Macs I want to control have only
a single monitor (or none at all).
The most annoying aspect of Remote Desktop for my regular use is
that copying files to and from remote Macs is clumsy. To copy to
a remote Mac, you must add the files to a dialog (at least drag &
drop into the dialog works in 2.0, which wasn't true in 1.0) and
choose a location on the destination. That makes perfect sense
if you're copying the same set of files to multiple Macs, but if
you're controlling a single Mac and just want to slap a file onto
its hard disk, you must still work through the dialog. Copying
files from remote Macs is even harder; you must run an extremely
slow search, and copy it from the find results dialog. Again, this
approach is useful for collecting the same file from multiple
machines, but insanely bad for working with a single Mac. Timbuktu
has allowed users to copy to and from controlled Macs via drag &
drop for many years; Remote Desktop should adopt that feature.
Also irritating is Remote Desktop's inability to share clipboard
contents with a controlled Mac, something that Timbuktu has
again done for years. There is a workaround: Erik Lagercrantz's
donationware utility ClipboardSharing enables you to share, even
automatically, the clipboard contents of two networked Macs.
<http://www.lagercrantz.ath.cx/software/clipboardsharing/>
Although I haven't hit this personally, others find they can't
even use Remote Desktop 2.0 because the program quits when
launched if you have more than 29 network port configurations -
even inactive ones - across all your network locations. It's
a known bug that we can hope Apple fixes soon.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108041>
Another area where Remote Desktop feels clumsy is its handling
of Unix commands. You can send a Unix command to a remote Mac,
but forget about getting any relevant feedback in return.
The feature is useful for kicking off tasks that don't require
user interaction or report back to the user, but that's about
it. It doesn't have to be that way - Remote Desktop could easily
integrate with Terminal. Similarly, although Remote Desktop lets
you view all sorts of information about remote Macs, it doesn't
let you view log files on remote Macs. Log information can be
extremely helpful when troubleshooting, and once again, Remote
Desktop could integrate with the Console application for
presenting and searching the logs. As far as I can tell, Remote
Desktop also doesn't integrate with the various server management
tools for the Xserve either.
To summarize these criticisms, Remote Desktop would benefit from
additional attention to the one-to-one communication capabilities
that still lag behind Timbuktu, as well as some thought as to how
the program could become the control panel from which you manage
remote Macs in a variety of ways.
**Roundup at the Remote Desktop Corral** -- Despite the places
where Remote Desktop feels top-heavy for remote control, I have
no hesitation in recommending the program to anyone who needs
more than basic remote control, particularly if you're managing
more than a couple of remote Macs. The people who will most
appreciate Remote Desktop are network administrators, help
desk staffers, and teachers, I think, but I could easily see
consultants and tech support engineers finding Remote Desktop
beneficial as well. Anyone buying an Xserve without a video
card would probably do well to buy a copy of Remote Desktop,
and Apple should consider bundling a limited-client license
of Remote Desktop with the Xserve - it would probably pay for
itself in reduced phone support.
If all you need is remote control software for another Mac,
Remote Desktop is probably overkill; I'd instead recommend
either Timbuktu Pro or a VNC viewer/server pair. And if you
need a cross-platform solution for more than remote control,
netOctopus is probably in your future, expensive though it
is for large numbers of clients.
Remote Desktop 2.0 requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, and
it costs either $300 for a 10-client license or $500 for an
unlimited number of clients. There is no upgrade pricing for
owners of Remote Desktop 1.2.
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/20-Sep-04
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be much faster.
**Suggestions for a USB ergonomic keyboard** -- The Tactile Pro
keyboard from Matias has earned high praise, but some people
prefer ergonomic keyboards. Readers suggest a few options.
(3 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2311>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/175>
**Thinking of Tablet Macs** -- Is a tablet Mac in the future?
Readers discuss how Apple's thin computers could be adapted
to a tablet design, as well as the quality of Mac OS X's
handwriting recognition software. (4 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2315>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/178>
**Mac Anti-Virus Programs** -- Apple posted, then removed, Virex
7.5 for .Mac members, leading to discussion of what was wrong
with the program. (5 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2316>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/85>
**Problems with FTP on Panther** -- The recent security update
troubles prompt comments about concerns with the security of
SFTP. (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2313>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/174>
**Chording keyboards** -- Will the chording keyboard ever become
more than a niche device? (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2312>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/176>
$$
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