[Freeflyer]

I have a couple of powerbooks and am about to take delivery of a G4 450Mhz tower (it'll run panther too). I plan for the tower to be a server type of machine without a screen and keyboard permanently connected. I've been working out the best way to control it.

Currently I have an old pc which I control using Remote Desktop Connection, which has been very useful. The two options I've seen for doing something similar on the mac are VNC and apple Remote Desktop.

Could anyone comment on either of these please. I would also like the option to access the server via the internet when I'm away (check security/home automation etc). Will either (or both) of these do this reliably. Can I keep the machine secure when doing this (I'll be hooked to a firewalled netgear router).

Thanks for your input,

J.

[techtrucker]

I connect to my home Mac from work using VNC...it's free and works well. I haven't tried tweaking any of the settings, right now I can only get thousands of colors and 1024X768. And it's cross platform (I use a PC at work ).

Steve W

[tooki]

I haven't used VNC, so I can't comment on it.

Apple Remote Desktop (which I have used) is really most useful on a network. It's primarily a lab administration tool. It doesn't let you remote control more than one machine at once.

Netopia's Timbuktu is my favorite. It's cross-platform, works well over slow connections (like 33.6K modem), and has a neato locator service that lets you connect to a machine without knowing its IP address (yes, there is ample security). It lets you control multiple machines, great for headless servers.

Timbuktu works fine behind a router, but you'll need to set up complex port forwarding if you want to control more than one machine behind the router. Of course, you will also need to open up the proper ports on the firewall.

tooki

[Freeflyer]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'll give vnc a try first, as it's the free option.

What I plan to do is be able to log into my G4 tower to launch programs (vlc with output to tv) itunes streaming around the house etc. When away I can use home automation software to check on the house. As a non-power user I think Timbuktu would be overkill and I couldn't justify the price.

Thanks again.

J.

[Turias]

You could always SSH...

[Brass]

If you have enough bandwidth, VNC is a great option. Apart from being free, it is an open protocol, and there a many versions for many different operating systems (as well as some alternative uses for the service, such as sharing a single mouse/keyboard between several computers on your desk, which I do using x2vnc).

I say "if you have enough bandwidth", because the same reasons that make VNC so easily portable and cross-platform, also make it require more bandwidth to work well. Most other proprietary and OS-specific system send instructions on how to draw updates to the screen (eg, draw a window X x Y big, and X x Y position). VNC must send every pixel of the updated area of the screen instead, making it somewhat slower, and virtually useless over a modem.

However, I use VNC almost exclusively where a GUI control is necessary (don't need to use modems often, thankfully), and use SSH when a GUI is not necessary.

[Deal]

I second Timbuktu...

However, Apple just posted an Apple Remote Desktop update. I will have to revisit ARD.

[Arkham_c]

Timbuktu is great. I use it on Macs and PCs and find it invaluable.