[Mediaman_12]

Is there anyway I can remotely control/view my OSX Mac over the Net from a XP PC?
I need to test websites in Safari and MacIE for my webdesign job, (my employer only has Win PC's) and doing the testing and modification at home in the evenings (for free) is beginning to piss me off.
Something like M$'s remote desktop but the other way round would be ideal.
I think I can sort the OSX user end by just creating a user with next to no privilages with there own Apps folder with just IE and Safari in it, but with the remote login etc I have no idea.

[piracy]

Yes. You can:

1. Install Apple Remote Desktop 2.0 (which is commercial), which contains an implementation of a free protocol called VNC.

or,

2. Install the free http://www.redstonesoftware.com/vnc.html VNC server.

and use a VNC client on your PC like those available at http://www.realvnc.com/

VNC (for Virtual Network Computing) is a mechanism for remotely observing/controlling the screen of a remote computer. VNC clients and servers are available for Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and many other OSes.

[ryju]

I do this all the time from my XP machine. I have OSXvnc running on my Mac and then access it in XP using RealVNC.

Good luck!

[tooki]

ARD 2 does NOT, AFAIK, contain a VNC server, only the client.

I use VNC on occasion, too... but I will tell you, even on a local network it's REALLY slow. It is nowhere close to MS's Remote Desktop in terms of responsiveness.

If you can afford it, I suggest you purchase Netopia's Timbuktu program. You need two copies (one for each end), but you can get it in a two pack that gives you both Mac and Windows licenses (just under $200 for the cross-platform two pack).

Timbuktu is MUCH snappier than VNC, and is an established, stable product with many useful features. (VNC is stable and established, too, but slow as the dickens.)

tooki

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by tooki:

Timbuktu is MUCH snappier than VNC, and is an established, stable product with many useful features. (VNC is stable and established, too, but slow as the dickens.)

Timbuktu offers a demo as well, I believe. The link doesn't seem to be working for me at the moment, but you can download it here.

[proton]

Originally posted by tooki:
ARD 2 does NOT, AFAIK, contain a VNC server, only the client.

ARD 2 does contain a VNC server.

- proton

[Brass]

Doesn't ARD use it's own protocol?

[tooki]

ARD does use its own protocol.

The ARD client is basically unchanged.

The ARD control app (the one the administrator uses) now also allows controlling/observing VNC.

From what I can tell, ARD does NOT provide a VNC server (that is, you cannot use a VNC client to view the Mac with ARD installed on it). Apple's ARD site says

Share your screen or that of anyone in the network with all the users in the network (Mac OS X required on client systems).

Are you saying that you can use a VNC client (like VNCviewer or Chicken of the VNC, on a Mac) to view any Mac with ARD 2 installed?

tooki

[milhous]

a mac remote client for windows that's fast and optimzed for lan use would be ideal.

if ms will allow mac clients to connect to windows boxes, then apple should do the same for windows folks. some reciprocity would be nice.

this would be great for people running a mostly windows shop who want to manage other macs without any addons.

it's fair and sensible imho.

14 posts to go...

p.s. - i'm running vnc on the mac and accessing it through my windows box. it seems that picking any protocol whether it be zrle, hextile, or raw doesn't make a difference. i think we can do better!

[proton]

ARD 2 does provide a VNC server.



- proton

[piracy]

Originally posted by tooki:
ARD 2 does NOT, AFAIK, contain a VNC server, only the client.

This whole discussion is somewhat complicated by the fact that what Apple refers to as the ARD "client" software is really the "server", and what Apple refers to as the "admin" software is really the "client".

Nonetheless, the ARD 2 admin application is a VNC client, and the ARD 2 "client" software (e.g., the free ARD software that acts as the ARD "server" process) is also a VNC server.

Also, ARD 2 DOES NOT use its own protocol (like ARD 1.x). It uses raw VNC, with proprietary authentication. This is why the normal VNC client/server features come along for the ride. Also, the ARD 2 client software isn't "basically unchanged"; it's completely rewritten. (This is why the ARD 2 admin software cannot communicate with ARD 1.x clients - ARD 2 no longer understands the old ARD 1.x proprietary remote screen control protocol.)

(For what it's worth, the reason Apple refers to the ARD client as such is not because it is "client software", but rather, because the software is installed on "client" computers.)