#263963 - 28/08/2005 19:42
windows remote desktop client replacement
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addict
Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
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One of my friends has been working on a nifty replacement for the RDP and ICA clients. Check out his website. Currently it's in beta, and I’m sure all the network admins will appreciate an application like iShadow Desktop. After the beta I'm told it will be free for personal use.
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Oliver
mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126
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#263964 - 28/08/2005 22:47
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: oliver]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Mega cool. By any chance, is it going to be targeted to platforms other than windows?
I think it would be cool to have a Windows RDP client running on Linux or OSX.
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#263965 - 28/08/2005 22:48
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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rdesktop for UNIX and the official Microsoft Remote Desktop Client for OSX.
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#263966 - 28/08/2005 23:00
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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*BOGGLE*
I had no idea those things existed.
/me downloads the osx one.
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#263967 - 28/08/2005 23:02
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tfabris]
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addict
Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
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Quote:
By any chance, is it going to be targeted to platforms other than windows?
When he first mentioned this application idea to me, that was my first request. I'm pretty sure it will happen at some point, but for now it's just for windows. Hopefully after it's actually released he'll have some time to look into porting the application to other platforms.
Anyways, if you guys run into any problems with the app, let me know and I'll get them to the developer. Also, any other feature request would be awesome, pretty much everything I’ve requested is already in the application (except a DU meter for monitoring strictly RDP/ICA net usage)
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Oliver
mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126
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#263968 - 28/08/2005 23:04
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tfabris]
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addict
Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
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The OSX one is nice, but it doesn't allow you to open it multiple times for multiple connections. For me, that's absolutely useless to work on just one of my servers at once.
You can hack it, by making copies of the executable in various folders. (quite annoying I think)
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Oliver
mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126
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#263969 - 28/08/2005 23:05
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: oliver]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Neat app. Any chance of adding VNC support as well? Apple Remote Desktop is based on VNC and it would also cover admin for UNIX systems.
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#263970 - 28/08/2005 23:22
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tman]
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addict
Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
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Yup, VNC is on its way. The first hurdle was taking care of the RDP/ICA sessions.
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Oliver
mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126
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#263971 - 29/08/2005 12:22
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Ugh. Who does Unix admin graphically?
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Bitt Faulk
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#263972 - 29/08/2005 15:08
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
Ugh. Who does Unix admin graphically?
People using Linux distro's derived from Debian -- the GUI package management tools are really really nice, but command-line equivalents also exist.
Cheers
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#263973 - 29/08/2005 15:42
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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I have to say, I love the emerge tool in Gentoo, I've never even investigated wether there are any GUI tools as I can do everything via a terminal session.
That said, I'm currently investigating Kubuntu at the moment.
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Andy M
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#263974 - 30/08/2005 23:28
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
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I guess this means you got the Mac Tony?
I've been using RDC on the Mac for about a year now. It came on the Office CD and is how I've primarily accessed my living-room PC. Lately I've been using UltraVNC on the Windows side and Chicken of the VNC client on the Mac. This lets me do some additional things like run truecolor as well as more easily restart/shut down the PC (RDC disables monitor properties and shutdown menu).
But maybe someone can help me find my ideal solution...
I'd like connect with my Mac to the PC and have access to a desktop that does not mirror or otherwise take over the desktop already being shown on the PC's local display. For example: PC connected to TV playing something, me accessing PC and its resources on the Mac, being able to run software that will not pop up on the TV.
I thought I had the solution with UltraVNC that *used* to have a virtual display driver and supported dual display. But that virtual driver is no longer developed/supported and I couldn't get it to run with the current UltraVNC releases.
I'm running TV on my PC and don't want to inturrupt that when I just need to quickly connect to it to check something out or run something. It's strictly to avoid pissing off anyone else watching TV. I'm planning to set up my other upstairs PC with VNC/RDC as well, but that's not a replacement for this requirement.
Bruno
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#263975 - 31/08/2005 00:59
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
That said, I'm currently investigating Kubuntu at the moment.
[attached]
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#263976 - 31/08/2005 02:24
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: hybrid8]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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So what you're saying is that you want two separate GUI sessions to a Windows machine, right? That requires that you have "Terminal Services" enabled, and that is going to require that you purchase Windows Server 2003. (Or Citrix, maybe, but it might require Server itself.) Microsoft has decided that having more than one person logged in at once is something that you have to pay a lot extra for, despite the fact that it' obviously feasible in XP Pro, since you can "switch users" and still leave the first user's programs running; it'd just need to display those. I don't know that Apple has any such thing at all; maybe on OSX Server, but that's more different from OSX than Server 2003 is from XP. Any Unix from the last 15 years can handle it with no problem.
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Bitt Faulk
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#263977 - 31/08/2005 02:38
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I suppose that to meet your requirements you don't technically need to log in a second time, but just have screen real estate that does not exist on your primary monitor.
As such, you might want to check out MaxiVista. I'm not sure it'll do what you want, but it might. Also, KaVoom DesktopOne.
You'd still probably interrupt the primary monitor every once in a while, as I'm sure that new windows will at least occasionally pop up there instead of on the secondary, remote one.
Edited by wfaulk (31/08/2005 02:42)
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Bitt Faulk
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#263978 - 31/08/2005 02:45
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: hybrid8]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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I suppose you could run X11 under cygwin, and then connect to *that* desktop (X11) remotely.. Getting messy, now.
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#263979 - 31/08/2005 02:50
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Yeah, but you'd have to have X client programs displaying on the X server, and I'm sure that that's not what he's wanting to do. Unless there's a way to get normal WIndows API programs to appear on an X server now. (I think we may be back to Citrix again.) But if that was the case, he'd be better off running the X server on his local machine and remotely displaying the programs he was interested in on there. You know, like a networked GUI should be able to.
Edited by wfaulk (31/08/2005 02:52)
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Bitt Faulk
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#263980 - 31/08/2005 03:25
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Quote:
Microsoft has decided that having more than one person logged in at once is something that you have to pay a lot extra for, despite the fact that it' obviously feasible in XP Pro, since you can "switch users" and still leave the first user's programs running; it'd just need to display those. I don't know that Apple has any such thing at all;
Surely the fast user switching in OSX is just the same as the XP Pro situation in this regard.
Quote:
maybe on OSX Server, but that's more different from OSX than Server 2003 is from XP.
Is it really ? Everthing that I have read suggests that OSX server is simply OSX with some extra services and kernel features (just like Windows).
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#263981 - 31/08/2005 06:24
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: hybrid8]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
I guess this means you got the Mac Tony?
Yep. Got the top-end one because I wanted the DVD burner. And for 99.00 more, got the mac wireless keyboard and mouse. Whole thing worked like a charm once I decided to use its DVI output instead of its VGA output. In DVI mode, it displays on the screen at a perfect 1:1 pixel resolution so it looks fantastic.
Media playback codecs for Quicktime were unusually difficult to get working (My own Divx video files of my performances, that I created myself, still wouldn't play properly after installing the Divx codec), but solved that by installing Mplayer.
Quote:
I've been using RDC on the Mac for about a year now. It came on the Office CD and is how I've primarily accessed my living-room PC.
It worked like a charm and I can remotely control the PC in the basement with it.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about my long-standing problem, which is that my DirectX games don't work (crash to desktop) when I have Terminal Server installed on this Windows 2000 PC. Was never able to solve that problem, and there's no solutions on the web or in MSKB. So Terminal Services gets deinstalled, and it looks like this PC here in the basement is destined to just not be remote-controlled for now. I might knuckle down and put XP or 2003 (which don't have that problem with game incompatibility) on it, but not right now.
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#263982 - 31/08/2005 06:26
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Quote:
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about my long-standing problem, which is that my DirectX games don't work (crash to desktop) when I have Terminal Server installed on this Windows 2000 PC. Was never able to solve that problem, and there's no solutions on the web or in MSKB. So Terminal Services gets deinstalled, and it looks like this PC here in the basement is destined to just not be remote-controlled for now. I might knuckle down and put XP or 2003 (which don't have that problem with game incompatibility) on it, but not right now.
Does VNC cause the same problem ?
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#263983 - 31/08/2005 06:56
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Quote:
Everthing that I have read suggests that OSX server is simply OSX with some extra services and kernel features (just like Windows).
And just like any other Unix with a client/server release.
OS X Server adds some specific GUI tools to configure things like Postfix for mail, Jabber for a local iChat server and Samba for the windows shares. It also contains tools for remote monitoring XServe hardware, like fan status and such. Beyond that, it acts just like the OS X client for the most part.
For people who want a cheep office server though, it does work well. Licensing wise, an OS X Server beats the pants off Microsoft licensing fees for Windows Server. I'd also dare say it's easier for a non techie to get working then a Windows server, but also offers the benefit of using the same UNIX daemons that other servers use. That enables so much power to be unlocked as well. A local Mac shop migrated their mail server to OS X Server last year away from an old OS 9 product. In doing so, they were easily able to add in free spam protection into Postfix. Where as if they had been a Microsoft shop, they would have had to first worry about Exchange costs, then the costs of a spam plugin.
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#263984 - 31/08/2005 07:16
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: hybrid8]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
This lets me do some additional things like run truecolor as well as more easily restart/shut down the PC (RDC disables monitor properties and shutdown menu).
Alt+F4 at the desktop has always let me shutdown a Windows computer via Remote Desktop.
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#263986 - 31/08/2005 13:06
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Well, the biggest difference is that, unless things have changed, OSX Server requires that you use UFS instead of HFS+, and that's caused me problems in the past. I don't now remember exactly what those problems are (good story, grandpa), but I remember having to reinstall in order to get rid of UFS and fix them.
This is not to denigrate UFS, It's a better filesystem, IMO, but there were so many things that Mac programs wanted to see that were HFS+-specific.
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#263987 - 31/08/2005 13:10
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
Quote:
Microsoft has decided that having more than one person logged in at once is something that you have to pay a lot extra for, despite the fact that it' obviously feasible in XP Pro, since you can "switch users" and still leave the first user's programs running; it'd just need to display those. I don't know that Apple has any such thing at all;
Surely the fast user switching in OSX is just the same as the XP Pro situation in this regard.
Ugh. That's what adding too much new text when editing will get you: indefinite antecedents. I meant to say that I don't believe that Mac OS X has any facility to have multiple GUI sessions at the same time, not that it can't switch users; that definitely works the same way.
That is, you have to pay out the wazoo to get Terminal Services, but OSX doesn't have it for any price. AFAIK.
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#263988 - 31/08/2005 17:05
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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The install of OS X Tiger Server I currently have in the house (to learn it, we actually have a few customers running it that) selected HFS+ as default and nothing has balked yet. The UFS choice was there as well, but not preferred. So it looks like that did change. Keep in mind OS X Server 1.0 before the OS X client shipped was a very different product then what is out now. It was much more a hybrid Mac OS/NextStep type product.
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#263989 - 31/08/2005 17:06
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Okay. That's what I'm thinking of. I haven't used OSX Server since fairly early on. I didn't realize that they had converged.
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Bitt Faulk
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#263990 - 31/08/2005 19:38
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: tman]
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member
Registered: 19/03/2002
Posts: 144
Loc: Florida, USA
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http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PsShutdown.htmlpsshutdown \\boxname (if you have your Windows credentials cached, that's all you need) it's part of PsTools, which is a really useful free package of command line utilities for admin'ing Winders boxes. I personally love psexec for rush network-wide patch jobs when worms are on the horizon.
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::: shadow45
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#263991 - 31/08/2005 19:41
Re: windows remote desktop client replacement
[Re: wfaulk]
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member
Registered: 19/03/2002
Posts: 144
Loc: Florida, USA
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In the SP1 service pack beta (i think) for XP there was a registry key that when twiddled on, you could have simultaneous RDC and desktop sessions with seperate logins. They fixed that real quick. 
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