Two new beta clients for the Mac: ICA and RDP

Written on Nov 02 2007 Filed under: Client Software, Industry Buzz 12,832 views, 12 comments

by Brian Madden

Both Citrix and Microsoft released beta client software for the Mac this week. Microsoft released Beta 2 of their v2 Mac client that supports the new Windows Server 2008 TS features, and Citrix released a new Mac beta client that supports many ICA features that were not previously available on the Mac, such as seamless windows.

• The Microsoft Mac RDP v2 Beta 2 client is available here.
• The Citrix Mac ICA client v10 beta is available here.

Microsoft RDP v2 (Beta 2) for Mac client feature list

• RDP v6
• More "Mac-like" in appearance
• Customization options
• Dynamic screen resizing
• Better printing support
• Multiple session support
• Network-level authentication
• Auto reconnect
• Wide screen support
• Universal binary

Citrix ICA v10 (Beta 1) for Mac client feature list

• Seamless windows
• Session sharing
• Improved file transfer speeds
• Session reliability
• Pass-through authentication (with Kerberos)
• SpeedScreen (image acceleration & progressive display only)
• SecureICA
• Better printing support (any printer, not just default)
• Keyboard passthrough (to convert Mac keyboard shortcuts to their Windows counterparts)
• Universal binary

Comments

Guest wrote If they could just get Steve Jobs to lower the price of a MacBook Pro...

on 11-02-2007 9:07 AM

Can't justify the cost of a Mac, especially since you can compare hardware to other vendors.

Guest wrote Re: If they could just get Steve Jobs to lower the price of a MacBook Pro...

on 11-02-2007 9:54 AM

What if Vista ran better on a Mac than a PC...then maybe the cost woud be justified

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136649-page,3-c,notebooks/article.html

Guest wrote What is RDP? MS calls it RDC, Remote Desktop Connection.

on 11-02-2007 10:25 AM

Nowhere on their site is it referred to as RDP. Even the URL says RDC. https://connect.microsoft.com/macrdc From the link to the package to the application window to the About Remote Desktop Connection, it's RDC, not RDP. Oh and to the whiners about price...EVERY Study EVER done shows in black and white in REAL dollars, the Macs are cheaper to purchase and operate. It's referred to as TCO. Total Cost of Ownership.

Craig Miller wrote Re: What is RDP? MS calls it RDC, Remote Desktop Connection.

on 11-02-2007 10:31 AM

This is very true....Mac's are shown to be cheaper when compare to other manufacturers with the same specs. Mac always catches flack because they don't have a cheap low end system, which is why I love Apple. The don't produce worthless crap, that they know you'll hate in a couple years.

In regards to the RDP/RDC..........it may be called RDC now, but it used to be RDP. I bet if you asked a 100 Windows IT guys what RDC was, almost none of them would know what it is....now ask them what RDP is....I'm sure most would know. Even the IT Exec guys know what it means to RDP into a server.

Guest wrote Re: Re: What is RDP? MS calls it RDC, Remote Desktop Connection.

on 11-02-2007 2:08 PM

RDP = Remote Desktop Protocol RDC = Remote Desktop Connection

Guest wrote Is mac going to come on strong again

on 11-02-2007 6:53 PM

My question is a little off topic. But, I am sensing that the Mac is really making a comeback in corporate america. I know many systems engineers that are now using as primary, I think Brian does also. What does everyone think. IS this something to start taking seriously again. Back in the old days, my customers where 10% Mac, now 0%. If we are reverting, then I think I want some stock. ??

Guest wrote Re: Is mac going to come on strong again

on 11-03-2007 6:51 AM

You are probably a little late on the stock. The stock is up 3,500% over the last ten years!! :) Good idea though.

Guest wrote Re: Is mac going to come on strong again

on 11-04-2007 9:16 PM

When they switched to Intel it was the best move they ever made, and the machines they make are really quality pieces of machinery (or gadgetry depending how look at it). Hell even PC World lists the Apple MacBook Pro as the fastest laptop to run Vista on (see here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136649-page,3-c,notebooks/article.html). I don't believe it's too late to invest in the company, as I see a great future for them in the next two to three years as more and more people learn how much of a mistake Vista was for Microsoft.

Guest wrote Re: What is RDP? MS calls it RDC, Remote Desktop Connection.

on 11-05-2007 9:52 PM

That is because we address it from a protocol perspective rather than an application perspective. In the same way that we refer to ICA as a protocol and not an application.

FYI:
http://www.microsoft.com/rdp
http://www.microsoft.com/rdc

You tell me which one Microsoft knows about...

Guest wrote another RDP client

on 11-12-2007 10:54 PM

Instead of Ms RDP client you can also use CoRD at :- http://cord.sourceforge.net/

Run it with an XP based Terminal Server such as ThinServer XP, and Macs can run a lot of software

http://www.aikotech.com/thinserver.htm

Tony wrote Citrix Beta is nice

on 11-14-2007 8:03 PM

I've been running the new Citrix beta since Leopard came out and there a big improvements. I've always touted my Mac around the office and when I'm asked the inevitable question "how do you run your corporate apps?" I enjoyed firing up a web interface session. However deep down inside I never liked how the published apps weren't seemless. The new beta works flawlessly for this!!! It even does a good job with published desktops as well. The passthru and Mac keyboard shortcuts are also a nice plus...I have seen some speedscreen issues though...particularly with Outlook (not a big Entourage fan) Mac is making a real push these day, I still wonder why I waited so long to get one!!!

Guest wrote Re: Re: What is RDP? MS calls it RDC, Remote Desktop Connection.

on 11-19-2007 11:48 AM

Having used Macs since the "Grayscreen days" (1987 to be exact), I agree that Apple has always chosen Quality over Quantity. What gets me is that only a dozen or so useful titles run natively on the platform. The vast majority of the software that I want to run I need to run in some form of emulator, which means that I'll never get the best performance out of the software, or the hardware, for that matter...

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