remote desktop

Five 'remote desktop' stories October 2011 - May 2015

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Microsoft Remote Desktop for Android gets a new UI, multi-session support, more

Jordan Kahn May 4 2015 - 9:01 am PT

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Microsoft has updated its Remote Desktop app for Android with a number of new features including a brand new UI that includes a “new connection center and in-session improvements.”

Also included in the update is multi-session support, allowing you to run multiple application or desktop sessions simultaneously. In addition, you’ll find a few other improvements including overall stability enhancements and a lot of bug fixes for issues that many users were experiencing.

The updated Microsoft Remote Desktop app, version 8.1.11, is available on Google Play now.

What’s New

What’s new in 8.1.11

This release introduces a completely brand new client. We’ve put a lot of work into delivering a new improved experience that provides:

– A new user interface – New connection center and in-session improvements

– Multi-session support – Run more than one application or desktop session at a time

– Overall stability – Lots of bug fixes

Thanks to everyone for the on-going feedback and support!

Google developing recording option for Chrome’s Remote Desktop app

Mark Hearn Aug 20 2014 - 12:45 pm PT

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screenRecord

If you frequently use Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop application to play tech support for your friends and you’re in need of some reference material, Mountain View’s got you covered. The search giant’s Chromium team is currently in the process of developing a record button for Chrome’s remote access app.

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Parallels Access lands on Android, lets you pin Windows/Mac apps on home screen

Mark Gurman Jun 16 2014 - 9:01 pm PT

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After launching on the iPad nearly a year ago, Parallels is today launching Parallels Access on Android tablets and smartphones running version 4.0 or newer. Parallels Access is a remote desktop client that allows you to access your Mac or PC via the touchscreen of your Android device. The software is also launching today on the iPhone and bringing new enhancements to the iPad.

In our review of the iPad version last year, we noted how blown away we were with the speed and performance of Parallels Access. The software makes accessing and using a computer via the iPad’s touchscreen a breeze, and it provides a huge convenience factor for those times when you need to access something on your home computer but do not have the machine with you.

The application is far and above other remote desktop client applications because of its integration with Android, iOS, OS X, Windows, its speed, and its overall reliability. Parallels Access utilizes gestures, Android’s native keyboard with editing, “SmartMagnification” and “SmartTap” to make the computer feel responsive and alive on your Android device. The application allows you to use your Mac swiftly and connects over the internet…

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How Google manages over 40,000 Macs…without much help from Apple

Jordan Kahn Nov 27 2013 - 4:31 pm PT

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During a talk at the LISA ’13 conference in Washington D.C earlier this month, a couple members from Google’s Macintosh Operations team explained how the company has been forced to develop its own set of tools to manage its fleet of roughly 43,000 Macs. The reason, according to Google engineers Clay Caviness and Edward Eigerman, is that Apple isn’t doing a great job at supporting its enterprise management tools. As the first slide of the presentation (pictured above) puts it, “While Apple won’t do much for you, there are tools out there you can use to keep your machines secure, up to date and useful.”

“We don’t use any of Apple’s tools to manage the Macs. Apple arguably produces two tools, Mac OS X server… and Apple Remote Desktop. It kinda breaks down when you get it over 50, 100, 200 machines that you’re managing… we’ve sort of lost their attention as far as enterprise management tools.”

During one slide (pictured above, right), Google uses the red line to represent the release of the iPhone while noting Apple’s remote desktop “hasn’t had a major revision to it since 2006.” To avoid using Apple’s management tools, Google has either developed its own tools or is using open source tools for everything from configuration, to package management, monitoring system levels and more. Google announced during the talk that one of the imaging tools it developed, CanHazImage, will soon be hitting open source.

While Google mentioned during the presentation that it supports four desktop OS platforms (OS X, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS) internally, it also said these days employees that want to use a platform other than Mac OS X “have to make a business case” to do so. Compare that roughly 40k monthly actives from Macs reported during the presentation to the 42,162 full-time employees at the company (not including Motorola). The Googlers also noted that the company managed to update from 10.7 to 10.8 for 99.5% of its fleet in 8 weeks and it’s currently trying to accomplish the same for 10.9 Mavericks.

You can watch or download the full presentation here.

(via TheRegister)

Google releases Chrome Remote Desktop Beta

Jake Smith Oct 9 2011 - 1:37 pm PT

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Google has released a new extension this weekend for Chrome fans. Chrome Remote Desktop Beta (what a mouthful) allows you to connect to other computers across the network in a Chrome window.

Where we can see this coming the most in handy is with a Chrome OS laptop. Being able to connect to your main computer when you’re away from it is definitely necessary for numerous tasks. When it comes to security, each session has to be granted each time you connect.

Interested in how this all works? Check it out after the break:

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