Delivering a Mac OS X experience to Apple's iPad
From time to time, I hear from the good folks over at Aqua Connect, a supplier of virtual access software for Mac OS X environment. This time, they informed me that they were planning to offer a way for users of Apple's iPad to access applications and data found on Mac OS X-based systems. This could be important news for users of Apple's laptops, desktop and server systems.
Here's what Aqua Connect has to say
The Aqua Connect Terminal Server (ACTS) delivers the Macintosh OS X experience to PCs, thin clients, legacy Macs, and smartphones. Aqua Connect supports iPhone OS through various RDP and VNC clients. iPhone users have been able to use Aqua Connect Terminal Server in conjunction with RDP and VNC clients to remotely access OS X on their mobile devices. The iPad will receive similar functionality as Aqua Connect plans to support compatible RDP and VNC clients as they are released.
Aqua Connect also announced plans to support the iPad in their upcoming Mac Remote Desktop release. Aqua Connect’s Mac Remote Desktop allows users to remotely connect to their Mac desktop through any compatible remote desktop client from Microsoft or other third party vendors. Aqua Connect’s Mac Remote Desktop will allow a one to one connection to Mac hardware for remote access or administration purposes. In conjunction with Mac Remote Desktop, the iPad will allow users to access their Mac hardware remotely on a large display that they can take with them anywhere they go.
Aqua Connect will make it possible to deploy OS X to the iPad. The limitations of iPhone OS are transcended when the Aqua Connect Terminal Server or Mac Remote Desktop is deployed. Applications that are OS X dependent or require a greater amount of memory and processor speed can be deployed on the iPad through an Aqua Connect user session. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows all of this to be done through fully encrypted and secure connections. With Aqua Connect, the iPad has the ability to run applications and software that are not available on iPhone OS.
The Aqua Connect Terminal Server 3.5 is available now with support for the Leopard and Snow Leopard platforms. Aqua Connect’s Mac Remote Desktop is in the BETA phase and will launch later this year to the public.
Snapshot analysis
One of the key benefits of virtual access technology is making it possible to access applications and data without having to deal with the incompatibilities created by different operating systems, hardware architectures and user interfaces found on the end-point device and the source computer. This approach has been a mainstay of the Windows, Linux and UNIX worlds for quite some time. It is not seen as often in the world of Apple's' Mac OS.To the best of my knowledge, Aqua Connect is the only significant supplier to offer virtual access solutions for Mac OS X-based computing solutions.
So, if your organization has plans to deploy Apple's iPad or iPhone for that matter and there is a need to access Mac applications, this may be your only choice.