System Requirements: Any computer running Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later. Automator Actions and Remote Desktop widget require Mac OS X v10.4 or later on administrator system. Remote Spotlight search requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later on client system.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Apples
The new Apple Remote Desktop has a new face, new guts, and new glory. Version 3 has so many new tools that will make IT professionals drool. It will support multiple computers on a network from a small business to thousands of computers in a school system or a large corporation. It is not perfect, but it packs a punch and it's worth it.

As a home Mac user, I have to manage several computers at my daughter's house and I have two in my home. We were amazed at what Apple Remote Desktop 3 (ARD3) can do. We could monitor what four users were doing on their computers. I could show my daughter in New Jersey how to use iPhoto 7, step-by-stepfrom Pennsylvania. We could swap photos via the Remote Drag and Drop and Remote Copy and Paste functions. A Remote Desktop widget gives an instant view of remote computers through Dashboard without opening ARD3. This is an ideal application to for helping new users, students, grandparents, parents, and so on.

Managing computers from afar is easier. Now, ARD3 users can configure the preference settings for managed remote computers and create new user accounts easily, without ever touching the remote computer.

Another neat Apple Remote Desktop 3 feature is the AutoInstall software packages. These are useful when working with many laptops. The packages are loaded in an update queue so that online computers are updated immediately while laptops receive their updates when they connect to the network.

Apple Remote Desktop 3 can produce Hardware Reports and User Logs to help IT departments better manage their resources. When I generated an Application Usage report, the results were not thorough and did not provide a log of used applications. The computer had been running all day and there had been activity from 10 programs and the only thing reported was one application. This is not very useful.

I did encounter problems with firewalls and DHCP connections with computers in other states. ARD3 works better with a static ISP account. Security-minded corporations have options for encrypting all communications and file transfers between computers with 128-bit encryption.

Apple Remote Desktop 3 has remote Spotlight searching. I did not do any testing of this feature. But it is the usual way that most Tiger users search for info and it will prove useful.

Although I didn't try using the extensive Automator support, it is there to build actions to handle routine management tasks. There are over 30 actions included with the software.

The PDF Manual has 184 pages and is very useful. The installation of the software went without a hitch, as did configuring the preference settings for managed remote computers.

I recommend Apple Remote Desktop 3 for any IT professional as well as the casual Mac user who wishes to manage many Macs on a local network or remotely in spite of the poor reporting feature and some difficulty overcoming remote connectivity. I did not encounter any bugs.

In spite of the poor reporting feature and some difficulty overcoming remote connectivity I recommend Apple Remote Desktop 3 for any IT professional as well as the casual Mac user who wishes to manage many Macs on a local network or remotely. I did not encounter any bugs. The many features and the ease of use make it a winner.

Copyright 2007 Maria O. Arguello. This article may be reprinted by any Macintosh User Group in their newsletter or publication distributed on paper or online, with credit given to the author and original publishing user group (Maria O. Arguello, MLMUG, <arguello10@comcast.net>). Commercial or other publication prohibited unless the author grants specific permission.

More articles by this author available at: http://Mlmug.org/Reviews.html.