Remote Desktop 3 released, all the details I can fit in

Apple is now shipping Remote Desktop 3. It's a lot more than a Universal (Intel/PowerPC) edition of Remote Desktop. Apple took advantage of the new release to make the tool more self-contained and closer in feel and functionality to Tiger itself.

I just wrapped a briefing with Apple and have some details beyond the basics you'll find at Apple's Remote Desktop site. I'll refer you to that site for the laundry list of features so I can focus on the details here.

The take-away from that briefing is that Apple rewrote ARD according to my comments and requirements. I wish. Let's just say that where ARD 3 is concerned, Apple and I are of one mind.

ARD 3 diverges from ARD 2's strict peer-to-peer model with the addition of the Task Server, an always-on machine (any box running 10.3.9 or later) that an ARD console admin can use to batch the gathering of reports, which are ARD's incredibly detailed system inventories, and remote application installs. In both cases, the Task Server will shoot 'till it wins; it'll keep trying to compile the report or install the app for each targeted client if an attempt fails. An ARD 3 console admin can also set the Task Server to pull reporting data at regular intervals. Report data is stored in a PostgreSQL database, so you can use custom apps to parse through the 200 or so detail items collected on each machine.

The Task Server's role is limited to reports and installs at present, but Apple's going to extend Task Server to handle other scheduled and non-interactive tasks. One feature that Apple mentioned but didn't elaborate on is that ARD client agents "call home" to the Task Server after being off-line or changing IP addresses. I don't know whether the Task Server telegraphs changes in client IPs back to running ARD console(s).

It is possible to run multiple Task Servers, even on the same subnet, but each ARD console can only be bound to one at a time.

Remote Spotlight is a hugely useful feature. It launches Spotlight searches on multiple remote clients simultaneously and returns the results fast, grouped by client, to the ARD console. In other words, it's a LAN-wide Spotlight search with the same criteria you use with Tiger Spotlight, and uses each machine's local index and application-specific importers. Like Tiger Spotlight, you can narrow the results with qualifiers after the results are displayed.

There is no equivalent to Tiger's Smart Folders; searches aren't saved. Remote Spotlight also isn't part of ARD 3's scripting dictionary, so results can't be channeled through Automator or used in scripts. I also don't know how or if it handles data gathered by app-specific importers, like Office and Mail, or how it organizes results according to users. Of course, knowing the folder should be enough.

Application usage and user history reports give every admin what they really want: The ability to track users' activities while the console's off-line. The tracking data is distilled so that, for example, you can see how many times a given user has run Word. You can also see how many times a user has run Medal of Honor or some other unauthorized or unlicensed software. User history keeps a log of system accesses, the comings and goings for a particular Mac, as it were. It's not physical access protection, but at least it'll let you know if you've got a problem and with whom.