Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / November 2007

Gosh, I did not utter a peep.  ;-)

TB2 does have its drawbacks, you know.

1) High price
2) No written user manual
3) No tech' support, only email
4) Can't play sounds from remote computer's speakers
5) VNC supports more platforms than TB2 does

All that said, it has more features than any other remote control
application out there.

Try these with  s-l-o-w  VNC for comparison, you will be disappointed

1) Newbie install  _and_  configure VNC in 10 minutes
2) Install VNC in a  _remote_  Mac, grab control of remote Mac
3) Create QuickTime movie of entire VNC session
4) Full support of  _all_  OSX's file permissions
5) Easy and   _quick_   file transfers to/from remote computer
6) Full duplex voice over same line as remote control session
      (only on broadband, of course)
7) Can miniturize many remote "live" windows as small as one-inch
square, and still have items in those windows clickable, dragable, etc.

Lotsa luck trying to get above features working with VNC, not to
mention the lousy security of VNC itself:

1) Cleartext protocol, entire graphical display subject to
eaves-dropping, in other words everything on the screens of both
computers can be seen by a cracker.
   It is  HIGHLY  recommended that all VNC sessions be sent using SSH
for this reason.

2) Weak Authentication Process (VU# 303080, BugTraq ID 2275)

3) WinVNC Server Buffer Overflow (CAN-2001-0168, VU# 598581, BUGTRAQ ID
2306

4) WinVNC Weak Registry Permissions (CVE-2000-1164, VU# 197477, BugTraq
ID 1961)

Further details on page 446 of "Mac OS X Maximum Security"

Needless to say, the present version 8.0.1 of Timbuktu has none of
those security flaws.

I will stick with the high priced TB2, thank you.

If I had a hundred remote Macs, I could easily  _legally_  get by with
$200 total for two copies of TB2, $100 apiece, as long as I am only
remotely controlling one Mac at a time.

If I wanted all of the hundred Macs and PCs actively engaged in the
same network, where any Mac or any PC could control all other Macs and
PCs, then I would have to buy the much higher priced unlimited versions
of Timbuktu.

Mark-

Windows version of TB2 is kinda crippled, y'know.

Micromat thinks so little of their own Windows version
that they don't even require users to enter a serial number
on the Windows end.

Just my little contribution to Timbuktu advocacy.  :)

Mark-