Apple Mac HQ

If your Mac usage also involves connecting to Microsoft Windows computers, chances are petty good that you have already installed the Remote Desktop Connection client for Mac. Microsoft has been beta testing version 2.0 for some time now and recently released beta 2. Version 2.0 beta 1 brought the application to universal binary, a new interface, and other features. Beta 2 brings some improvements to existing features and a completely new feature.

New to beta 2 is Vista Network Level Authentication (NLA) support. NLA is a new authentication method available in Vista that completes user authentication before establishing a full Remote Desktop connection and displaying the logon screen. If NLA is enabled, prior versions of the RDC client will not be able to establish a connection to those NLA enabled Vista machines.

In addition to smaller updates, multiple session support has been improved. In the new design, you don’t need to leave the RDC client to launch a new connection. Beta 2 manages multiple connection settings in connection files as separate units. The ability to set global settings that apply to all computers has been removed. You can however set default settings that all new connections use when created.

I’ve been using beta 1 for a few months now and haven’t had any problems with it. If your work depends on keeping connections to Windows, the RDC client is a must download.