Aqua Connect (http://www.aquaconnect.net/), a provider of an enterprise grade Mac terminal server, has announced their plans to support the new Apple iPad.
The Aqua Connect Terminal Server (ACTS) delivers the Mac OS X experience to PCs, thin clients, legacy Macs, and smartphones. Aqua Connect supports the 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, says Aqua Connect CEO Lewis Larson.
Aqua Connect has also announced plans to support the iPad in their upcoming Mac Remote Desktop release. The 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, Larson says.
“With today’s announcement, Aqua Connect will make it possible to deploy OS X to the iPad,” he adds. “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 the iPhone OS.”
The Aqua Connect Terminal Server 3.5 is available now with support for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. Mac Remote Desktop is in the beta phase and will launch later this year to the public.