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Microsoft 'Windows App' Offers Access to Windows PCs From Any Device

We currently use a third party to host files and connect via RDP. Would this new offering require our office to have a dedicated windows server running with someone to maintain it? Or could we 'rent' a server via the cloud for a subscription fee? Even if a fee were required, I'd probably prefer that over our current third party solution, or having to have a dedicated computer in the office.
 
Tofupunch said:
We currently use a third party to host files and connect via RDP. Would this new offering require our office to have a dedicated windows server running with someone to maintain it? Or could we 'rent' a server via the cloud for a subscription fee? Even if a fee were required, I'd probably prefer that over our current third party solution, or having to have a dedicated computer in the office.
Click to expand...
You’re the kind of customer that Microsoft is betting on. But you’ll be subject to Microsoft’s whims regarding software updates and pricing, and eventually which software you’re even allowed to install (à la App Store).
 
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I had to move away from RDP due to the constant brute force attempts. no one got in, but it ate up bandwidth. does this intend to solve it?
 
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mctrees02 said:
Second thought…I wonder how well it can run the Microsoft version of Excel. I have an Excel plug-in I use most days for work on a dedicated Windows laptop because it doesn’t have Excel for Mac functionality. Would be nice to not have to carry 2 laptops when traveling.
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That should work fairly well. Either have a desktop/old laptop somewhere where you run Excel, or rent it from Microsoft (or someone else). Then connect from your Mac. If you put a little extra work into it, Excel can show up as its own "app":

1700144260680.png


Then it launches in a Mac window like so:

1700144435690.png
 
Tofupunch said:
We currently use a third party to host files and connect via RDP. Would this new offering require our office to have a dedicated windows server running with someone to maintain it? Or could we 'rent' a server via the cloud for a subscription fee? Even if a fee were required, I'd probably prefer that over our current third party solution, or having to have a dedicated computer in the office.
Click to expand...

You can run your own machine (some cheap Mac mini-like thing will do; it's typically more a question of RAM and network bandwidth), or rent one, e.g. from Microsoft.

(This is not a new offering. It's mostly just a new name for the app you use to connect to it.)
 
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jmh600cbr said:
I had to move away from RDP due to the constant brute force attempts. no one got in, but it ate up bandwidth. does this intend to solve it?
Click to expand...

We map our RDP server to a different port for this reason. (Internally, it still runs at the default 3389. The firewall externally maps it to something else.)
 
mctrees02 said:
Second thought…I wonder how well it can run the Microsoft version of Excel. I have an Excel plug-in I use most days for work on a dedicated Windows laptop because it doesn’t have Excel for Mac functionality. Would be nice to not have to carry 2 laptops when traveling.
Click to expand...
Why not just install Excel in a Windows VM via Parallels on the Mac and keep files synced through OneDrive for those instances? Excel is Windows on ARM native (though the plugin you use may not be but it should still run fine under emulation).
 
Wonder if this will support full capture? RDP doesn’t update portions of the screen that use certain 3D APIs. Not without having certain video cards oddly. For full capture… NVIDA users, you either need to be using a Quadro GPU or any “gamer” card older than a 1080 on down. No idea why this is.
 
jmh600cbr said:
I had to move away from RDP due to the constant brute force attempts. no one got in, but it ate up bandwidth. does this intend to solve it?
Click to expand...
I doubt it, but running your own VPN server does solve it. That's what I do, for both work and home.
 
It works surprisingly well on iPhone 15 Pro Max connected to an external monitor via USB-C. It will be a game changer once they enable seamless mouse/keyboard support. I was able to connect my Bluetooth keyboard with no problems. However, it seems the only way to get the mouse to work is to enable Assistive Touch with your mouse connected via Bluetooth.

Has anyone else got a better solution?
 
tonywalker23 said:
Along those lines, just the other day I was thinking of the old "Back to My Mac" that Apple discontinued. I read that it was not reliable for many, but I never had a problem with it that I remember. I have an M1 MBP that I dock at my office and take with me when I leave. But I have been playing with the idea of getting a base model Mac mini to use at my office and the MBP to use while on the go and at home. What I would love is to be able to use something like Back to My Mac on my laptop to view my computer at my office that is plugged into several external hard drives.

Does anything come to mind as a Back to My Mac replacement?
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Parallels Access: https://www.parallels.com/products/access/
 
Is this app going to render Parallels on macOS obsolete? Why pay Parallels when you can just use the app? Although I will admit, Parallels works great for me, I use it for Windows as well as Ubuntu (on macOS)!
 
bradman83 said:
It builds on remote desktop by adding support for Windows 365 and Azure desktops, so you can access cloud-based Windows VMs in addition to remote access to physical PCs.
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That was already possible. As far as I can tell this is just a more marketable package designed primarily to connect to Azure services, rather than Remote Desktop which can connect to those and any other Windows computer with RDP enabled.

I hope they don't plan for this to replace the actual Remote Desktop app.

Quick edit: it appears they do. That's a shame.
 
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Sounds like something that requires a Microsoft account. That is something that most Windows users avoid like music of Justin Bieber.
 
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Spaceboi Scaphandre said:
Isn't this just Remote Desktop but now Apple devices can use it?

I mean I'm not complaining but this ain't really new this is a feature Windows has had for a long time just rebranded
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Yes, and a feature the Mac has had for years through Microsoft's official Remote Desktop Client for Mac. And it looks like they are going to make that one worse by replacing it with this, as has been the unfortunate trend in software for about a decade now. Not actually any better, just shoving a lot more marketing in my face.
 
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DarthDon said:
If you want a perfect working system, get a Mac and / or a PC-System with Linux. If you still don't now why you shoud avoid Microsoft, read they're User Terms.
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Being totally serious: Can you copy/paste the relevant part of the user agreement here, please? Ideally, I'd love to see direct comparison of MS and Apple's docs, even if summarized by a GPT.
 
Man is everyone in for a surprise when Windows eventually goes deviceless and subscription based. They’ve been laying the groundwork with Windows 365 and 11 being even more of an ad tracking service than 10 was…

I’m thinking 2030.
 
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