Mountain Lion updates for OS X Server, Xcode, Remote Desktop hit Mac App Store

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Along with Wednesday's release of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple released Mountain Lion Server as a $19.99 upgrade on the Mac App Store, while Xcode 4.4 was also provided to developers, and Apple Remote Desktop also received an update.

Mountain Lion Server

OS X Server version 2.0 is now available for download on the Mac App Store. It's an application that users can add to Mountain Lion, quickly turning a Mac into a server that can be used for home offices, businesses, schools, and hobbyists.

OS X Server 2.0 is a 134-megabyte download from the Mac App Store that requires OS X 10.8 or later. Features of OS X Server for Mountain Lion, as highlighted by Apple, are:
  • File Sharing
    • File sharing for Mac, PC, and iPad
    • Standards-based AFP, SMB, and WebDAV file services
    • Flexible file permissions
    • Spotlight searching
  • Wiki Server
    • Point-and-click page editor to change formatting and insert images, movies, and attachments
    • Access controls
    • Tags and comments
    • Revision history
    • Document sharing
    • Quick Look previews
  • Profile Manager
    • Configuration and management for OS X and iOS
    • Over-the-air enrollment
    • Mobile device management
    • Web-based administration console
    • Self-service user portal for clearing passcodes, remote lock and wipe
  • Time Machine
    • Provide a backup destination for Mac computers on your network
    • Deliver backup support for OS X
  • Mail Services
    • Standards-based SMTP, IMAP, and POP server
    • Push notifications
    • SSL encryption
    • Adaptive junk mail filtering
    • Virus detection and quarantine
  • Calendar Server
    • Share calendars, schedule meetings and events, and book conference rooms
    • Standards-based CalDAV server for access from Mac, iPad, iPhone, and PC
    • View availability with free/busy lookups
    • Email invitations and notifications
    • Push notifications
Server
  • Contacts Server
    • Synchronize contacts with Mac, iPad, and iPhone
    • Allow multiple users to access and update contacts
    • Standards-based CardDAV server
    • Push notifications
  • Messages Server
    • Secure encrypted instant messaging for your organization
    • Persistent chat rooms
    • Store-and-forward for sending messages to buddies who are offline
  • Virtual Private Network
    • Highly secure remote access for your network services
    • Encrypted VPN connections for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and PC
  • Xsan
    • Block-level SAN file sharing with concurrent read/write access
    • Xsan volume hosting and configuration
    • Volume management, storage pools, stripping, and volume mapping
    • Real-time monitoring, graphs, and event notifications
    • Metadata controller failover and file system journaling
  • Server App
    • Local or remote setup
    • Users and groups settings
    • View real-time graphs of server usage and activity
  • Other OS X Server features
    • NetInstall to automate OS X installations and upgrades across your network
    • Web server for hosting multiple websites
    • Software Update Server automatically downloads Mac software updates and cache them locally
Xcode 4.4

The latest version fo Xcode is a 1.46-gigabyte download that runs in both OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion. Features included in Xcode 4.4, according to Apple, are:
  • SDKs for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS 5.1.
  • Enhanced for the MacBook Pro with Retina display.
  • Code completion persists your selections to give more accurate suggestions.
  • Objective-C @synthesize command is generated by default when using properties.
  • Objective-C adds literal syntax for numbers, arrays, dictionaries, and expressions when developing for OS X.
  • Apple LLVM compiler supports additional C++11 features, including lambdas.
Xcode
  • Assistant editor tracks caller or callee for the current selection.
  • New localization workflow can share a single base .xib file for multiple locales on OS X.
  • Source control can commit individually selected changes.
  • ARC migration tool converts both retain/release and garbage collected code.
  • Fixes an issue where code completion could fail, requiring the user to delete derived data.
  • Additional bug fixes and stability improvements.
Apple Remote Desktop

Finally, Apple Remote Desktop was also updated to version 3.6 on Wednesday. The 10.3-megabyte download costs $79.99, and requires OS X 10.7 Lion or later, meaning Snow Leopard users will not be able to upgrade.

Version 3.6 of Apple Remote Desktop addresses several issues related to overall reliability, usability and compatibility, according to Apple. It is also said to provide new attributes in the System Overview Report, and support for IPv6.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    So OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Server each cost $20 but the 10.3MB app for remote desktop costs $80? I know how prices work for a market and the size of an app isn't any indication of the effort to make it but that price disparity still seems way off. At least ARD finally supports IPv6.
  • Reply 2 of 19
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member


    Was it always just $20?  OS X Server looks like a great deal now, even if you just use it for the Time Machine feature.  My kids and I have 4 Macs in active use and two of them aren't backed up regularly.  I can just pay $20 for this, turn on the Time Machine server option, point the other three Macs to the one acting as the server and I'm covered.  That's a lot cheaper than buying some networked backup appliance.


     


    Am I missing something?

  • Reply 3 of 19
    mr beardsleymr beardsley Posts: 365member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    Was it always just $20?  OS X Server looks like a great deal now, even if you just use it for the Time Machine feature.  My kids and I have 4 Macs in active use and two of them aren't backed up regularly.  I can just pay $20 for this, turn on the Time Machine server option, point the other three Macs to the one acting as the server and I'm covered.  That's a lot cheaper than buying some networked backup appliance.


     


    Am I missing something?



    No, you are correct, that will work just fine.


     


    Xcode 4.4 is excellent.  Xcode is becoming a great IDE.  Server is a weak spot for Apple.  I've supported Server for quite a while, and it really is not that good a product.  About the only good thing it has going for itself, is its price.

  • Reply 4 of 19
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    So OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Server each cost $20 but the 10.3MB app for remote desktop costs $80? I know how prices work for a market and the size of an app isn't any indication of the effort to make it but that price disparity still seems way off. At least ARD finally supports IPv6.


    How is ARD different from the remote connect option that's already part of OS X?  Is that what's needed to create new remote sessions rather than just hijacking the current session (which REALLY freaks my kids out).

  • Reply 5 of 19
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    So OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Server each cost $20 but the 10.3MB app for remote desktop costs $80? I know how prices work for a market and the size of an app isn't any indication of the effort to make it but that price disparity still seems way off. At least ARD finally supports IPv6.


     


    You aren't paying for the size of the app you are paying for the function it has. 

  • Reply 6 of 19
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    Was it always just $20? 



     




    as I recall Lion was $30 and Lion Server was $50 (on top of having to get Lion)

  • Reply 7 of 19
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    malax wrote: »
    Was it always just $20?  OS X Server looks like a great deal now, even if you just use it for the Time Machine feature.  My kids and I have 4 Macs in active use and two of them aren't backed up regularly.  I can just pay $20 for this, turn on the Time Machine server option, point the other three Macs to the one acting as the server and I'm covered.  That's a lot cheaper than buying some networked backup appliance.

    Am I missing something?
    There's probably a price history for OS X Server somewhere on the fine Internet, I suggest you use your favorite search engine to find it.

    That said, $20 is by far the cheapest that OS X Server has been. It used to be priced in the hundreds of dollars as recently as a few years ago. I bought the Mac mini server in mid-2010 and it was basically priced as a souped-up Mac mini (with second hard drive, both running at a faster 7200rpm) and a copy of OS X Server thrown in for free.

    As a workgroup server, it's a pretty impressive bargain, especially when you compare it to similar offerings from a certain company in Redmond.

    For family use, the Time Machine function and maybe the calendaring and contact/address book functions are probably the most useful.
  • Reply 8 of 19
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member


    Thanks.  That's what I thought, and I figured it was worth calling that out for people like me who never seriously considered buying the server software before.  Now it's almost too good to be true.

     

  • Reply 9 of 19
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


     


    You aren't paying for the size of the app you are paying for the function it has. 



    Not so sure about that. Xcode is free and has many functions. I think like any product they figure out how much the development, R&D and support are costing to produce a title and then estimate how many copies they are going sell to establish the price. In many cases the product is free because it leads to hardware sales and mind share, but often the price/feature ratio is not even the top consideration. Many times a software title is categorized as a professional application and end users are willing to pay a premium since they will be passing the cost on to their customers and writing off the expense.

  • Reply 10 of 19
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Not so sure about that. Xcode is free and has many functions. I think like any product they figure out how much the development, R&D and support are costing to produce a title and then estimate how many copies they are going sell to establish the price. In many cases the product is free because it leads to hardware sales and mind share, but often the price/feature ratio is not even the top consideration. Many times a software title is categorized as a professional application and end users are willing to pay a premium since they will be passing the cost on to their customers and writing off the expense.





    Right, but Charlituna was just saying that download size isn't part of the pricing equation.  And your post supports that: XCode is huge and it's free.

  • Reply 11 of 19
    iluomoiluomo Posts: 25member


    Hey, I see VPN listed as a feature.  Does that mean ML Server marks the return of a GUI for VPN or is it still command line?

  • Reply 12 of 19
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by iluomo View Post


    Hey, I see VPN listed as a feature.  Does that mean ML Server marks the return of a GUI for VPN or is it still command line?



     


    According to page 20 of http://movies.apple.com/media/us/osx/2012/server/docs/OSXServer_Product_Overview.pdf it's not command line any more. 

  • Reply 13 of 19
    mr beardsleymr beardsley Posts: 365member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by iluomo View Post


    Hey, I see VPN listed as a feature.  Does that mean ML Server marks the return of a GUI for VPN or is it still command line?



     


    Lion server always had a GUI for VPN.  What it didn't have at release was a way to set the client address pool.  That was added back in with the 10.7.4 update.  ML is not really any different from Lion as far as VPN services are concerned.

  • Reply 14 of 19
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post




    Right, but Charlituna was just saying that download size isn't part of the pricing equation.  And your post supports that: XCode is huge and it's free.



    Perhaps, however I was disregarding the size part altogether because that would never be a factor. I was only addressing the relationship of software function/feature with software price. Again, it might be a minor consideration if there was a competitive product but in the case of these Apple exclusive software titles it is hardly a factor.


     


    My comments were also related to Soli's question about the seemingly high price for ARD since a lite version of the product is already included in iCloud as Back to My Mac, why is it so expensive. I think because it is a professional product with a limited market.

  • Reply 15 of 19
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    cvaldes1831 wrote: »
    There's probably a price history for OS X Server somewhere on the fine Internet,

    At one time it was $499 for unlimited clients. Later, it dropped to $50 for unlimited clients. $20 is definitely the lowest it has ever been.

    Compare to Windows server with unlimited licensing if you want to get a laugh. Heck, you may be able to buy a Mac AND the server license for less than the Windows license alone.


    ETA:
    Originally, Jaguar server was $999. It was later reduced to $499, then $50, then $20. All of those were for unlimited clients.
  • Reply 16 of 19
    unicronunicron Posts: 154member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    Was it always just $20?  OS X Server looks like a great deal now, even if you just use it for the Time Machine feature.  My kids and I have 4 Macs in active use and two of them aren't backed up regularly.  I can just pay $20 for this, turn on the Time Machine server option, point the other three Macs to the one acting as the server and I'm covered.  That's a lot cheaper than buying some networked backup appliance.


     


    Am I missing something?



     


    One problem with Time Machine on Server is that there are no quotas or way to manage them. Each user's TIme Machine will just grow bigger and bigger until there is no room left on your Server's hard drive(s). You have to manually delete each user's TM disk image and start backing up from scratch. (At least that's how it's been through 10.5~10.7. Don't know if 10.8 finally changes that behavior or not)


     


    Also, TM performance over a network has been terrible in previous version. Even a cheap local USB 2 drive is way faster. 

  • Reply 17 of 19
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    unicron wrote: »
    Also, TM performance over a network has been terrible in previous version. Even a cheap local USB 2 drive is way faster. 

    It comes down to convenience. I use my laptop most of the time and having to connect it to a USB drive regularly for Time Machine to work would be a pain. I use a Time Capsule as my TM backup, but if I didn't have that, I could use Server to handle it. Your storage issue could be addressed by having a USB drive dedicated to each system's backup. If you already have a Mac running Server, that might be cheaper than Time Capsule.

    Performance isn't much of an issue for me. Other than the initial backup (which I do overnight), it doesn't seem to get in the way very much.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


     


    You aren't paying for the size of the app you are paying for the function it has. 



    Is that why OS X Server costs so little, even when combined with the price of the client OS?

  • Reply 19 of 19
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    So OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Server each cost $20 but the 10.3MB app for remote desktop costs $80? I know how prices work for a market and the size of an app isn't any indication of the effort to make it but that price disparity still seems way off. At least ARD finally supports IPv6.

    I understand what you mean and agree, but it used to be $ 299 Heck, before that it was $ 499 IIRC. Aperture: $ 499 > $ 79. Just look at the pricedrop of WebObjects lol
    haggar wrote: »
    charlituna wrote: »
    You aren't paying for the size of the app you are paying for the function it has. 
    Is that why OS X Server costs so little, even when combined with the price of the client OS?

    SarcTag? Funny. No SarcTag, no funny.
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