Citrix Previews Remote Windows App (XenApp) for iPhone

[MacRumors]

Citrix revealed (via 9to5Mac) that they have been hard at work at porting XenApp to the iPhone. XenApp is a remote Windows application that is presently available for Mac, Windows and some mobile platforms. XenApp allows users to remotely log into their corporate networks to access their Windows applications.

From an end-user perspective, users can log in to their corporate network from, for example, an airport kiosk, see all of the applications they would see everyday at work, including Outlook email and any internal applications, and access them from the kiosk in a secure environment. To the user, the application would appear as if it was installed and running on their computer (seamless desktop integration), whereas in reality, the application is running on XenApp, usually hosted in their corporate environment.

An early version is shown here:

Article Link: Citrix Previews Remote Windows App (XenApp) for iPhone

Citrix says there's still a lot of work to do but that they will be "crafting a user experience that provides a natural, transparent and effortless user interface".

At first glance, it may appear similar in functionality to existing VNC clients for the iPhone, but Citrix's XenApp apparently transmits window display information rather than the raw graphics. In that way, it's more similar to X11. In doing so, performance should be much better than VNC over network connections such as 3G and WiFi.

CNBC believes that this will remove another hurdle for the adoption of the iPhone in enterprise.

[Rybold]

That video is incredible!
It's literally your P.C. desktop displayed on your iPHONE !!!
This is going to revolutionize mobile computing!!! I'll bet no one ever saw this coming.

more info... http://www.cnbc.com//id/27681665?__s...ext|&par=yahoo

If Apple's marketing department has half a brain, they will make this into a television commercial.

Looks like Apple just one-upped Bill Gates. So much for needing Windows Mobile.

.

[markm49uk]

Wow - this looks amazing and will be a big selling point for the iPhone in the corporate environment.

Get this out soon !

[ArtOfWarfare]

errr...

did they do anything in the video?

I failed to be impressed by it, particularly after seeing Portal. They just looked at their screen and zoomed around... as far as I can tell, it's nothing like having the PC with you. More like having the monitor with you.

[barkomatic]

I didn't see them actually enter any info into that spreadsheet or edit a work document, or access outlook.

If it can do all of that it would be fantastic. Still, I guess there's value in simply being able to view files.

[kingtj]

This is "ok", but nothing to get very excited by. VNC on the iPhone is, in many ways, a much more useful tool for people.

I can VNC into *any* type of server, whether it's another Mac, a Linux or BSD based server, or yes, even a Windows box. Sure, Citrix will be faster, with their proprietary technologies for sending the window data. But have you priced out the cost of licensing for Citrix servers that can host something like this?

This has *nothing* to do with Windows Mobile, which is a way to physically run a scaled down version of Windows on your hand-held device. This is just a way to relatively quickly gain remote access to applications being hosted from an expensive Windows server running expensive Citrix software on the top of it. Mind you, the apps will NOT be scaled to the size of your iPhone's screens, so tons of scrolling around and pinching is going to be required. Ugh....

Originally Posted by Rybold

That video is incredible!
It's literally your P.C. desktop displayed on your iPHONE !!!
This is going to revolutionize mobile computing!!! I'll bet no one ever saw this coming.

more info... http://www.cnbc.com//id/27681665?__s...ext|&par=yahoo

If Apple's marketing department has half a brain, they will make this into a television commercial.

Looks like Apple just one-upped Bill Gates. So much for needing Windows Mobile.

.

[lowbatteries]

VNC has been around for the iPhone since before there was an SDK. Not really sure what the performance is like, but its definitely a cheaper and less complicated way of seeing your PC display.

I have had to deal with citrix only once, when a client was using it somehow to upload documents to a content management system. The documents came through with some weird mime type, like application/citrix-image-jpeg or something. I asked what Citrix was, she explained it, and I just said "why?".

Remote controlling your Mac or PC via VNC has been standard for me for years, which is why it makes me mad Apple removed features from Screen Sharing in their last Leopard update.

[TitoC]

Originally Posted by lowbatteries

VNC has been around for the iPhone since before there was an SDK. Not really sure what the performance is like, but its definitely a cheaper and less complicated way of seeing your PC display.

I have had to deal with citrix only once, when a client was using it somehow to upload documents to a content management system. The documents came through with some weird mime type, like application/citrix-image-jpeg or something. I asked what Citrix was, she explained it, and I just said "why?".

Remote controlling your Mac or PC via VNC has been standard for me for years, which is why it makes me mad Apple removed features from Screen Sharing in their last Leopard update.

Yes, VNC is cheaper. But there IS a difference. A big one . . . at least for business users. One of them being security. VNC, in it by itself, is not that secure.

Another one being speed. XenApp is much, much faster. Blazingly fast compared to VNC which can seem like molasses in comparison.

Unlike traditional framebuffered protocols like VNC, XenApp transmits high-level window display information, much like the X11 protocol, as opposed to purely graphical information. This is possible because the Citrix Display Driver which is installed in Session Space is capable of capturing high level GDI draw commands, which can be replayed on GDI-capable clients, for example Windows-based clients.

Also, XenApp is not just displaying your monitor's graphics, it works by having the actual documents and applications running on a server.

XenApp is not for the "average" user by any means. But for business and business owners, there are a whole lot of advantages.

[collusionxxi]

I can't imagine a more painful torture than trying to create an excel spreadsheet on an iphone.

[markm49uk]

Originally Posted by lowbatteries

VNC has been around for the iPhone since before there was an SDK. Not really sure what the performance is like, but its definitely a cheaper and less complicated way of seeing your PC display.

I have had to deal with citrix only once, when a client was using it somehow to upload documents to a content management system. The documents came through with some weird mime type, like application/citrix-image-jpeg or something. I asked what Citrix was, she explained it, and I just said "why?".

Remote controlling your Mac or PC via VNC has been standard for me for years, which is why it makes me mad Apple removed features from Screen Sharing in their last Leopard update.

Yes but Citrix is a little bit more than a VNC type application - to try and compare them shows a lack of understanding on what Citrix actually is capable of.

[kkat69]

Originally Posted by TitoC

Yes, VNC is cheaper. But there IS a difference. A big one . . . at least for business users. One of them being security. VNC, in it by itself, is not that secure.

That's the only (IMO) Citrix has in this case over VNC software. Citrix is overpriced and overbloated but it is more secure than typical VNC softwares. Plus most major companies are already opening ports for Citrix and refuse to open ports for VNC.

I've helped with Citrix in a previous employer and it's kinda ugly. Once it's setup it's a breeze and accessible via many options, web, desktop, WM, Linux, Unix, etc. This is good for the business side. I'd really love to see how they add a pop up keyboard when input is required.

[parapup]

a) Too much network traffic
b) Competes with upcoming native Apple Remote Desktop application or VNC
c) Rejection without particular reason

Or may be the Enterprise factor will be a major appeal and Apple will allow it?

[funnyent]

i think it would be to slow on 3g or even wifi. i would stick with vnc, because im not worried about security.

[MacTheSpoon]

Wow, that looks incredible! But, to be fair, I've never seen VNC in action.

[batchtaster]

Originally Posted by kingtj

I can VNC into *any* type of server, whether it's another Mac, a Linux or BSD based server, or yes, even a Windows box. Sure, Citrix will be faster, with their proprietary technologies for sending the window data. But have you priced out the cost of licensing for Citrix servers that can host something like this?

Nobody (with any brains) is suggesting you would set up a Citrix server just to get your iPhone to use desktop apps. The point is simply that in an environment where Citrix is already present, iPhone users can now participate. Without incurring the ire of their IT department by generating security holes in the network from turning on a rogue VNC server.

Having said that, I am lukewarm on Citrix anyway.

And personally, I wouldn't want to live my life never being more than a couple of taps away from PowerPoint. If you actually need to have immediate access to desktop business apps, get an ultralight laptop - MacBook Air, PC, I don't care which. Relying on an iPhone when you have a long laundry list of apps that you "need" or are "deal breakers" (I love that word, especially when you find out what people actually regard as "deal breakers"), in order to be acceptable to your employer, seems like bad business sense.

And for god sake, put your work away every now and then. There, I'm done.

[domness]

That video annoyed me so much! All they did was flick the screen around and zoomed around different sections. Wow, you can do this with a picture. I'm sure the developers haven't used an iPhone before coding this, and therefore thought the scrolling and pinching was an amazing feature of theirs :P

[arn]

Originally Posted by funnyent

i think it would be to slow on 3g or even wifi. i would stick with vnc, because im not worried about security.

I think people are missing the advantage of this over VNC.

When you move a window (in simplified terms)

VNC: sends a new picture of your desktop across the network (potentially 100's of kilobytes)
Citrix: sends new coordinates (x,y) (a few bytes)

arn

[mneblett]

My office uses Citrix, and every night I'm using it to access the firm servers from my desktop PC and/or MBP.

For the nay-sayers: Just because you don't have a use for it, no need to pee in everyone else's pool. I don't need this for drafting documents, but it would be IDEAL for the one thing I want: remote access to my Outlook desktop for e-mail and access to the firm document management system for file transfers via e-mail -- this is even a better solution than my Blackberry.

I'll definitely be standing in line when this is released.

[hugo7]

This looks horrendous. It doesn't matter how fast it is, all that zooming and panning around a much larger desktop looks uncomfortable. Swishing around a web page on the iphone is one thing (which I rarely like doing), but flying around a desktop, well, er ... I'll pass.

This sort of app has its use, I guess, but it's such a contrast to the way productivity is typically achieved via the small device's beautiful user interface.

(I wonder how the pull-down menus on that Excel spreadsheet are handled )

[Rybold]

Originally Posted by collusionxxi

I can't imagine a more painful torture than trying to create an excel spreadsheet on an iphone.

The purpose of this software is Not to create an entire excel spreadsheet. Lol.
The purpose of this software is so that you have ACCESS to view the content that is on your desktopPC or Mac even when you are not physically at your desktop. It allows you to be anywhere in the world and be able to pull your iPhone out of your pocket and be able to have ACCESS to what is on your desktop PC or Mac. "You know what, I have that data on my desktop at my office. Just a second. Let me look it up. It says ...."

[GregA]

Windows remote control, in general, is much faster than VNC.

VNC has to send all the graphics, where a windows Remote Desktop Client just sends the window commands. There are several RDC clients for the iPhone already, including a free one.

I'm not sure what the Citrix App has above the other paid RDC clients, though it's always good to have a few choices.

Back when OSX was NeXT it used Display Postscript, and could do the incredibly fast remote control (even of individual applications, rather than the whole desktop). Surely the Mac PDF interface could do something similar. I wonder why Apple hasn't done that? I had hoped Quartz2Dextreme was a back door into that but nothing happened.

[batchtaster]

Originally Posted by lowbatteries

Apple removed features from Screen Sharing in their last Leopard update.

Exactly what features are you saying they removed?

[Shasterball]

Do you think it will be easy to enter information and manipulate documents? With the keyboard taking up a bunch of the screen, I think it will be hard...

[Jeezeypeeps]

I was aware Citrix were working on this and I was beginning to wonder what had happened to it as things had gone quiet for a long time.

The unfortunate thing is that Citrix now appear to be close to delivering an enterprise application, while Apple are nowhere near being able to deliver an enterprise platform to run it on. Until they address device encryption and the management tool-set, the iPhone is going nowhere in enterprises that have any reasonable security standards. Come on Apple, cut the 'enterprise ready' marketing and get on with the job

[blybug]

Originally Posted by batchtaster

Nobody (with any brains) is suggesting you would set up a Citrix server just to get your iPhone to use desktop apps. The point is simply that in an environment where Citrix is already present, iPhone users can now participate. Without incurring the ire of their IT department by generating security holes in the network from turning on a rogue VNC server.

Exactly.

The naysayers here who don't see the difference between this and VNC or RDC obviously don't work where Citrix access is already in place. At my hospital there are some proprietary applications available via Citrix server that are not only Windows-only, but specific to my institution and require appropriate security (ie the electronic medical record). And there is no chance that an iPhone-native version of these programs will be created.

Yes, I can currently log onto my office computer via iPhone RDC and run these programs via my office desktop, but that requires my desktop to be on and available, the iPhone to hook up via VPN, and alot of overhead remote controlling, scrolling, and rendering an entire Windows machine in action over the network. Citrix access allows you to run just a single isolated app, has much less graphical overhead, is secure on login without using VPN, and I expect the iPhone version will have specific settings to optimize for screen size, bit depth etc just like like the desktop version. The video is admittedly kind of "gee-whiz-look-what-we-can-do," probably logged in to a Citrix-based RDC session, which is why in this case it looks just like another RDC client. In reality using Citrix on the desktop is nearly like using Parallels in confluence mode...Windows apps (via Citrix server) in their own windows interleaved with Mac apps. Now the iPhone will be able to create this same illusion.

Those who don't already access their corporate network apps via Citrix will have no use for this (and no way to use it). Those like myself who use Citrix access regularly, understand the value, and can't wait for this to become available!