Set Microsoft Remote Desktop as Default Shell

[dulljr]

We are currently attempting to repurpose our old macintosh power pc computers by using vmware virtual desktops on them. The only thing I have found that works to connect to the virtual desktops on a power PC is the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. This works fine, but we would like to implement a single-sign-on type scenario where basically, the user turns on the computer and upon bootup the only interface that they see, or at least the only application they can interact with, is the remote desktop login. On windows all you have to do is redirect the registry setting that points to the default shell to the vmware view client. I have no idea how to do this on a Macintosh. Our Macs are 10.4 - 10.6 so multiple changes/settings may be Required for the different iterations of the Mac OS. Anyone know how to do this, or have a link to somewhere that explains it?

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

We are currently attempting to repurpose our old macintosh power pc computers by using vmware virtual desktops on them. The only thing I have found that works to connect to the virtual desktops on a power PC is the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. This works fine, but we would like to implement a single-sign-on type scenario where basically, the user turns on the computer and upon bootup the only interface that they see, or at least the only application they can interact with, is the remote desktop login. On windows all you have to do is redirect the registry setting that points to the default shell to the vmware view client. I have no idea how to do this on a Macintosh. Our Macs are 10.4 - 10.6 so multiple changes/settings may be Required for the different iterations of the Mac OS. Anyone know how to do this, or have a link to somewhere that explains it?

You cannot easily pass authentication over to RDP however it may be possible to save the RDP session and credentials to the keychain and then add it as a startup item. It won't pass authentication (kerberos etc.) but it will (hopefully) load the saved username and password stored in the keychain manager.

Make sense??

 

[dulljr]

You cannot easily pass authentication over to RDP however it may be possible to save the RDP session and credentials to the keychain and then add it as a startup item. It won't pass authentication (kerberos etc.) but it will (hopefully) load the saved username and password stored in the keychain manager.

Make sense??

I already have my test machines automatically logging in to a local profile with a saved MS RDP profile in the startup items. This works to automatically move the user through the Mac OS GUI and straight into their windows session. However it still allows the users to log out of windows and come back to the Mac OS. From there the user can use the features of the os, tinker with settings or in our case, get confused about what to do. The idea is to lock them out of the Mac OS all together. On windows machines you can lock them out of the "local" OS, only allowing them access to the program that connects them to their virtual desktop. That's what we are going for here.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

I already have my test machines automatically logging in to a local profile with a saved MS RDP profile in the startup items. This works to automatically move the user through the Mac OS GUI and straight into their windows session. However it still allows the users to log out of windows and come back to the Mac OS. From there the user can use the features of the os, tinker with settings or in our case, get confused about what to do. The idea is to lock them out of the Mac OS all together. On windows machines you can lock them out of the "local" OS, only allowing them access to the program that connects them to their virtual desktop. That's what we are going for here.

Use Parental Controls and create a Kiosk environment.

 

[dulljr]

Use Parental Controls and create a Kiosk environment.

Yeah. I'm afraid that may be our only recourse. I'm still not finding a single thing on making a mac a thin client. Perhaps I could install a linux partition and make it the default boot OS. I know you can lock down the linux OS as a thin client. I even talked to the Vmware engineers, and they said it wasn't possible to do what i'm asking. Thanks for your suggestions. I'll have to check the forums to see how to dual boot various iterations of the mac os and hardware with linux. Any suggestions there?

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Yeah. I'm afraid that may be our only recourse. I'm still not finding a single thing on making a mac a thin client. Perhaps I could install a linux partition and make it the default boot OS. I know you can lock down the linux OS as a thin client. I even talked to the Vmware engineers, and they said it wasn't possible to do what i'm asking. Thanks for your suggestions. I'll have to check the forums to see how to dual boot various iterations of the mac os and hardware with linux. Any suggestions there?

I just don't see what you want working. OSX just isn't built to do that. Not saying that some incredible digging/hacking/coding couldn't change that but in the end I think its just best to go Kiosk mode. Best part about that is Parental Controls can be managed via MCX.