Vine Server for Mac

User Reviews

• As good as sitting in front of the keyboard

  shangrla56August 8, 2011

  Pros

  Based on LAN use only... Very fast. Robust and reliable. Very easy to set up and install. Most (if not all) client-side functions work out of the box.

  Cons

  None so far

  Summary

  Super! The logic board on my MacBook Pro (Leopard) died so I was forced to connect remotely. I set up Leopard's built-in VNC server that's part of Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) to connect from a VNC client on Windows XP SP3 on my LAN. What a frustrating experience. Leopard's ARD VNC is painfully slow and very frequently stops responding regardless of which VNC viewer I use. I finally became fed up enough to look for a different solution so I installed Vine Server 3.12 and I'm thrilled I did. First and foremost it's very reliable, I haven't had to reconnect even once since I started using it a week ago, whereas with ARD I needed to reconnect at least once every 5 minutes. In terms of speed and responsiveness there's no comparison really. If ARD is a Chevy Aveo then Vine Server would be a Corvette. Functions such mouse-wheel scrolling and ALT-TAB task switching work without any additional configuration. I'm now using my Mac again for almost all my work because Vine Server is fast enough that there's not much difference between using the VNC viewer and sitting right right at the keyboard. That's really the best endorsement I can give since that's ultimately the goal of any VNC software.. if not for the pointer being a dot instead of an arrow I could easily forget I was even using VNC.

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• Product title does not match the description!

  sawatzkySeptember 16, 2010

  Pros

  Server is freeware, viewer is trialware.

  Cons

  Free VNC server!

  Summary

  I don't know why this CNET download page is allowed to exist. The description is for a different product than the title product. The server is FREE. The Viewer is not. They are two different products. You can use any VNC viewer, including Windows viewers. This is a Mac only set of products!

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• Scam alert! This is not free, it's only a trial.

  DonnieJ77November 11, 2009

  Pros

  No pros that I could find.

  Cons

  No install options, had to clean up my system manually including removing firewall changes. This program also caused problems with my internet access.

  Summary

  I recommend avoiding this program.

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• VNC Viewer and Server (and FREE)

  hunter3740July 30, 2009

  Pros

  Free, VNC Server (formerly OSXvnc), VNC Viewer, simple enough to use (like most preferences, go to the "Vine Server" menu and select "Preferences" and look around.

  Cons

  none that I'm aware of

  Summary

  Many of us at my University use this software for non-Mac OS 10.4 machines; i.e. tried and true.

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• Good product doe what it is designed for...

  FlinxJanuary 11, 2007

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I used it to connect to my home mac from the work PC. Quitte reliable, good contact with developper for the rare issues I have met (conflic with APE) and free... A must have and last version seems to improve responsivity tooo

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• Noticeable performance improvement

  merrillfbDecember 1, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Doesn't crash using Tight encoding from CotVNC, for one thing. But does seem to be generally faster than the previous release of OSXVnc.

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• A good compliment to the Vine Viewer

  artful38November 6, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I checked out the Vine viewer this morning and since the server is an integral part of the "VIne system" figured I would add my impressions here too. Like the viewer, the server is definitely the best VNC server for the Mac, but with some caveats. The server works well. I am a Mac geek and had no trouble setting up the basics. The included manual is a nice addition, but still, non-expert Mac users will be very confused with all the options and tabs in the serve interface. The added Mac only features are very nice and worked well, such as the rich clipboard exchange. The main "new" feature I wanted to try was the multiple remote desktops, which sounds great (terminal server for the Mac!), and this "kinda" worked, but it is not ready for prime time. Setting it up is a pain in the you-know-what, you need to manually fast user switch to each user, set up a server instance and do some other tweaking, and at that point you can log in remotely...but the long list of what doesn't work (and in my testing, even basic logging in to a specific user failed as often as it worked) would seem to indicate this features is more a proof of concept then anything that could be reliable on a regular basis. Still, don't let my complaining dissade you, Vine server is a good geek tool, and if you need a VNC server on the Mac that is more robust then the build in one used by ARD, go for it!

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• Great VNC Server

  junkassboxJuly 30, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />The best I've found! Is far better than RealVNC's beta which is a 14 day trial and PowerPC only. Nice work!

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• Great VNC Server

  junkassboxJuly 30, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />The best I've found! Is far better than RealVNC's beta which is a 14 day trial and PowerPC only. Nice work!

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• As expected

  rocteurJanuary 21, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Works as expected on Panther with connections from Tiger! Have not tried on Tiger!

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