Jaguar review looks at VPN support, Microsoft RDC

MSNBC columnist Gary Krakow has taken Mac OS X 10.2 for a spin and reported on his findings in a new article entitled Jaguar leaps onto Windows networks.

Krakow said that 10.2 “offers half a gazillion or so improvements on an already terrific OS,” and mainly focused his review on how Mac OS X 10.2 has changed under the hood — specifically, how well it works with Windows networking.

He said that his Jaguar-based Mac did better than he expected. Virtual Private Networking (VPN) worked “flawlessly,” and he’s also very impressed with how well Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection — a desktop remote control software client for OS X — works under Jaguar. “RDC worked first-time, every time. I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to be able to get my Outlook e-mail and use many of the MSNBC applications that up until Saturday were available only on Windows computers,” he said.

He said that Apple’s Mail software included with Jaguar couldn’t connect to his work-based mail server without “a lot of fiddling around.” He also reported problems navigating sub-folders using IMAP.

Overall, he called Mac OS X 10.2’s support for VPN and his ability to get Microsoft’s RDC client working “a major accomplishment” and commended Apple for their work. Krakow called Jaguar “a work in progress” and said “OS X is too good to quit on it.”