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http://www.macnn.com/articles/01/06/13/timbuktu:.troubleshooting,/

Timbuktu: troubleshooting, real-world uses

updated 03:30 pm EDT, Wed June 13, 2001

 
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Netopia's Timbuktu is being used by a staff of one to help troubleshoot "between 800 and 900 computers, ranging from 90s-era PowerMac 5200s to the latest PowerMac G4s, in computer labs as far as 18 miles from the office" and is also providing local schools access to scientific data collected from the unique Nature Area in Sunnyvale (CA), which is home to several biological communities.


by MacNN Staff

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  1. 0

    Joined:

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    06/13, 03:41pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Soon gone

    This is just the sort of thing IT managers hate. They never make any money if they reduce IT support.

  1. 0

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    06/13, 04:27pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    M$ hates it more...

    The nerve! This entire organization is denying Bill income from MCSE classes and testing for techs to support 800-900 Windows machines, income from all their insane licensing BS to cover almost 1000 machines without worry of an audit bringing down the Wrath of Bill's Minions, and the myriad other ways they suck money out of companies as if it were going out of style. How DARE they! The Powers That Be in that school district better start checking under their cars before they start the engine in the morning. :-)

    When a company I used to work at was an all-Mac shop, I was responsible for 100 users in 3 buildings and sat around most of the day reading and websurfing. Occasionally someone had trouble with an M$ e-mail attachment from a client, or would experience a crash and need me to run Norton on their Mac. We did have ANAT, so I could have done some things remotely, but I usually needed to stretch my legs.

    When they switched over to PCs "because the rest of the business world uses them," the staff was doubled to 2 and we were barely able to keep up with all the day-to-day c***. Between Dell's S***** hardware and the comedy of errors trying to get NT 4.0 to work as nicely on laptops as 98 does...

    It never seemed to dawn on anyone there that being compatible with the rest of the world doesn't mean s*** if you can't work because the Exchange server is down or because your Dell laptop is consistently BSODing or needs a new motherboard.

  1. 0

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    06/13, 05:05pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Pretty Typical Here

    We have been servicing our clients for 4-5 years in the same method.
    There is nothing like being able to connect to a clients system in Virginia, Boston or Florida via Timbuktu, (regardless of the Mac model) when we are still working here in N.Y.
    We get paid when we are physically there or not (prices may vary... hehehe)
    But, it's good to know that we are not the only ones doing this.
    Keep up the good work!!!


  1. 0

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    06/13, 05:13pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Not Just for Macs

    I use Timbuktu to manage both Macs and Windows PCs from my office and from at home. This is a fantastic tool for remote management and support and for telecommuting. Unlike PCAnywhere (which works only on PCs), it works with Windows and Mac. I understand that Netopia has already put out a MacOS X version as well.

  1. 0

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    06/13, 05:46pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    VNC is better.

    http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/index.html

    And it's free.

  1. 0

    Joined:

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    06/13, 05:56pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    VNC is better.

    http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/index.html

    And it's free.

  1. 0

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    06/13, 05:57pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Re: VNC is better

    BS. Most customers are not on a direct ethernet connection. VNC is much slower than Timbuktu in my experience. Although it is free, it is still a work in progress.

  1. 0

    Joined:

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    06/13, 06:24pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Re: VNC is better

    Free security holes too.

  1. 0

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    06/13, 07:07pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    VNC is not better

    You get what you pay for.

    Timbuktu is faster, more stable, and offers far more features like fast file transfer, intercom, and chatting. The knocking and inviting features are very handy too.

    Another great use of Timbuktu is if you have friends or relatives that are new to computers. Install a copy on their computer and next time they call you, you will thank me. ;-)

  1. 0

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    06/13, 07:51pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Upping the ante ;o)

    Where I work seven of us provide support for over 3000 Macs across 14 states. All of the Macs are running 8.6 TB2 is our friend and we've been doing this for over five years. Its not our only tool, of course, but its a most significant one. Of course, we -must- standardize on win2k and even though we have a much harder time supporting PC's we'll be switching everything to m$ garbage over the next year or so.

    Nobody ever accused our leadership of having any smarts...

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