Need to access your Mac from your Linux desktop? While Apple Remote Desktop software might be compatible with VNC, anyone who’s tried to use a regular VNC client will know it doesn’t work. Here’s how to fix it.
First, the Mac:
- Open Finder and click System Preferences
- Under Internet & Network, open Sharing
- Enable Apple Remote Desktop. Then Access Privileges
- Enable VNC viewers may Control the screen with password, and then pop in a password.
Then on Ubuntu:
- Click System → Administration → Synaptic Package Manager
- Install the tsclient and xtightvncviewer packages
- Uninstall the xvnc4viewer package (for Ubuntu 7.10) or the xvncviewer package (Ubuntu 7.06).This is the important part – Apple Remote Desktop isn’t compatible with regular VNC. Uninstalling it makes Ubuntu prefer the alternative Tight VNC version (which uses a compression that works with Apple Remote Desktop).
- Click Applications → Internet → Terminal Server Client
- Under Computer type the IP address of the Mac, select VNC as the protocol and click Connect.
- If all goes well, a window will pop up in the top left of your screen asking for a password, and you’ll be connected to your Mac.
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