Apple Releases Update To Macintosh Manager

Apple has released an update to Macintosh Manager, a client/server application which helps in the management of client Mac desktops, controlling what client users have access to and can run. The new version, 2.1.1 includes new abilities to localize user preferences. From Apple:

Macintosh Manager is Appleis workstation management technology, providing education network administrators with a centralized method of securing Mac OS workstations, controlling student software access, and providing a consistent, personalized experience for students and staff.

This latest version of Macintosh Manager, version 2.1.1, includes the ability to localized a useris preference file.

A new system extension called MMLocalPrefs (located on the installer disk in the parts folder) can be installed onto your Mac OS 9 client computer to enable a feature in which preferences for a logged in user are always accessed locally instead of redirected to the remote server volume. A copy of the extension must be manually installed onto every Mac OS 9 client workstation that you wish to enable the feature. It cannot be disabled on a per-user or per-workgroup basis and does nothing if installed on an OS 8 workstation.

The new ability to have local preferences for Mac OS 9 workstations works in a similar fashion to what already exists today on a Mac OS 8 client workstation using Macintosh Manager, and should be used when excessive network activity generated by some applications is mitigated by having the preferences accessed locally. If you use this feature, you may experience longer log-in and log-out times since preferences will be need to be copied to the local workstation during these times, however the exact amount is dependant on many variables.

The client requires OS 8.x to OS 9.x, server requires OS 9.x or OS X. The 15mb download is available directly from Apple.