Filed under: Enterprise, OS, Software, Odds and ends, Snow Leopard
Remote Mac support made even easier with Mac HelpMate 3.0
A little over a year ago, I was searching for a way to expand my reach as a Mac consultant. I had heard quite a bit from other Apple Consultants Network members about Mac HelpMate, but really didn't know much about it. After a free test drive, I ended up purchasing Mac HelpMate and its companion software for standalone Macs, Auto HelpMate. Since then, supporting users anywhere within or outside of the Denver area without having to hop into my car and drive to a client's house has become a reality.Mac HelpMate works by creating a secure, user-initiated connection between a support professional and the user through a gateway server run by the brains behind the application, Apple Certified System Administrator Dean Shavit, who invented the Mac HelpMate service three and a half years ago.
The application is easy for my clients to set up, since there's a ZIRO (zero-interaction roll out) tool that I have on my company web site. One click, and my clients are sharing their screens with me, without having to install software or enter a password or code. The standalone application is used both by the support client and the support professional, and it runs on any Mac OS between 10.3 (Panther) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
I celebrated my first year of Mac HelpMate usage by re-subscribing to the service ($600 annually with a $100 discount to members of the Apple Consultants Network) and by upgrading to the new Mac HelpMate 3.0. The new version provides full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, as well as a number of powerful new features.
Among the new features added to Mac HelpMate 3.0 are the ability to use Apple's Screen Sharing system (formerly you had to use a separate VNC viewer application), two types of secure, zero-configuration file transfer, and the ability to access the command line on the remote computer without having to do it through screen sharing. Auto HelpMate, which I use to monitor remote servers, has been upgraded to version 1.4. Updating these remote servers to the new version is simple, since the web-based Connection Manager used for monitoring purposes provides a button for boosting the software on the remote machines to the new version.
The Connection Manager can now provide even more information about each machine being supported through Auto HelpMate. Asset management and System Profiler information are now available, so pulling up specs or AppleCare data for any machine is a piece of cake. It is even possible to create a tab-delimited report of random selections of machines, all machines, or machines by group or site for import into help-desk systems or a spreadsheet. Admins can get alerts via SMS text message or email if a machine is down, if the IP address for the machine changes, or even if the warranty is about to expire. The alerts are also available for other recipients (a business owner or home user, for example) as well.
Supporting the support professionals is the reason behind the new Community Portal for Mac HelpMate. While it's still a work in progress, the portal is planned to be a single destination for Mac HelpMate users who have questions about the inner workings of the software or who need access to training videos and documentation.
Mac HelpMate doesn't just monitor remote machines and allow screen sharing; it also has a full suite of diagnostic, troubleshooting, and optimization tools built in. I often find these tools helpful when clients call with concerns about "slow" Macs, as I can run some of the standard tools remotely and often get the machines to speed up without having to make a physical site visit.
I had asked Shavit earlier in the year about the possibility of an iPhone-based tool for Mac support professionals, and his response was that most individuals who have tried this usually find out that it's much more difficult than it sounds. I agree -- I tried the LogMeIn Ignition client and found that even over a Wi-Fi connection, trying to control a Mac on the limited screen real estate of an iPhone isn't a lot of fun. However, now that the work involved in developing and testing Mac HelpMate 3.0 is over, Shavit mentioned that his development team is planning an iPhone-based support solution.
While it isn't a tool for everyone, Mac HelpMate is well worth the price for anyone who is in the business of supporting a distributed collection of Macs. Version 3.0 brings an entirely new level of usability and functionality to what was already a stellar support product.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
peter gilbert said 4:31PM on 9-19-2009
Dude... teamviewer.com perpetual license for like $700 -- works w/ mac and pcs... can't beat it...
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Deam said 4:44PM on 9-19-2009
Teamviewer's "perpetual" license is only for *that* major version, so if they upgrade it a full point, you have to pay again.
lucas said 4:52PM on 9-19-2009
I've researched several solutions: TeamViewer, MacHelpMate, Bomgar, GoTo Assist and a couple of others that weren't good enough to consider. I've been using TeamViewer Trial almost exclusively now and it seems to do what I need (Except a few features that are Windows only, argh!). Steven, have you compared other remote support solutions? Would love to hear your thoughts!
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Mitch said 9:43AM on 9-22-2009
Bomgar is the tool of choice - works every single time and has some superb features including an API for interfacing into support systems etc. I purchased a Bomgar B100 for my consulting business and am able to support Windows, Mac and Linux based systems. Worth a look.
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tabaks said 9:54AM on 9-22-2009
Nice paid piece of advertisement. However, I prefer free, so http://www.teamviewer.com/ is the only solution I'm interested in and using.
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Team USA said 10:00AM on 9-22-2009
"Paid advertisement"? (Your assertion needs to be addressed by TUAW)
There is no "Free" solution for commerce, only personal use. A lot of teamviewer fanboys here today. I could easily conclude they are actually from teamviewer, but I won't be like you.
I've done research on various products for commercial use, and Mac HelpMate is the best, and most customizable.
I don't work for Mac HelpMate.
Steven Sande said 10:15AM on 9-22-2009
Tabaks -
None of our bloggers, including myself, are paid by anyone to do "advertising" for the people that we write about. To do so would be a conflict of interest and would get us fired by Weblogs, Inc., our parent company.
In this case, I have used this tool for over a year now and find it to be the best tool for providing remote support of my customers. Instead of being "paid" to write about it, I've spent well over $1,000 of my own money in the last year to make sure that I have this excellent tool at my disposal.
Steve Sande
Modano said 10:16AM on 9-22-2009
I only buy software with a high-five in the logo, so these guys are in luck. High five!
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Josh said 10:17AM on 9-22-2009
The LogMeIn iPhone client is a key reason I still use it on my PCs and Macs. I don't agree with the sentiment that its hard to control a mac on the iPhone. LogMeIn did a pretty good job of it, and look at Jaadu VNC if you want to see the best. Even over Edge I'm impressed with how well Jaadu works. I've looked into MacHelpMate, but I'm using LMI Rescue for on-demand and ITReach/Free for unattended. My only gripe is that I can't initiate Rescue sessions from my iPhone, and that I have to use IE for them on a computer. If MacHelpMate can do on-demand from the iPhone, I'd probably purchase it just for that. Better yet, he should look into using the Jaadu code for his VNC viewer. I'm convinced that is one of the best iPhone apps available in any category.
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David said 10:22AM on 9-22-2009
Maybe it's just because I'm an individual and not doing this as a means of making money, but man $600 a year seems like a lot to me.
I would give this a try if it were free and also had a Windows version. I still have a Windows machine at work so that's a must for me. I'll have to stay with Logmein or Teamviewer for now, because I'm cheap :) and unfortunately I still have to use Windows occasionally as well.
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MacRumors said 10:33AM on 9-22-2009
Should this "article" be in the advertisement section?
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ossiejnr said 10:42AM on 9-22-2009
Why wouldn't you just use Webex?
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Steven Sande said 11:06AM on 9-22-2009
Ossie - apparently you missed the part about the "full suite of diagnostic, troubleshooting, and optimization tools built in". This is more than just screen-sharing; it's being able to run a number of remote tools as well.
And you've apparently never done pricing on WebEx, either. It ain't cheap, and all it really does is give you the screen sharing capability.
Steve
Ned Scott said 12:52PM on 9-22-2009
Way to blow $1,200 on scripts and screen sharing. OMG OMG I DON'T HAVE TO CLICK ON SYSTEM PROFILER BECAUSE THERE'S A SCRIPT THAT DOES IT FOR ME OMG.
and the "full suite of diagnostic, troubleshooting, and optimization tools built in" is a bunch of bull. None of those tools are worth even $100, let alone a yearly $600 fee. I've seen them and I'm not impressed.
I'm sorry for my harsh comments, but come on Steven. Given the level of technical knowledge your business requires.. you should know better.
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Steven Sande said 1:33PM on 9-22-2009
Ned - that's your opinion. I've used many of the other tools that are available for Mac consultants and they're either much more expensive or don't really fit my needs. Dean's a Mac consultant who teaches a lot of Mac courses, and he's designed an application that works for my clients and me.
For the clients, the one-click sharing is a no-brainer way for them to share their machines with me. There's no need to set up firewall port exceptions, install software, or do anything else but click one link on my website. And although you and I may be intelligent enough to run all of those tools from the CLI, most of my clients are not.
There's more to this than just being able to fire up System Profiler. The app captures all of the data for me and I can generate reports for businesses that show the status of every computer on the network. That saves me time and my clients money.
Before you start making negative comments about Mac HelpMate, why don't you take a closer look at what it actually does.
Steve
RobG said 1:17PM on 9-22-2009
I'm rather intrigued how this isn't the first time I've seen this article. I'm pretty sure I read it on Friday or Saturday and then it disappeared from the list of articles. Was it edited and re-released or released too early originally?
Curious from London. :o)
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Steven Sande said 1:33PM on 9-22-2009
Very astute, Mr. RobG!
Yes, I originally published it on Saturday, only to get a panicked phone call from Dean Shavit saying that he hadn't sent out his PR about the new version yet. I had received it because I am a subscriber to the Mac HelpMate service, so I wrongly assumed that the mass PR mailing had been made.
I pulled the article and republished it this morning after the press release was available from PRMac.
Steve
SteveMinne said 2:16PM on 9-22-2009
Tried an earlier version of MacHelpMate 2-3 years ago. Had tremendous troubles with screen sharing implementation and it cost me business.
More troubling was the tech support. Not only was it hard to get but exceedingly rude. Dean Shavit all but called me a whiner in a voice mail. Single worst tech support experience of my life and I provide tech support for a living. When discussing Shavit with ACN, I recall a rep referring to him as 'colorful' or somesuch. That would be one description.
I'm now in third year using NTR (www.ntrglobal.com). It's cross-platform and price is comparable to MacHelpMate. Added bonus is tech support is amongst the best I've received anywhere. Always impressed.
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dean said 3:35PM on 9-22-2009
Hey there Steve Basile (from Xebraworx in Minneapolis, formerly of Tuscon),
yes, I remember you too. Hard to forget. You used Mac HelpMate quite often, and when it didn't work *once* you called up, yelled at me, and demanded I drop everything to help you even though I was in a client meeting. Sorry it didn't work out.
NTR is 2x as expensive as Mac HelpMate and has monthly charges for unattended registrations. It's an excellent product though, and has white-glove tech support, but you're paying for it.
One of the things I've found as a developer is that it's very hard to make everyone happy, but the best we could do for you was to give you the refund you demanded and wish you well - and evidently that wasn't enough. And, for the record, you got all your money back, even though you ate a significant part of the meal anyway - some even after you told us off.
Mac HelpMate has been much improved in the past few years as well - yet we still don't provide on-demand phone support without opening a case over email first (per the user agreement, which you clearly didn't read), and are still one-half the *base* price of NTR (and we are cross-platform as well) with no monthly charges - how much is NTR if you register 200 machines?
Interesting to read your comments on other things too (clicking on your profile brings those up).
SteveMinne said 7:32PM on 9-22-2009
If Dean Shavit is going to play fast and loose with details then I'm going have to reply and set things straight. Let's march down the list:
I make a living doing remote Mac support. MacHelpMate was advertised for such use. And the product didn’t fail to work ‘once.’ I had serious issues multiple times on different days establishing a remote connection. All this occurred in the first weeks after paying for a full year’s license. This was early 2007 and v2.x. That version cost me significant lost fees in three short weeks of use.
Further, I’m trying to make a living on a product new to me just weeks into the license. When I called for tech support for reliability issues I was simply dismissed as needy. You can sense that same tone in Dean’s reply here. Anyone here treat their client’s that way? I would never do this to mine and had no patience being on the receiving end of it either. Despite Mr. Shavit’s assertion, I’ve never told off a vendor (or client) in 21 years as a Mac support pro. Whatever Dean heard that day, I promise, was well short of what I was feeling.
As for fees, more corrections to Dean’s comments. First, I received a partial refund on the annual fee. I used it for a little under a month and recall getting a refund for 11 of 12 months. I paid for fair use. Second, there was another license required to use MacHelpMate, something with VNC, for which there was no refund.
As for cost of product, let’s put things in perspective then and now.
Dean’s product cost $500 or $600 at the time. NTR cost $1800. When you’re billing tens of thousands per year in remote support, there’s no comparison between a reliable professional product with excellent tech support and a cheap one. One is an asset, the other a liability. When your remote product fails as much as MacHelpMate did for me in early 07, it begins to tarnish your overall service. NTR was expensive but I got every dollar’s worth.
This latest article has MacHelpMate v3 at $500-$600 annual cost. When I renewed NTR this past Spring the cost was $588. Each product has its strengths and weaknesses. The largest difference between these two is the company backing it up.
I was treated like a nuisance after licensing MacHelpMate in 2007. I’ve always been treated competently and professionally by NTR on the very few tech support calls the product has required in 30 months use.
Reading the review of MacHelpMate had me considering giving it a second look when my annual renewal comes up in early 2010. Dean’s response has eliminated that by reminding me how difficult it was working with him. A professional grade tech product deserves professional grade tech support. I hope MacHelpMate gets this one day.
Every product is strengthened or weakened by the people standing behind it. For this reason NTR is a superlative product in this category. I recommend it without qualification. You can find more info here: www.ntrglobal.com
One of these years I’ll meet Dean Shavit either at MacWorld or an ACN event. I hope to find a man contrite for disrespectful behavior and committed to supporting MacHelpMate better than I experienced in 2007. That day I’ll put MacHelpMate back into running for my annual subscription.
TUAW does a good job with these reviews. I wish on really critical products like these they would cover both features and quality of support. If not, then I guess that what these comment fields are for.