AutoDesk and Citrix Tips and Tricks Part 4

Here is a video demo of how to apply Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 on XenApp post installation script.

http://citrix.utipu.com/app/tip/id/5027/

Here is the embeded version of the same video.The embedded video currently doesn't have associated notes. Please click the links above to see the same video with notes and at a higher resolution

For more information and download the script, please visit the following link

 http://community.citrix.com/display/xa/Autodesk+AutoCAD+Map+3D+2009+on+XenApp+post+installation+script

Tip:

• You can find a log with details about the execution of the scripts in the user profile directory named AutodeskForCitrix.log
• The template directory in which the information is saved has to exist before running the scripts
• Change the batch files to use a different directory to save information. Network share is supported
• Run the apply script automatically whenever a user logs in

Please see my blogs for the complete series.

Ray Yang

AutoDesk and Citrix Tips and Tricks Part 3

How to publish AutoCAD Map3D 2009 on XenApp

Here is  a short demo of publishing AutoCAD Map3D 2009 as a published application on XenApp.

http://citrix.utipu.com/app/tip/id/5015/

Tip: publish executable acad.exe

How to change published Map3D 2009 icon

When you use the default settings to publish AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 on XenApp, the icon associated with this published application is different from the official blue icon the installation placed on the desktop. This short demo shows how to associate the right icon with the published application.

http://citrix.utipu.com/app/tip/id/5017/

Tip: get the icon file location from the desktop shortcut property.

Please see my blogs for the complete series.

Ray Yang

To start with, here is a short demo video of how to install AutoCAD Map3D 2009 on XenApp I created.

Please click the following URL to see the demo

http://citrix.utipu.com/app/tip/id/5009/

Note that AutoCAD Map3D 2009 requires you to use network based license which is not default option. If you don't read the installation guide carefully, you can mistakenly take the default option.  If the wrong model (standalone license) is chosen, at most two users can connect concurrently. And there is no easy way to change the license model after installation is completed. Initially I made the mistake of choosing the default option and had to re-install .

Please see my blogs for the complete series.

Ray Yang

I've been working with AutoDesk for a while to ensure AutoDesk products can work well with Citrix products and create new solutions.

I'd like to share what I learned with the community. Thus I am creating this tips and tricks series to cover all things that are related to AutoDesk and Citrix. I will try to cover mainly technical information, tips and tricks. But I may include other useful information as well.

Many thanks to everyone who helped with this on-going effort!

If you would like to hear more about certain aspects of AutoDesk and Citrix related solutions, please leave comments on my blog. I'd love to hear from you.

Ray Yang

XenApp and XenDesktop provide the means for users to access their Apps and Desktops from a wide variety of platforms and devices. At Citrix our vision is to create a world where anyone can work and play from anywhere. Mobility is not new to Citrix. There are XenApp clients available today for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices, but small form factor devices have had their challenges. Slow, unreliable wireless networks, small screens and awkward user input models have relegated hand held access to small and highly specialized market segments. But that's all about to change.

The latest generation of hand held devices with their large, high definition screens and the availability of high-speed wireless networks are changing the game in a big way! A hand held device such as an iphone connected to XenApp via a high-speed 3G network yields a remarkably usable experience.

While serious content creation might have to wait for an external keyboard and monitor, consuming content like reviewing a spreadsheet or a patients records and simple tasks like approving an expense report are quite frictionless. And because you're accessing your content via XenApp and XenDesktop your access is fast and reliable and you never need to worry about your valuable data being compromised if you misplace or loose your phone.

I've been fielding quite a few inquiries lately about our strategy and plans for the iPhone. I thought it was time to let everyone know where we are and where we're going. The guys on our Mac development team in Chalfont, UK have just recently finished porting the core XenApp engine over to the iPhone platform. This was a great deal of work and the guys have done a brilliant job.

As you can see, pretty cool, but we still have quite a bit of work to do. During the next stage of the project we will be crafting a user experience that provides a natural, transparent and effortless user interface in keeping with the high standards set by our friends at Apple.

It's tough to say at this stage when we would have something that we could share with you but I promise if you watch this space we will provide regular updates on our progress and schedules as they reveal themselves.

Its the continuous and enthusiastic feedback we have collected from you all that has helped get this project off the ground. If you haven't done so already please check out Chris Fleck's iPhone blog and cast your vote.

Al-

 A few of us were having a brainstorm session recently regarding the ICA client, mobility and device support, inevitably the discussion led to the topic of competing priorities, limited resources, and business cases. Al Granville ( sometimes affectionately referred to as the " suit " in the blogosphere ) is the Product Manager for the ICA client and has the enviable position of driving what features and functions get included ( and which ones don't ). Nowadays you can't talk about mobility without the topic of support for the iPhone and where that fits versus all the other priorities. If you also want Citrix iPhone support please place your vote and tell us your use case here. Typically this analysis means doing a market analysis, talking to customers and developing a business case comparing all the alternatives and determining the ROI. During this discussion however, Al made the profound statement that maybe in this situation the business case simply needs to say  ...   it's the iPhone.. Stupid !  

This brings up a really interesting point that IT also seems to be dealing with lately, that is what is the value of new and "cool " and do you spend resources to enable these technologies. It could be the iPhone or it could be Web 2.0 collaboration tools or desktop video conferencing, whatever. Sometimes it's straight forward to put an ROI and business case together, however quantifying the value of "cool" is subjective at best. Apple as the best example has done a superb job proving that elegant design, user experience, and "cool " is a profitable business model. This certainly has proven to be the case in the consumer world, but it's also evident that this is impacting the business IT world as well, at least from the perspective of user expectations. I am interested to know if this phenomena is also impacting IT's decision process for implementing new projects.  

What criteria does your IT organization use for evaluating new projects ?	Choose
Business requirements, ROI, and compliance only
The above plus,  Executive mandates
The above plus,  User productivity and desires ( like iPhone support )
The above plus,  Does the new IT technology provide a competitive advantage

As you may have seen in previous blog discussions some of us are very keen on the idea of a device that goes beyond the existing smartphone limitations of small screens and keyboards. The ability to connect to XenApp - XenDesktop from a phone and view it ( & use it ) on a large screen is now possible. This video demos the Nirvana Phone concept with an iMate 6150 and a Redfly from Celio. We are not at Nirvana yet, but these devices make it visible we are getting closer.

Do you ever go on trips and wish you could leave your laptop home?	Choose
All the time
Occasionally
Wishfull thinking ..

Let us know of other candidates for the Nirvana Phone, and what you think is still missing.

If you are interested in running ICA client on Linux, I've created two short videos showing the step by step instructions. Unlike windows ICA client, installing Linux version of ICA client requires more steps although it is relatively straight forward after you watch the video I hope. I used Ubuntu Linux as an example. Other Linux distributions may work slightly differently.

The embedded videos don't have associated notes. Please click the links below to see the same video with notes and at a higher resolution

Click here to watch the "how to install ICA client" video with notes.

Click here to watch the "how to use ICA client" video with notes.

Click here to see all of my videos.

Here is my earlier blog that is related to installing ICA client on Ubuntu. 

I hope you find the videos useful. Love to hear your feedbacks. For example, your experience with other Linux distributions will be interesting.

Acknowledgment:

I found many articles on the Internet about installing ICA client on Linux. Here are some good examples I referenced

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CitrixICAClientHowTo 

http://bin-false.org/?p=13

http://www.hanckmann.net/?q=node/13 

Ray Yang

       Update **

Running Windows applications on the iPhone may not be a high priority for Steve Jobs, but for many IT users and providers the desire seems to be increasing. The recent SDK and upcoming release of the Apple 3G iPhone has increased the interest in Citrix enabling iPhone access to XenApp hosted Windows applications. We are always encouraging expanded access to XenApp from any suitable device and the iPhone appears to be a very good candidate. The great screen and touch features would provide usable viewing of apps even though they were designed for bigger screens. Plus the improved email and networking capability of the device can now make it a real contender for business use. The iPhone could be even be the " Nirvana Phone " if a new docking station was offered to provide video access to a full sized monitor plus a standard keyboard.

So the question is one of priority and market demand, where does this fit on the list of nice to have vs. must have now, and does the solution need to come from Citrix or could it be partner provided such as the Rove Mobile client for BlackBerry. We encourage your opinions and feedback.

Do you need a Citrix client for the iPhone ?	Choose
I want it for myself
I need it for my company users ( and myself )
Cool, but my company is not likely to enable it

What is the primary iPhone use case at your company ?	Choose
EMR - Patient records, view and update.
CRM - Customer records, view and update.
ERP - Process workflows, approvals, etc.
Documents - Find, view, edit, forward.
Specific line of business app

** Update 11/1/08

Yes, we are listening, and yes we are going to ship a Citrix App Receiver client for the iPhone ! Mark Templeton demonstrated our latest internal build at our Summit event last week and our partners gave us the same enthusiastic response as we are seeing here on the Blogs. Right now the ship schedule is first half of '09 , but keep those votes and use cases coming and help us increase the priority further ! 

Wanted to do a quick post on some of the cool gadgets we will be demoing in the Geek Speak Lounge at Synergy 2008 sponsored by Intel.  Alot of the devices are  the ones you may have seem me blog on earlier, and a few are potential candidates to add into the mix down the road.  Here's your chance to get hands on with some of these next generation access devices, and BYOG (Bring Your Own Gadget) that you think would make a good Nirvana Device candidate for use with Citrix:

 
If you look close you'll see 4 of these devices actively connected to a XenDesktop, and 2 of them remoting that desktop from the device out to a larger screen in true Nirvana Device fashion!
 
Devices shown starting in the front and moving counter clockwise:
 

• i-Mate 9502
• Impatica Showmate
• Nokia 810N
• HP iPAQ 210 - accessing a XenDesktop
• i-Mate 6150 (behind the iPAQ) - accessing a XenDesktop connected to the 22" Dell Monitor
• Celio Redfly Mobile Companion
• Sprint Treo 700wx (on the Redfly) - accessing a XenDesktop connected to the Redfly
• Nokia E90 - accessing a XenDesktop
• Nokia E61i

All of the devices shown currently work with XenApp and XenDesktop except for the Nokia 810N.  Intel will also be providing some prototype devices to show off as well. 

We'll also be following up to this post with a full rundown of all of the cool stuff that you can see and use in the GS Lounge early next week!

Look forward to seeing you and hearing your comments in the Geek Speak Lounge at Synergy 2008

PS: You might even have a chance to one of these cool devices home with you from the show to use with your own XenApp and soon XenDesktop environment!!!