Universal Desktop 4+

The latest version is much improved

I have yet to have an opportunity to try this for a full day, and I believe things continue to be laggy when trying to use keyboard and mouse controls, but for my use case of monitoring incoming email and slack which I’m not allowed to connect to from my Vision Pro this seems like it’s going to work well.

With this latest version, the tool went from unusable, to usable but limited by the technology available.

Kudos to the developer for the quick fixes

Excited for this app to continue improving! Thank you!

I am most excited for this app out of the desktop streaming apps right now because I think the concept is the best. I don’t think we want more virtual desktops, I think eventually Spatial Computing is meant to be unbounded by a “virtual desktop”. Instead, we can imagine computing in space. Literally and figuratively where ever we want. So in conclusion, the goal for AVP is better served by this app than all the others I’ve encountered. Thank you dev for continuing to make this app great! I’m looking most forward to updates from your app as you continue on your development journey! Wishing you all the best.

Appears Unsafe

Requires downloading a non-vetted app on the desktop. The app brings up processes and effects that are cloaked - by design or by bug. e.g. the app, despite not appearing to run can't be closed because it's running. Bringing up running processes in the terminal does not show anything running from the app's location. The only processes with similar naming conventions are "universalaccessd" and "universalcontrol" -- which the installed app may be bringing up, it's unclear.

TLDR: while the functionality of this app is essential and I'd happily pay 10x what's being asked for it, the current implementation is a bizarre security risk that seems to intentionally skirt app review by having a separate downloaded portion (which also behaves suspiciously). I would not recommend this for a personal computer in its current state and it is almost certainly not allowable on a work computer as its a huge security hole.

Developer Response ,

Hi KesaGatame,

Thank you for your feedback. I understand your concerns and appreciate your detailed explanation.

The Mac app is indeed not available on the App Store due to its requirement for Accessibility permissions, necessary for emulating clicks and key presses. This limitation extends to all similar apps allowing Mac control, forcing them to be distributed outside the App Store.

It's crucial to note that while the Mac app is not on the App Store, each build undergoes Apple's notarization process. This ensures that it's checked for malware and other security risks before it's allowed to run on any Mac. This procedure is standard for official apps downloaded outside the App Store and ensures user safety. Additionally, I find it hard to believe that you only use apps exclusively from the App Store, given that many widely used and trusted applications are distributed outside of it. However, I appreciate your concern for security, and I take it seriously.

Regarding the processes you mentioned, Universal Desktop Mac app (which is a menu bar app displaying an icon in the top right corner of your Mac) appears as "Universal Desktop" in both Terminal and Activity Monitor while running. It can be closed using the "Quit" button within the app interface.

- Adrian