Decades ago, I used to set up “headless” servers. These were computers that you stuck in a server room and accessed remotely. While terminal-based remote access for Unix systems was routine, the same approach with GUI-based operating systems, like what was then System 7, was unusual. We had to use a monitor to install Timbuktu Pro, and sometimes even attach a dummy monitor cable afterwards so the Mac “thought” it had a display.
Remote-desktop access later became an absolutely routine part of operating systems, and macOS has offered it as a built-in service for many, many years. Macworld reader Peter asks if there’s a way to examine a Mac mini without a monitor attached, if all he has is an iPad, a keyboard, and a mouse. There is, but you have to set it up with a monitor attached first, as Apple doesn’t enable remote access by default.
