On a Powerbook G4 running OS X Tiger, the software is needed if you have any intention of using the remote's media functions. And good luck getting the software you need. The latest version of the presentation remote software is a corrupt file, and an older version of the software needed (that can be found only after some digging) will crash the machine and runs worse than if you ran the remote without the software. Ultimately, I just paid for a wireless mouse I can operate from my bed.