On Wed, 14 May 2008 21:23:30 -0700, Timberwoof
<timberwoof.spam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>In article <qucn24h5od83btn1k62v8b4m578p9rk6rs@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> OSIRIS <nobody@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Let me start by stating that I am not an anti-mac bigot. I just run a
>> company that provides service to small to medium businesses and, so
>> far, there has been no customer demand for Mac sup****t. Due to this
>> we have no expertise in Macs (well, actually, one tech says he's
>> networked some Macs together -- once -- a while back)
>
>Don't let OS X networking scare you. It's the same as Linux, with a
>better UI.
I'm glad to hear that. Thanks.
>> From what I >> hear this is not too difficult with Macs, so I told him
not to brag
>> <grin>.
>
>Heh!
>> * Central storage. I suggested NAS or a File Server (options
>> being XServe, Linux, Windows)
>
>Xserve will provide this through AppleShare and Samba (compatible with
>Windows SMB shares). Xserve uses common open-software solutions your
>Linux guy probably already knows.
>> * Remote access so they can access the central data from home or
>> when they're on the road and also from a remote office they have set
>> up.
>
>Xserve will provide this through its IPsec VPN. You can also set up an
>OpenVPN system: http://openvpn.net/
IMHO this is easier than ipSec. It
>is nicely cross-platform. It's not part of the Xserve suite, but it runs
>on OS X.
See my reply to the other answer I got. "Xserve Suite": I'm confused
with the terminology. Is Xserve the hardware or the software? If
software, how does it differ from "OS X Server 10.5"?
>> * Microsoft Project. I know MS hasn't ****ted this to Macs, so
>> I'm looking for an equivalent that will work on OSX
>
>FastTrack Schedule 9 is a better scheduling application and is
>cross-platform: it sup****ts Windows and OS X.
That's the second vote for that one. I'm definately going to check it
out. Thanks.
>> * Some sort of shared calendar or multiperson scheduling system
>> (possibly included in one of the above items)
>
>iCal lets you publish calendars, but I don't think it integrates with
>FastTrack.
The other poster (Alan Baker) also said that the Apple server sup****ts
CalDAV. If all else fails they could always use Google Calendars, so
I think the calendar thing won;t be a problem. Thanks.
>> Note: They have Microsoft Office already, if that helps
>
>My recommendation, on general principles, would be to set up a OS X or
>Linux-based system. That way it can provide services in a
>platform-agnostic way. New employees won't be restricted to any
>particular system.
I'll be reviewing all the answers I get with my Linux guy. I'm just
the old, grey haired fart that runs the service company. The younger,
better looking guys will do the work, so I have to ask them ;-)
I only know enough to (maybe) ask the right questions. Thanks for
your input.
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