mac mini server vs. mobileme

[Socorso]

I've been using mobileme for quite a while now to sync calendars/address book with my partner and share files with clients.

I was however considering going to a mac mini with server software. Primarily for the backup and file access. But would I be duplicating features such as calendar and contact syncing? Do I need both? Do they compliment one another?

 

[pdjudd]

I've been using mobileme for quite a while now to sync calendars/address book with my partner and share files with clients.

I was however considering going to a mac mini with server software. Primarily for the backup and file access. But would I be duplicating features such as calendar and contact syncing? Do I need both? Do they compliment one another?

No. OSX server and mobile me are two different products that have different purposes. They are nto intended to complement each other. If MobileMe does what you need it to just fine and you are able to handle backup and file haring already, OSX server may be too much - they are not intended to be run together.

I would do research on OSX server from Apple's website to make sure that it is really something that you can handle - it is not something to be taken lightly.

 

[lostinspace2011]

If you want file sharing a Time Capsule or a basic Mac Mini should do fine. Especially if you don't have many users connection. To share contacts and calendars you could either use Google or Address Book Server (http://www.addressbookserver.com) which is not to be confused with Apple offering you decided to choose the same name as an already existing product. So you could do all this without MobileMe using a basic MacMini and you would not event need OS X server. Using OS X Server 10.6's Calendar and Address Book servers requires your clients to also run 10.6, so if you have any older PPC machines that will not work.

 

[tonydickinson]

If you want file sharing a Time Capsule or a basic Mac Mini should do fine. Especially if you don't have many users connection. To share contacts and calendars you could either use Google or Address Book Server (http://www.addressbookserver.com) which is not to be confused with Apple offering you decided to choose the same name as an already existing product. So you could do all this without MobileMe using a basic MacMini and you would not event need OS X server. Using OS X Server 10.6's Calendar and Address Book servers requires your clients to also run 10.6, so if you have any older PPC machines that will not work.

Hi have been very interested in the new MacMini server, but purely as a home user with two Macs and a PC, I am unable to convince myself that the expense is justified for my needs.

The only issue I have with Mobile Me which I use is that I have a number of mailboxes where I file the mails on each computer which are not copied. (Not Smart Mailboxes). Although I try to be consistent I try to ensure that one Mac machine is the master, and always try to copy or move the mail to the folders on all machines. In practice this does not work too well and I have to copy the "master" to the User/Library/Mail folder from time to time, resulting in files being overwritten, and sometimes mails lost. I have tried various "syncing" options but these do not work too well for me.

I would certainly buy the server if I could keep one mail account on that which is the master and accessed by the two Macs and the PC, but truthfully from the available Server info available I cannot determine if the server would do that...

Any comments/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Norguaard]

MobileMe vs. mac mini server

I would like to ask a similar question. My company wants to purchase a number of iPads for business meetings and would need to sync information to all of the iPads. We would also like to store information that can be accessed from the iPads during the meetings (not a critical factor, but desired). More in depth info about whatever is being discussed. I had thought that MobileMe would be the way to go, but speaking with an Apple rep he suggested considering the Mac mini server, as it would be considered MobileMe on steroids. Considering I have not had a Mac in years which would be an easier and better alternative? I am guessing that if we want to access stored info I would have to go with the server.

 

[kd5jos]

My experiences so far...

I have Mobile Me. I purchased a Mac Mini Server so I could run my own comparison. Here is what I have discovered:

I have a MBP. I use it on the road. With Mobile Me I have 60GB of space for iDisk, and can't allocate it how I want for each user in the family. I have email accessibility (web and client), web site space (web service is limited), iCal syncing and address book syncing. For this I pay a couple hundred dollars for one year for 5 people.

With a Mac Mini server I have 1TB of space, and can allocate it how I want. I can upgrade it to 512 GB SSD for OS and apps (bay 1) and 1TB HD for media storage and swap (bay 2). I use external storage for Time Machine server (I can even back up remotely). I own my mail server. I own my full web server (PHP, PERL scripts, Ruby on Rails, etc). I own an iCal sync server, and I own an Address book sync server. For a MacMini that serves
an unlimited client base I pay $1000 one time.

I can sync user directories with Mobile Me. I can do the same thing with my Mac Mini server and my MBP (remotely over a VPN if I choose).

If I have problems with my laptop, I can Network boot and load Snow Leopard from the server. I can then recover from my Time Machine backup. All without using a disc in the drive of my laptop.

Owning hardware and being in control of my data is important to me. The only thing I've seen MobileMe do, that I can't do with my Mac Mini Server, is show me where my iPod/iPhone/iPad are. I'd be very surprised to find out there isn't already an app for that though...

 

[flynz4]

Hi have been very interested in the new MacMini server, but purely as a home user with two Macs and a PC, I am unable to convince myself that the expense is justified for my needs.

The only issue I have with Mobile Me which I use is that I have a number of mailboxes where I file the mails on each computer which are not copied. (Not Smart Mailboxes). Although I try to be consistent I try to ensure that one Mac machine is the master, and always try to copy or move the mail to the folders on all machines. In practice this does not work too well and I have to copy the "master" to the User/Library/Mail folder from time to time, resulting in files being overwritten, and sometimes mails lost. I have tried various "syncing" options but these do not work too well for me.

I would certainly buy the server if I could keep one mail account on that which is the master and accessed by the two Macs and the PC, but truthfully from the available Server info available I cannot determine if the server would do that...

Any comments/advice would be appreciated.

I am not 100% sure, but I think you are trying to do this the hard way... or maybe I am just not understanding your need.

It seems to me that IMAP email should do exactly what you want. First... every computer will automatically have all of the folders present at all time. You can work on any computer, and file a message into one of your folders. If you go to a different machine... you will see that the mail message is already filed into the folder.

Basically... you can work on any machine... do anything you want (file, delete, read, unread, etc) and any changes will be replicated across all machines.

Is that what you want?

/Jim

 

[zumajoe]

I have Mobile Me. I purchased a Mac Mini Server so I could run my own comparison. Here is what I have discovered:

I have a MBP. I use it on the road. With Mobile Me I have 60GB of space for iDisk, and can't allocate it how I want for each user in the family. I have email accessibility (web and client), web site space (web service is limited), iCal syncing and address book syncing. For this I pay a couple hundred dollars for one year for 5 people.

With a Mac Mini server I have 1TB of space, and can allocate it how I want. I can upgrade it to 512 GB SSD for OS and apps (bay 1) and 1TB HD for media storage and swap (bay 2). I use external storage for Time Machine server (I can even back up remotely). I own my mail server. I own my full web server (PHP, PERL scripts, Ruby on Rails, etc). I own an iCal sync server, and I own an Address book sync server. For a MacMini that serves
an unlimited client base I pay $1000 one time.

I can sync user directories with Mobile Me. I can do the same thing with my Mac Mini server and my MBP (remotely over a VPN if I choose).

If I have problems with my laptop, I can Network boot and load Snow Leopard from the server. I can then recover from my Time Machine backup. All without using a disc in the drive of my laptop.

Owning hardware and being in control of my data is important to me. The only thing I've seen MobileMe do, that I can't do with my Mac Mini Server, is show me where my iPod/iPhone/iPad are. I'd be very surprised to find out there isn't already an app for that though...

Great post about the comparisions of Mobile Me v.s. OSX Server.

I am attempting to setup an OSX Server for a business.

My ONLY issue, is webmail. For some odd reason I thought Apple included the same webmail used in MobileMe into the Mail services of Server.

I just found out... it's still Squirrel Mail. A complete disaster in my opinion. And the best option out there seems to be RoundCube.... which is nice, but not what I really want.

I would like true syncage of Email, AddressBook, Calendars (with options to share all of these together for employees).. along with having a solid webmail client that can retrieve this same data from anywhere--keeping the beautiful interface of MobileMe, and avoiding confusing webmail UI's such as GMail.

What are you using as a webmail client on your OSX Server?

 

[zumajoe]

Seems that AtMail is in the future!

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11573086

Hi All,

Due to popular demand from Snow Leopard Admins, we here from Atmail have just announced CardDAV client support for the Atmail Webmail product.

This allows admins to rollout Atmail and offer a unified interface for Webmail, CalDAV and CardDAV, all native via the bundled Snow Leopard services. Think of Atmail as your own MobileMe, on your server, for your users.

Given that Squirrelmail is bundled with Snow Leopard Server, this simply is not up to scratch in a Web2.0 world. Not to mention no support for CardDAV or CalDAV via the UI.

A free 5 user license is included and can be downloaded at:

http://atmail.com/download/atmail6.webmail.osx.pkg

Or checkout the online demo: http://a6demo.atmail.com/

We welcome any admin feedback and how to improve the user-experience for calendaring, addressbook and mail via the WebUI.

What is Apple doing to address this?