Archive for October, 2009

More on the new Mini Server

October 25, 2009  (Jeffrey Kabbe)

AppleInsider has a nice cost comparison between the new Mac Mini Server and cheap Windows servers. Apple essentially deciding to throw in a free copy of OS X Server really tips the balance in favor of Macs (and it’s not even close!)

Or, as AppleInsider put it:

Prior to Snow Leopard, the unlimited user version of Mac OS X Server cost $999; that’s what the unlimited user version now costs with the Mac mini server thrown in for free.

I’m not deluding myself into believing that small businesses that currently run Windows are going to race out to buy Mac Minis to replace their servers. But for small businesses that are on the fence or leaning toward Macs, this could be a game changer.

Apple ups the ante for business

October 20, 2009  (Jeffrey Kabbe)

Apple released new Macs today, and these new models offer more than just a trifling speed bump. The new 27″ iMacs are shrinking the previously large gap between the iMac and Mac Pro lines. It won’t come cheap, but a 27″ iMac can sport 16GB of RAM and a quad-core Intel processor, along with a 2TB hard drive.

But probably the biggest news of the day (apart from a multi-touch mouse – which I’ll really have to stop into the Apple Store and play with to get some impressions on it) is the server Mac Mini. For $999, you can get a Mac Mini loaded with Leopard Server. It also has a second hard drive in place of the optical disk player for a total storage of 1TB. If we ever decide to move away from Dropbox for more control over our file storage, it will definitely be worth a look.

A Timely Coincidence

October 20, 2009  (Jeffrey Kabbe)

My wife has used a decidedly low tech approach to tracking client work while a more robust Filemaker solution is being worked on. About a month ago, my wife decided to take an interim step and get a Bento database rolling to computerize at least some of the workflow. Three days later, I got an email that Bento 3 had been released.

It’s turned out to be quite a nice surprise. Bento version 3 finally includes what was probably the first user feature request: database sharing. I am honestly not sure why this feature is buried so far down on the list because it is huge for small businesses. The ability to share a database with a few other people in your group is a perfect budget solution for new businesses and situations where you just want a “quick and dirty” solution.