[kennedy]

There are a lot of families in the world... and most have fewer computers than they have family members... but many need more than just one computer, as there is too much contention with just one.

Since OS X Public Beta, I've had two (or more) Macs set up at home for my family. To minimize contention, I setup all the user accounts on one Mac and serve them to the other Mac(s). With network accounts, any family member can log into either computer and they get their full home directory and setup... exactly the same, no matter which Mac they are on. Works great.

OS X Server 10.2 has made such setup so easy, that it is truly accessible for families (not just IT departments). I think this creates a very interesting market opportunity for Apple...

Create a low-cost OS X Server option that supports 5 or fewer computers and 10 or fewer users... simplify things a bit more on the administration side, with perhaps a wizard for family setup... and then market the strengths of OS X for home use...

I love that I can tell my kids to do whatever they want on the machine, knowing that OS X permissions will keep them from messing up anybody else... if they want to change their desktop or download music or customize whatever... go for it... experiment... learn.

We still have a PC over in the corner for running games... since we all share that machine and there are no *real* user accounts, they aren't allowed to do anything on it. Just run the game... I don't want to have to fix the mess they make if they start munging things.

On the off chance Apple might be listening... FWIW.

[geekstud]

I've previously written in this forum almost exactly the same description of our family's use of multiple Mac systems and my conclusion that there is a great market opportunity for a lightweight Mac OS X server product.

Cheers,

-Nathan

[CatOne]

Originally posted by kennedy:
There are a lot of families in the world... and most have fewer computers than they have family members... but many need more than just one computer, as there is too much contention with just one.

Since OS X Public Beta, I've had two (or more) Macs set up at home for my family. To minimize contention, I setup all the user accounts on one Mac and serve them to the other Mac(s). With network accounts, any family member can log into either computer and they get their full home directory and setup... exactly the same, no matter which Mac they are on. Works great.

OS X Server 10.2 has made such setup so easy, that it is truly accessible for families (not just IT departments). I think this creates a very interesting market opportunity for Apple...

Create a low-cost OS X Server option that supports 5 or fewer computers and 10 or fewer users... simplify things a bit more on the administration side, with perhaps a wizard for family setup... and then market the strengths of OS X for home use...

I love that I can tell my kids to do whatever they want on the machine, knowing that OS X permissions will keep them from messing up anybody else... if they want to change their desktop or download music or customize whatever... go for it... experiment... learn.

We still have a PC over in the corner for running games... since we all share that machine and there are no *real* user accounts, they aren't allowed to do anything on it. Just run the game... I don't want to have to fix the mess they make if they start munging things.

On the off chance Apple might be listening... FWIW.

There already is a 10 user version of OS X server for $499.

Also, perhaps Panther Server will make directory services setup a little easier ;-)

[kennedy]

Originally posted by CatOne:
There already is a 10 user version of OS X server for $499.

That's way too high, given you also have to buy a OS X Client for each computer (technically; at least one copy of it though). I think they should make 10 user 4 machine server plus OS X client for those 4 machines all available for maybe $399... go for volume on that. Such is too small for most any business, so don't worry about that.

[kennedy]

Another huge marketing opportunity is to leverage OS X server to drive down their hardware prices... create iMacs with no modem and minimal hard drive by getting NetBoot to really work. That could make it a viable option for computer labs and such.