[psmith2.0]

I'm going around and around with my "superior" here (who still uses OS 9, etc. and always looks to me for info/advice/opinions on Mac stuff...whether he follows it or not but that's another thread)

We have two of us here (him and yours truly), and we have a third Mac, which, for two-and-a-half years we've had a Maxtor 80GB FireWire drive connected to and that holds our image, clip art, archive projects, etc., which we've set to be shared by both of us from our respective Macs (we're all networked). Anyway, we FINALLY - after about six false-starts - got our new 20" iMac G5s yesterday and he wound up buying - on the advice of an Apple store clerk - OS X server ($499) this weekend.

I'd told him last week that things should work as before, and that, for our needs, I doubted whether we needed dedicated server software for $500 to simply do what we've been doing for years now.

So who is right in this scenario (nothing is opened and installed, because we went back-and-forth yesterday about it)?

That's the basic gist, all the above. If you want further details or info, continue reading...but the "meat 'n' taters" is all above".

What benefits or abilities is OS X Server going to give us that we don't enjoy now (we simply use that third Mac/Maxtor as an art holding place/archive). Nothing else. No web serving, no mail serving, etc.

Did he get the "salesman shuffle" done on him, or is this something - based on the above info I've provided - that we truly need? Because I don't see it...

Mind you, we've been running OS 9 (yeah, yeah...don't get me started) on all three machines, with no OS 9 server or whatever. Just the straight OS on all machines, and it works fine (despite being OS 9, of course).

I guess it just makes me mad that he asks my opinion on things, I tell him straightforward, plain-English answers (with links to articles, etc.) and he just completely doesn't go with any of it. This most recent OS X server thing is just the latest in a fairly long line...

I'd like one of you smart people to give me the scoop and honest, hardcore answers (if you need more info, please ask). Do it in a way that I could copy and forward to him, if indeed you think he needlessly bought this for our simple needs here.

In a nutshell, did he needlessly spend $500 this weekend? $500 that could be put toward other things (software upgrades, a new digital camera or scanners, etc.) we truly DO need and could use.

He's bitching about the budget and pricing of various other things yesterday and I just looked at him and had to bite my tongue to keep from saying "I told you last week we didn't need OS X Server AND we didn't need AppleCare right away...we could've waited 10-11 months, like everyone else does. You spent - against my advice - nearly $900 than you should've, and NOW you want to bitch about not having money for the real things we need...".



I'm just a bit frosted this morning, I guess...

[Brad]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 So who is right in this scenario (nothing is opened and installed, because we went back-and-forth yesterday about it)? [...] What benefits or abilities is OS X Server going to give us that we don't enjoy now (we simply use that third Mac/Maxtor as an art holding place/archive). Nothing else. No web serving, no mail serving, etc.

WTF. You're right. You don't need Mac OS X Server simply to host files, which is all that it sounds like you're doing. Return it and get your money back while you can!

The advantages of Mac OS X are in managing workgroups and providing a nice GUI for the advanced features in services such as a mail server, web server, etc. Mac OS X Server is good for configuring advanced features that are deployed on larger networks with specialized needs for different users.

The "vanilla" Mac OS X already has most of these capabilities built-in, though, and is more than sufficient for both small and large operations. As you know, APF and SMB file sharing can be enabled with single checkboxes in the System Preferences. Check -- Done. Simple. There are no limitations to fear; it doesn't cap your throughput or have some other arbitrary limitation that would warrant buying Server simply on account of scaling up your usage; this isn't Windows we're talking about here. It just works for most setups.

So, guess what happens on many Mac networks that need a server? They run plain old Mac OS X; it already includes most of the great things "out of the box" that any server would need.

Do you need to allocate usage quotas for individual users on your network? That's about the only advantage to Server that I can think would be applicable to your scenario.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 In a nutshell, did he needlessly spend $500 this weekend? $500 that could be put toward other things (software upgrades, a new digital camera or scanners, etc.) we truly DO need and could use.

In a nutshell, yes, he wasted $500 that would have been much better spent elsewhere.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 ...AND we didn't need AppleCare right away...we could've waited 10-11 months, like everyone else does...".

Ugh.

[Wickers]

Yes, you are correct.

Mostly because of the size of shop you are...

He tossed away his cash, dude.

[psmith2.0]

Thank you for the responses...that helps.

Sigh...I thought I was right. I looked at the box, read Apple's website, etc. and simply could not see where buying this was somehow going to be beneficial to us.

Just makes me so upset that we had this damn discussion last week, and all for nothing. And then I get my ear bent yesterday because he's griping about Adobe's upgrade pricing and whatnot.

"Well, we'd have $500-900 more to play with if you'd actually paid attention to my input..." (that's what I wanted to say).



Of course, because I wasn't able to employ my psychic powers to prevent him from making this purchase 120 miles away, it'll still fall on me as somehow my fault. Or I should've "made a stronger case last week".



I guess I didn't have enough charts and graphs, and expert testimony...

Anyway, thanks for the responses and info. I don't know as much as you guys, obviously, but it looks like I certainly knew more than the guy here about this. I thought I did...just wanted some confirmation.

Now I've got to approach him and hopefully try to find out Apple's retail return policy regarding software. I'm SO glad I didn't open this yesterday...something kept telling me not to!

As for the AppleCare thing, that was an unnecessary $340 expenditure too, correct? I mean, we could've gone for a year (set up a reminder in iCal or something, the way I did for myself and my PowerBook) and revisit this next August and extend the coverage then?

$900, just totally flung out the window this weekend, IMO...

That's some CS2 upgrades, a couple of newer scanners and/or a newer, better digital camera than the old, clunky 2 megapixel Kodak one we have...



I give up.

[MCQ]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Now I've got to approach him and hopefully try to find out Apple's retail return policy regarding software. I'm SO glad I didn't open this yesterday...something kept telling me not to!

I believe it's the standard 14 day if you didn't open it, we can take it back. At least, that's how the online orders are.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...spolicies.html

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 I give up.

Don't!

[Brad]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 As for the AppleCare thing, that was an unnecessary $340 expenditure too, correct? I mean, we could've gone for a year (set up a reminder in iCal or something, the way I did for myself and my PowerBook) and revisit this next August and extend the coverage then?

You are correct, sir!

And, yes, you should be able to return it if it's unopened.

[kscherer]

Paul, ask your boss one big, fat, all-important question:

Who's gonna administer the thing? And why?

OS X Server is getting easier to deal with, but it's still a bit of a headache if you aren't experienced with it. And for two machines, well . . .

If you were serving websites or mail or printers or what not, then Server would be for you. For sharing a drive? Sheesh!

Just do what you've been doing, for cryin' out loud! That $500 bucks pays for AppleCare on both machines AND lunch for the week! And with iMacs, you're gonna want AppleCare (and lunch)! .

Poop!

[psmith2.0]

We finally talked, and thanks to you guys I was able to point out a few things. So we'll get our money back, he realizes he overbought and that he should've listened to me a bit more last week, etc.

But all is well.

I tried to get him to consider doing the same with AppleCare, but he said - knowing the owner of the company - we may as just let it ride, and know we're covered and not have to fool with it in 11 months.

So I couldn't get back the full $900 (part of which we would indeed spend again to extend our AppleCare in 11 or so months anyway). But at least we get to return OS X Server. That's $500.

Thanks for all the info and input...I certainly couldn't have made this happen without it.

[Batman]

Paul - what kind of graphics work are you doing. Is it a larger firm, or just an independent studio?

[psmith2.0]

It's a magazine, actually. Several. A bit of everything (editorial, illustration/logo, Photoshop work, page layout, typesetting, creating insert ads for other publications, retouching, creating ads, articles, etc.). Rare coins and currency mostly, and some sports memorabilia/collectibles and some historical projects (Civil War, WWII, etc.).

I spend my days handling MUCHO dinero...



Very small...me, another graphics guy and a home-based guy from time to time.

I'D like to be home-based, but, frankly, I do too much here...part graphic artist, part photographer, part secretary (ugh!), part editor, etc.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 I'D like to be home-based, but, frankly, I do too much here...part graphic artist, part photographer, part secretary (ugh!), part editor, etc.

With that secretary part, I'm kinda curious how you'd look in nylons and a little skirt. Do you pad your bra? How about some photoshop work. Give us the details, man!