Hi all There has been some discussion recently regarding Apple OS X Lion Server software and hardware, so I would like to add a few comments. If you're not interested in listening to anything regarding the Server version of the OS, or the Server hardware machines, you may as well stop reading now. Likewise, if you're one of those people who hates to hear anything that doesn't portray Apple as "sun shining out of backside" organisation in every respect, you may as well stop reading now because what I have to say is not entirely, or even primarily complementary.
First, the hardware. To answer Jim's question yes, you can run the new servers without a monitor it would appear. The problem is that you can't, it appears, boot from any DVD older than Lion. In fact, we created a DVD yesterday which contains Lion client and it boots our older machines fine. But the server machine won't touch the thing. So it is starting to appear as though you can't even boot from a DVD any longer. Strange though that may sound, that's the conclusion I'm coming too, having tried several times with different combinations of hardware and software. Now, as to the software itself. Apple, in their infinite wisdom, has stripped away most of the Internet services which we need from the GUI admin tools. Therefore, the only way to set them up is via the Terminal. This is how it used to be in older versions of OSX before Apple started making their claims that theirs was the easiest server in the world to set up. They still make that claim, and it's absolutely not true any longer. Even configuring FTP access to the Apple server now requires that you delve into the terminal as root and initiate some very potentially dangerous server commands. Do it wrong, and you're up for a re-install. In terms of VoiceOver, many people are apparently having problems with the "Spaces" functionality on less powerful machines. For instance, I know somebody with a 2007 MacBook which has 2GB of RAM, (a bit like one of ours). It's struggling to run Lion, even though it falls within the specifications laid out by Apple. But for me, their server solution represents a major step in the wrong direction. They have taken their server solution beyond the reach of the masses because they have deliberately disabled major functionality in their GUI. Perhaps there is a business reason for doing this which may become clear over time. But they have also renamed on promises made to me in telephone calls to fix certain accessibility bugs in the admin GUI. So Lion Server, is a total disaster as far as I'm concerned and it's left us having to re-evaluate where we stand on the Server front. We have a quad core machine which, at the moment, is a virtual brick because I haven't yet managed to enable the services we need and I can't downgrade the software. Gordon <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> To reply to this post, please address your message to [email protected] You can find a monthly formatted archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at the following URL: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free! Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting the list website at: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/>
