[X-Unix] Backdoor method to add users

[Dan Frakes]

Stroller <MacMonster at myrealbox.com> wrote:
>> The "cost of production" for server-level administration tools is not
>> low...
>
> Oh, come on. We're talking about stuff like a Cocoa GUI for editing
> things like Apache.conf & Samba.conf.

I agree that it doesn't cost as much to create server admin tools as it does
to create Microsoft Office ;-) But I guess we'll just have to agree to
disagree on how much it does cost to produce (and test) them.



>> If you really need a server OS, the price of Mac OS X Server is a huge
>> bargain. Ask your friendly neighborhood Windows network admin how much
>> he/she paid for a server OS with unlimited clients...
>
> I'm not sure that that's really the point.

But it's precisely my point. If you need a server, you need a server. In my
opinion comparing OS X Server to OS X Client and saying the former is
overpriced is an issue of unreasonable perspective. Comparing OS X Server to
Windows server solutions shows you how much of a bargain OS X Server really
is.

I understand the desire to go the "cheap" route. But sometimes "cheap" in
the short term ends up being expensive over the long haul. If you're in the
market for a server OS, the client licenses and additional tools you get
with a server-level OS will more than make up for the difference in cost
over the life of the server, in my experience. Forgetting about the client
license costs for a moment, consider how much your time is worth. Now
consider each time you have to find a "solution" somewhere on the 'net for
doing something using the Client version that is easily done with a click of
the mouse in the Server version. Even if you're an underpaid admin who only
makes $50 an hour ;-)  the 10-client version of OS X server will pay for
itself after only 7.4 hours of fiddling around, and the unlimited-client
version will pay for itself after only 17.4 hours. That's not much time,
considering the life of a server.