[X4U] X-serve vs. Mac Pro as server

[Stroller]

On 23 Jan 2007, at 13:43, Jim Robertson wrote:

> My 6-practitioner nephrology medical practice is about to take its  
> first
> steps into the late 20th century. We'll be implementing an electronic
> appointment book, and we'll be configuring it so that the docs and  
> staff
> (those with appropriate privileges) will have web access to it.

What the others said re hardware.

Have you considering holding off until Leopard server & using iCal?

   Using iCal Server, colleagues can propose and set up meetings, book
   conference rooms, and more quickly and easily [sic] . iCal Server  
is a
   full-featured, standards-based calendaring solution designed to
   make your life easier.
   http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/icalserver.html

Microsoft's Exchange Server is the equivalent for Outlook users, and  
is very well entrenched. It offers facilities for a secretary to  
approve appointments on her boss' behalf and all the stuff I  
mentioned before <http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/pipermail/x4u/ 
2006-August/014409.html>. I see from the spiel that it allows you to  
reserve shared "assets" such as a projector (x-ray machine?) or  
conference room; I find it hard to imagine that it might not offer  
shared address-book features.

I have no experience of File Maker Pro - I've never encountered  
anyone using it on Windows (certainly none of my 600+ customers) and  
I have to admit that I look down on it as a snotty little old- 
fashioned database program that's "not a real server". There has been  
quite a bit of interest recently from governments in requiring all  
documents to be in formats with open standards, and IMO this bodes  
well for Apple's support of CalConnect.org with iCal server - for me,  
I don't see how a proprietary app like FMP could compete with this.  
iCal Server is ALREADY available as open source.

See also http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/ical.html

Stroller.