

Apple Discontinues Xserve, Only Available Until January 31st - pietrofmaggi
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/05/apple-discontinues-xserve-only-available-until-january-31st/

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apl
Not what I'd call a _shocker_.

Was anybody actually using them? OS X is a wonderful single-user-facing
operating system, whether that user is a clueless consumer or a Unix-loving
developer. But there's nothing that sets it apart as a server system.
Similarly, while the hardware's quite nice, there's nothing about it that
makes it superior to alternatives.

But of course, people will inevitably spin this as proof that MacOSX is about
to be locked down like iOS.

~~~
msy
They're not discontinuing OSX Server, just the rackmount hardware. I'm
guessing the market for people that have outgrown a couple of decked out Mac
Pros (seriously, those things are beasts) but still want OSX on their servers
is pretty tiny. As a central server for smaller orgs though I'm guessing it's
not doing badly.

~~~
bombs
There's also the Mac Mini! The missing piece is something more powerful than
the Mini, but more efficient than the Pro.

~~~
jonnathanson
The Mac Mini is highly underrated, btw. That may be neither here nor there,
but it's an extremely versatile and relatively inexpensive solution to quite a
few non-obvious use cases.

~~~
jonnathanson
\- RAID 1 mirrored and/or RAID 0 striped

\- DVR

\- To do mega-project: car install as all-purpose media server/center (though
I have read that there are kinks in this sort of setup, especially as concerns
audio)

\- Home security setup / server for video feed

I should disclose that I own more of these little buggers than is probably
warranted or advisable.

~~~
ibejoeb
I've been considering picking up one. I'd like to see a home
security/automation thread. Can I ask what you have set up? I'm really
interested in a rig that can log entry.

~~~
jonnathanson
I took most of my initial cues from Alan Graham / BoingBoing, though I will
freely admit that I haven't gone as far down the home automation rabbit hole
as he has. I should also mention that he's now advocating iPads for home
automation (I still prefer Minis for various reasons, especially storage
capacity for things like video feed and logging).

Some of these links are practically ancient, but they're where I started, and
they are good jumping-off points:

[http://macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/02/13/home_automation...](http://macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/02/13/home_automation.html?page=2)

<http://boingboing.net/2010/06/24/ipad-home-automation.html>

Let's be honest: the reason I don't go as far on home automation as he does is
a) I'm not really interested in being a power user of some of the home auto
features he advocates; b) I am too lazy/occupied to write a custom UI that
would theoretically be foolproof enough for guests...let alone myself first
thing in the morning before coffee. :)

Dislaimer 2: Alan is very much a kitchen-sink approach kind of guy (as is
evident in the pics of his rather ungainly and uber-comprehensive UI), whereas
I am a minimalist.

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kennu
I wish they would also discontinue Mac OS X Server and just add all the
management UI's into Mac OS X. As an optional install if necessary.

~~~
pclark
It'd be pretty awesome if Windows Server 2008 was rolled into Windows 8.

Seriously though, Mac OS X Server has a ton of advanced valuable services
(email, calendaring, booting clients off server based images, time machine
server). I think it's totally cool for Apple to continue charging for it.

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petercooper
I wonder what Apple uses in their own datacenters then.. They're obviously not
dogfooding anymore with all these datacenters they're supposedly rolling out.

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pietrofmaggi
Apple Releases New 'Server' Configuration of Mac Pro to Replace Xserve:

[http://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/05/apple-releases-new-
serve...](http://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/05/apple-releases-new-server-
configuration-of-mac-pro-to-replace-xserve/)

------
bombs
It'd be great to see an Xserve-inspired 1U kit that'd let you mount a couple
of Mac minis side by side (or a 5U kit that let you mount a dozen Mac minis
Xserve RAID style).

~~~
redmar
you prayers are answered:
[http://mk1manufacturing.com/www.mk1manufacturing.com/Compute...](http://mk1manufacturing.com/www.mk1manufacturing.com/Computers.html)

~~~
mambodog
That URL is really... something.

