More junk: You can run a Mac without any keyboard or monitor attached, in which case your server can take up very little space.Jason Snell breaks down the reasons why you should consider it, and why you should skip it.Over the years, the hardware has changedat least four times, so far as I can rememberand the tasks required of it have changed dramatically, too.But despite all that change, the presence of a server in my house has always been useful.
Best Home Printers 2013 Mac Without AnyThen again, running a Mac server isnt for everyoneand these days, network-attached storage (NAS) devices can provide most of the functionality of a computer at a lower cost and reduced complexity. What Im saying is, its complicated Why have a home server It can be very convenient to have a computer thats always available. Lets say you have a large collection of media filesmusic or videosthat you want to have available to play on your stereo or TV. And if you use an online backup service, such as CrashPlan or Backblaze, you can back up that Mac and all of your precious files will be backed up, too. Finally, if your home Internet service is slow, spotty, or metered, having a home server allows you to stock up on contentespecially music and moviesand have them available to watch on a moments notice. Best Home Printers 2013 How To Use AReasons to use a Mac server Familiarity: If youre a Mac user, you know how to use a Mac. You probably know how to share files and folders, run iTunes, the works. You have to administer them from a webpage and if theres trouble, you will be entering a world of troubleshooting that can get alien and frustrating in a hurry. Availability: One of the best sources of Mac server hardware is an old Mac you already own. Once I got a fresher model, the old one went in the closet and served me for a few more years as my server. Best Home Printers 2013 Software And HardwareAlso, a lot of software and hardware is designed to work with computers, not storage devices. Flexibility: Apple is constantly upgrading OS X, and most modern hardware comes along for the ride. Apps are constantly being updated to take advantage of new features. My home weather station came with some weird Java-based software that was never updated and worked horribly; I was able to easily replace it with a much better piece of native Mac software. Embedded systems like NASes are harder to update and can be abandoned by their makers after a short time in favor of newer models. Reasons not to use a Mac server Price: You can get an impressively specced two-disk Synology array from Amazon for 263, for example. If you dont have a Mac appropriate to be tasked as a server, you can save a lot of money by just buying a NAS. I havent measured, but Id imagine that I would use a lot less energy if I dumped my Drobo and Mac mini duo and replaced it with a single low-power NAS. An extra device: If youve got a Mac you tend to use most of the time, you could make it your household server by leaving it on all the time, rather than dedicating an additional device. Or just remember to turn it on when you want to watch videos or listen to music.
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