Very OT - TOS? - having several users doing semi-file share...?

[groovebox]

OK - this is VERY OT - I have my own domain with HG - all good.

I have a friend who has a few networked computers and they have a requirement to share a calendar and stick some files there - total space (for the files) is about 6-8GB total - so not a lot - mostly Word/Excel.

I can install an OSS calendar for them and HG can do that.

But - they'd like to access their documents from whereever they may be (2 of the users work remotely - part time - so this is NOT a heavy duty operation).

I am considering .Mac (Apple) as this allows them to do the calendar thing [and they use all Mac's anyhow!] as well as use iDisk. The space you get with .Mac should be OK for the moment.

So I was thinking - using CPanel - create 1 or 2 (not MASTER) FTP accounts and then the users can FTP the files to their accounts - thus the remote people can drag them out of FTP and work on them and then re-FTP them.

Plus I can setup a CMS for public information...and/or private information.

I bet this is sounding silly but I have a feeling it may work - they are 5 year veterans with computers so they can be taught the FTP stuff.

.Mac may work for them but if they grow bigger then they may outgrow .Mac.

Weird and very OT - but any comments welcomed...

Respect.
B

[slapshotw]

The .Mac thing is easy because their iDisks will just mount on their desktops like regular hard drives. There's no need to bother downloading a file and reuploading it with FTP software-- just open it from the iDisk and save as normal when done. You can also buy more space if you need it for a few dollars extra.

Frankly you could do that with FTP and some specialized software, but the WebDAV implementation of .Mac tends to work really well. Plus you get the calendars and the syncing and all that...

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by groovebox

OK - this is VERY OT ...
Weird and very OT - but any comments welcomed...

Why would this be be "off-topic"? Seems like a reasonable pre-sales question.

(BTW, groovebox, there is an off-topic category you can use if you feel that way.)

[whatrevolution]

Maybe it's OT because:

Originally Posted by groovebox

OK - this is VERY OT - I have my own domain with HG - all good.

[groovebox]

Yes thanks for those comments - as pointed out .Mac is a bit simpler with no really special software - but you have to pay a wee bit more is you need more the 20MB. (FTP is not that hard - I'll just have to give them some notes is all.)

As for the synching of contacts/calendars - well I could grab an OSS solution and give that a go...at the moment they are using Macs but I guess planning for cross-platform would also be wise.

I will change them (friend of a friend not "friend of ours") from their present host to HG anyhow.

As for the "OT" part - yeah - well it was just a bit of an odd query really...

Thank to everyone.