Hi All, First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be patient :) I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC computers in the office that are networked together and share files. The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves away. I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via the Internet. If anyone has any suggestions i would really appreciate the help. Again I am not sure if this is a built in feature in the MAC that they can turn on and use or if they would need an application to do this. Please keep in mind that these people are not MAC gurus and they need something that is simple to install and use. I am not a MAC user and do not live close enough to offer any hands on assistance so they need to be able to do this on their own. thanks for your time.... gene
Gene wrote: > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) 1. We knew that when we saw the subject! "MAC" is the acronym of Media Access Control. It appears that you mean to refer to the brand of computers made by Apple. That would be "Mac," short for Macintosh (and not MACintosh." 2. You should know this because you /should/ be using Macs. You would do yourself and the entire on-line community a favor by reducing the amount of spyware, viruses, DOS attacks, and other nasty things that are associated so closely with the Typhoid Mary of Operating Systems. > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > > If anyone has any suggestions i would really appreciate the help. > Again I am not sure if this is a built in feature in the MAC that they > can turn on and use or if they would need an application to do this. > > Please keep in mind that these people are not MAC gurus and they need > something that is simple to install and use. I am not a MAC user and > do not live close enough to offer any hands on assistance so they need > to be able to do this on their own. Apple Remote Desktop -- commercial software from Apple. SSH, built into every Mac. Good introduction at <http://itexpress.ucdavis.edu/help/tutorials/openssh.shtml>. There are other solutions. Nothing personal here, but these people should contact a professional Mac consultant rather than a Windoze guy. A Google search that includes the name of the city in which the business is located will most likely be fruitful. Davoud -- usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > > If anyone has any suggestions i would really appreciate the help. > Again I am not sure if this is a built in feature in the MAC that > they can turn on and use or if they would need an application to do > this. > > Please keep in mind that these people are not MAC gurus and they need > something that is simple to install and use. I am not a MAC user and > do not live close enough to offer any hands on assistance so they > need to be able to do this on their own. Apple has built such capabilities in to OS X. Here's the simplest approach, although the article looks to be rather old and may be out of date: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106461 VNC would also be an option, perhaps slightly more complicated to set up but offering a rather better user experience: http://www.redstonesoftware.com/vnc.html Hope this helps!
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > VNC is free but very buggy. Timbuktu is a well-known and respected Mac program for remote control.
Mac systems today are all based on a UNIX foundation. More specifically, the BSD variant of UNIX. That said, UNIX based systems have been doing everything the Windows systems have been doing and longer than they have as well. Sharing files can done in number of different ways, using a number of different technologies that exist within UNIX and also within Mac OS X as well. Generally sharing files on a LAN is not a big deal and the most simplistic implementations are generally effective as the LAN is usually not visible to the outside world of the Internet. Sharing files across the Internet, in this concept, a WAN, is more problematic. Generally you want to use protocols that are effective in establishing and maintaining reliable connections, and in addition, you must consider the need to provide a high level of security. One needs to consider the security of the two separate LAN's being opened up to the Internet, and you must also consider the need to secure the connection between the two machines so that data moved back and forth is not compromised. This means something SSH tunnelling being used. This can become an issue to configure as generally, turning on SSH, inherently turns off all other network connections unless specific configuration options are put in place. Another issue that comes up is that most personal and business connections to the Internet are made with floating IP addresses and this means that from day to day, week to week or even sometimes hour to hour, the IP address at one or both ends of the connection is in a state of constant change. This can be addressed by usually paying more to the ISP to get a Static IP address at each end and setting up registered domains with DNS entries handled by the ISP's or, one can make effective use of Dynamic DNS. I hope that this has given you sufficient information to consider for further research or with which to query any consultant that you hire. FWIW, if doing the same with Windows, the considerations are generally the same.
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) And by MAC, you probably mean "Macintosh Apple Computer", what others call "Mac". :-) > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. There are two UNIX solutions: - Under Mac OS X.4.7 or later, one can use 'rsync' (with an '-E' option for Mac files), which can be automated using 'crontab', if the computer is made sure to not be in a coma during backup time, say via System Preference/Energy Saver/Options. See the 'man' pages of these two programs. - One can use 'ssh', either from the console (like Terminal), or via Finder GUI in the program Fugu. -- Hans Aberg
If they need more security, they should check a vpn solution.
Davoud (star@sky.net) wrote: [snip] : Apple Remote Desktop -- commercial software from Apple. SSH, built into : every Mac. Good introduction at : <http://itexpress.ucdavis.edu/help/tutorials/openssh.shtml>. Oh - you were doing soooo good util then. Tsk @ putting a period at the end of an enclosed url ;-) -- Non Illegitimi Carborundum
Hans Aberg (haberg@math.su.se) wrote: : In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene : <no_spam@here.com> wrote: : > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be : > patient :) : And by MAC, you probably mean "Macintosh Apple Computer", what others call : "Mac". :-) Naw. That'd be an AMC: "Apple Macintosh Computer" ;-) A Mac is a Mac is a Macintosh. -- Non Illegitimi Carborundum
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > > If anyone has any suggestions i would really appreciate the help. > Again I am not sure if this is a built in feature in the MAC that they > can turn on and use or if they would need an application to do this. > > Please keep in mind that these people are not MAC gurus and they need > something that is simple to install and use. I am not a MAC user and > do not live close enough to offer any hands on assistance so they need > to be able to do this on their own. > > > thanks for your time.... > gene If it's file sharing that they're after, it's only a matter of setting up the Macs such that: A) The fileserver has a static, routable IP address, or using dynamic DNS on the fileserver non-static address, or if there's a router involved, B) Setting up port forwarding on the router and giving the router a static routable IP address or using dynamic DN on its non-static address. Then you just use <afp://<address_of_server_or_router>/ to get access to the shares.
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > > If anyone has any suggestions i would really appreciate the help. > Again I am not sure if this is a built in feature in the MAC that they > can turn on and use or if they would need an application to do this. > > Please keep in mind that these people are not MAC gurus and they need > something that is simple to install and use. I am not a MAC user and > do not live close enough to offer any hands on assistance so they need > to be able to do this on their own. > > > thanks for your time.... > gene Besides the options already suggested, you might want to have your friend do some searches over a <http://MacOSXHints.com> for things like VPN, "ssh appleshare", and any other secure remote sharing services you can think of. Bob Harris
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. They need to be able to have the > master files on the main MAC in the office and allow the other person > to easily access and update the master files so they are always up to > date on the main MAC. They update 50 to 60 files a day in this manner > and want a way to continue to do this when the other person moves > away. > > I have seen many different applications for the PC such as gotomyPC > PCanywhere etc but i am not sure how to do this with a MAC to MAC via > the Internet. > I use a VNC server called OSXvnc; and a client called Chicken of the VNC. Works very nicely. Takes a bit of work to set up, but works quite well.
In article <arohb2djju2g3sa99k3h0knq45l3t0i5gr@4ax.com>, Gene <no_spam@here.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > First I will tell you that I am not a MAC user or owner so please be > patient :) > > I have a friend who runs a small business and they have two MAC > computers in the office that are networked together and share files. > The main MAC has approx 20,000 files that they share and update. > > One of the people will be moving away and they want to be able to > connect over the Internet to the main MAC and share the files just > like they do in the office today. You just want file access? That's easy ... never mind what I suggested about VNC. Just use the file sharing suggestions of the other posters.