Help! Home Workgroup System Design

I'm not sure this is the best forum for this question - please feel free
to suggest another forum/newsgroup.

Work, school, soccer, vacations, etc. Keeping an active family sync'ed
is becoming a nightmare!

I already have a home lan set up and working. I now want to implement a
workgroup solution for our family:

- Shared calender over the 4 PCs so we can sync schedules/appts
- individual contact list mgmt, with ability to sync w/ iPhone and
Windows mobile devices
- PC clients include WinXP, Vista machines, w/ Macs a possible future
addition
- Currently use Outlook Express email clients on XP while cautiously
exploring Windows Live Mail on Vista (primarily as read-only when on the
Vista machine; I haven't yet migrated my Outlook Express email archives
because I'm not sure how)

What I *really* want is the functionality that I have at work with MS
Outlook, but on my home lan for my family

What's your suggestion/solution?

Regards,

Bill

<snip>

> I already have a home lan set up and working. I now want to implement a
> workgroup solution for our family:
>
> - Shared calender over the 4 PCs so we can sync schedules/appts
> - individual contact list mgmt, with ability to sync w/ iPhone and
> Windows mobile devices
> - PC clients include WinXP, Vista machines, w/ Macs a possible future
> addition
> - Currently use Outlook Express email clients on XP while cautiously
> exploring Windows Live Mail on Vista (primarily as read-only when on the
> Vista machine; I haven't yet migrated my Outlook Express email archives
> because I'm not sure how)
>
> What I *really* want is the functionality that I have at work with MS
> Outlook, but on my home lan for my family
>
> What's your suggestion/solution?
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill


If MS Outlook on your job does the trick...
then why not use it at home too?

Bill wrote:
> I'm not sure this is the best forum for this question - please feel free
> to suggest another forum/newsgroup.
>
> Work, school, soccer, vacations, etc. Keeping an active family sync'ed
> is becoming a nightmare!
>
> I already have a home lan set up and working. I now want to implement a
> workgroup solution for our family:
>
> - Shared calender over the 4 PCs so we can sync schedules/appts
> - individual contact list mgmt, with ability to sync w/ iPhone and
> Windows mobile devices
> - PC clients include WinXP, Vista machines, w/ Macs a possible future
> addition
> - Currently use Outlook Express email clients on XP while cautiously
> exploring Windows Live Mail on Vista (primarily as read-only when on the
> Vista machine; I haven't yet migrated my Outlook Express email archives
> because I'm not sure how)
>
> What I *really* want is the functionality that I have at work with MS
> Outlook, but on my home lan for my family
>
> What's your suggestion/solution?

Windows 2003 Small Business Server R2 - you want the functionality of
Exchange is sounds like.

>
> Regards,
>
> Bill


--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply
Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor and literally save someone's life:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

spodosaurus wrote:

>
> Windows 2003 Small Business Server R2 - you want the functionality of
> Exchange is sounds like.
>

Reading up on the features ... you may be right. It's that server side
of the equation that I need. And it seems like I can get a 5-client
license for about $600, which is not too bad for what it may help us
achieve.

I'll research this some more.

Thanks!

Bill

philo wrote:

>
> If MS Outlook on your job does the trick...
> then why not use it at home too?
>

Because in my home it's just a standalone client on PCs, with no shared
calendar like at work. In another response, spodosaurus suggested an
affordable server solution that may complete my system requirements.
I'm going to check it out.

Thanks!

Bill

Bill wrote:
> spodosaurus wrote:
>
>>
>> Windows 2003 Small Business Server R2 - you want the functionality of
>> Exchange is sounds like.
>>
>
> Reading up on the features ... you may be right. It's that server side
> of the equation that I need. And it seems like I can get a 5-client
> license for about $600, which is not too bad for what it may help us
> achieve.
>
> I'll research this some more.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bill

I have to wonder if the client licenses are in addition to the server OS
costs...

Ari

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply
Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor and literally save someone's life:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

spodosaurus wrote:
> Bill wrote:
>> spodosaurus wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Windows 2003 Small Business Server R2 - you want the functionality of
>>> Exchange is sounds like.
>>>
>>
>> Reading up on the features ... you may be right. It's that server
>> side of the equation that I need. And it seems like I can get a
>> 5-client license for about $600, which is not too bad for what it may
>> help us achieve.
>>
>> I'll research this some more.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Bill
>
> I have to wonder if the client licenses are in addition to the server OS
> costs...
>
> Ari
>
Along these lines, you may do well to examine exhange alternatives that
integrate with the outlook client and can run on an XP operating system:
MUCH less expensive. Not sure if they can run without a domain and user
authentication server though.

Ari

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply
Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor and literally save someone's life:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

Google Calendar??Not all functions you'd want, but as a shared calendar..

http://www.google.com/calendar/

--
Tumppi
=================================
A lot learned from these newsgroups
Helsinki, FINLAND
(translations from/to FI not always accurate
=================================




"Bill" <billmuy@comcast.net> kirjoitti
viestissä:s7Wdnce2cqPOoAbanZ2dnUVZ_qKgnZ2d@comcast .com...
> I'm not sure this is the best forum for this question - please feel free
> to suggest another forum/newsgroup.
>
> Work, school, soccer, vacations, etc. Keeping an active family sync'ed is
> becoming a nightmare!
>
> I already have a home lan set up and working. I now want to implement a
> workgroup solution for our family:
>
> - Shared calender over the 4 PCs so we can sync schedules/appts
> - individual contact list mgmt, with ability to sync w/ iPhone and Windows
> mobile devices
> - PC clients include WinXP, Vista machines, w/ Macs a possible future
> addition
> - Currently use Outlook Express email clients on XP while cautiously
> exploring Windows Live Mail on Vista (primarily as read-only when on the
> Vista machine; I haven't yet migrated my Outlook Express email archives
> because I'm not sure how)
>
> What I *really* want is the functionality that I have at work with MS
> Outlook, but on my home lan for my family
>
> What's your suggestion/solution?
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill

"Bill" <billmuy@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:KtCdnbD0qKHbQAbanZ2dnUVZ_hynnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> philo wrote:
>
> >
> > If MS Outlook on your job does the trick...
> > then why not use it at home too?
> >
>
> Because in my home it's just a standalone client on PCs, with no shared
> calendar like at work. In another response, spodosaurus suggested an
> affordable server solution that may complete my system requirements.
> I'm going to check it out.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bill


Though the server suggestion will certainly work...
since this is a home network I made the assumption that you did not want to
stick a lot of $$$$ into it.

Perhaps all you need is some application such as

http://www.officecalendar.com/


I've not used it so I don't know how well it works...but there seem to be
plenty of apps out there
that may work for you.

"Bill" <billmuy@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:s7Wdnce2cqPOoAbanZ2dnUVZ_qKgnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> I'm not sure this is the best forum for this question - please feel free
> to suggest another forum/newsgroup.
>
> Work, school, soccer, vacations, etc. Keeping an active family sync'ed is
> becoming a nightmare!
>
> I already have a home lan set up and working. I now want to implement a
> workgroup solution for our family:
>
> - Shared calender over the 4 PCs so we can sync schedules/appts
> - individual contact list mgmt, with ability to sync w/ iPhone and Windows
> mobile devices
> - PC clients include WinXP, Vista machines, w/ Macs a possible future
> addition
> - Currently use Outlook Express email clients on XP while cautiously
> exploring Windows Live Mail on Vista (primarily as read-only when on the
> Vista machine; I haven't yet migrated my Outlook Express email archives
> because I'm not sure how)
>
> What I *really* want is the functionality that I have at work with MS
> Outlook, but on my home lan for my family
>
> What's your suggestion/solution?
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill

The best solution for a family network would be to forget computers and just
talk to each other.