Just set up a mini, download the iPhone SDK, and you can program from any Windows machine out there.

If you don’t have a static ip address on your Mac server, HamachiX makes it possible to still find the VPN server. This uses a third party server to help the two machines to find each other.

Of course, if you are setting up a VPN, you’re probably interested in security and would rather not have a third party server involved. Well, if your Mac server has a static ip address (or at least a nice updated DNS service) then you can use the great iVPN to setup your Virtual Private Network. Just put in the user/password combo, choose an ip address range to use, and then fire up the server. It works great.

However, if you want to try it yourself, it is much cheaper and not too difficult.

It’s hard to get a hard answer on whether this will avoid your warranty. However, in my experience, Apple will continue to cover your machine but NOT the RAM and NOT anything that may have been damaged while you installed your RAM.

To sum it up, be careful when you install and keep your old RAM in case you need to send your machine to Apple and you need to get back to stock.

This has got us thinking. Perhaps we should write out what it takes to get a Mac mini in a data center. Here are the steps.

1. If you decide to go with Macminicolo.net, you can visit our signup page. There you can choose while options you’d like for your machine.
2. Once you’ve filled in your information and pressed submit, you will receive your network information (e.g. ip address) and the shipping address in an email.
3. You can then build your Mac mini at home just how you’d like it to run. We also offer a e-book on initial settings for a Mac server. When you’re finished with your setup, lastly change the network settings to the ip address we’ve given you.
4. Send it to the Macminicolo data center.
5. We’ll receive the machine, get it installed and powered up and let you know it’s ready. You are then able to control the machine however you’ve set it up. (Usually Screen Sharing or Apple Remote Desktop.

That is pretty much the extent of it.

Or, to make it even easier, you can buy the machine thru Macminicolo. It’ll take about one business day for us to get the machine, set it up in our data center, and then hand over control to you. You can then change any passwords/users that you want to change.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Link: Seven iPhone Apps for IT

I’ve put together a PDF document that will walk you thru the initial setup of a Mac mini server. You can download the PDF here. (PDF link)

However, there is a great application called PureFTPd Manager that is available. With this app, you can set up many accounts assigned only to specific folders. You can also have anonymous FTP clients. This application is free.

With this great application, the Mac mini is a great FTP Server.

This could potentially save your company thousands of dollars.

To have a second ip address, you just need to make a second “Ethernet” entry in the Network Settings.

In System Preferences, choose “Network” and then click on the “+” at the bottom of the left hand column. In the “Interface” drop down, choose “ethernet” and then give it a name. Then, you can configure it with an additional ip address. Now your Mac mini can be accessed using either ip address.

This is a very low percentage of failures.

Part of the reason our numbers are so good is because of the optimal environment. The temperature, power and humidity are very closely controlled.

The biggest worry is the laptop-style hard drive that a Mac mini uses. However, they tend to be quite reliable becuase unlike a laptop, the Mac mini is stationary and doesn’t get moved, dropped, and jostled.