LeoMJ

A MAc won't automount an SMB drive so the key is to make sure AFP is running away in the background of the 2003 server, which in my experience is usually the case. If it is, mount the drive once then go ->sytem prefs->startup items and drag the volume in. This won't automatically remember login u/name and password, if you want this remember to tick the "add to my keychain" when initially mounting the volume.

There's a few out there, some commercial, some freeware, some shareware, some OpenSource. CDRevolution seems to be quite popular but costs, Roxio Toast is by far the most popular and has the added advantage of burning red book compliant audio CDs so has a serious advantage in a music environment. The best resource for all types of software (and updates) of all types on Mac is http://www.versiontracker.com Sorry, I'd find one myself but helping on the Edugeek stand at BETT so don't have the time.

The eMacs will happily use Pioneer 109/110/111s or Sony GU100Es, they'll just need a quick flash. This is the best way of going as Apple's iDVD and earlier versions of DiscBurner will only work for 'Apple' internal drives. try span.com (about £30 each)

Ip printing has tended to be absolutely fine, but there was a bit of a blip with HP colour lasers. The latest driver and correct installtion over IP should resolve this. Download the driver from HP and run the install. Print a config page from the HP to ensure you have the correct IP. Open the Apple Printer Setup Utility. Click 'add' then ensure you select @IP Printer@ with the LPD protocol (if you're looking at delivering this from an OSX Directory server use IPP). Enter IP for the HP, the Mac should now pick up the model and configure the correct drivers within about 10 seconds. If it doesn't then there's either a problem with the JetDirect card or the network (look for auto-negotiation or CRC alignment errors on the switches port for the Mac). The problem lay with a postscript translation error in the HP driver which has definately been resolved. As far as Appletalk goes there really is no need to run it anymore, the concept of it being very 'chattery' really only applies to older versions, however with RendezVous (zeroconf) and proper implemtation of TCP/IP since OSX, appletalk is only relvant in networks of Mac OS9 and OSX Hope this helps!?

Your Netinfo Databse is corrupt ->/var/db/netinfo (it's invisible so press cmd+g and type /var to enter the folder, or use terminal) Firstly try booting from cd to reset the password, if this doesn't help you've got a slightly bigger problem. It might be that yhe machine has it's search order for authentification worng, have a loog in Applications/Utilities/Directory Access and check that the LDAPv3 is not ticked (as you're net using a directory system). If this is working move the Library/Prefernces/com.apple.DirectoryService.plist to the desktop and reboot. This will reset all bindings while retaing the settings so you can resurect them. Reboot and see what happens..... Failing this, take one machine and perform and archive and install from disk OS disk, which will replace the core parts of the OS that deal with authentication. Good Luck

It has to be the iMac in an audio environment. 3.5" SATA with a faster spindle speed and greater capacity, if not network delivered it means the bulk of the audio streams will be close to the spindle and give a far greater performance. The second big reason is cost of ownership. An iMac uses full sized standard parts, whereas a Mac Mini is down to 2.5" drive, GMA graphics etc, and therefore is a more costly machine to keep running. The NIC in an iMac also supports bigger MTU, allowing for a much lower latency across the network (if your switches can cope). This means you can very successfully run a full directory environment and keep the music staff happy at the same time!