Holy cr*p!!! It appears that Lion will a href=“http://www.apple.com/macosx/lion/"integrate OS X Server/a features in the standard version. Obviously, this will need to be explored to see exactly which of the server apps are included and maintained, but this is a huge deal. OS X Server at $999 was an interesting offer that went head to head with Windows Server Standard Edition from a price perspective. Then the price dropped to $499 which was a really interesting offer when you look at the value of the integrated software like the integrated LDAP directory, mail server, dns server, web server, wiki, streaming server, etc. Granted, many of these services are based on Open Source projects that you can install for free on a Linux server, but the simple UI makes managing them considerably easier for non-technical folks. Getting an SSL secured LDAP server running on Linux is a trying task for the uninitiated. But some are unique like the wiki/blog/podcasting platforms and really are good value adds. In fact that’s what running this site. Then there are the new bits coming down the pipe that definitely warrant investigation like the new Profile Manager which appears to be a iOS device management tool for small to medium scale deployments. ## Virtual Servers? The other complementary question that needs to be asked is how does this change the policy on virtual instances of OS X? The current rule is that you’re allowed to run OS X Server as a virtual machine on Apple hardware. But now that the server is bundled with the regular version, will the rule permit any OS X instance to be virtualized? Or only instances that have the optional server bits installed? And maybe, just maybe, the ability to virtualize on non-Apple hardware? Since they no longer offer a rack mount server model, they’re not going to be cannibalizing any of their existing product lines. Part of my curiosity stems from the fact that Virtual Desktop Infrastructure projects are starting to get a little more traction this year, which would be really very interesting option to change from the current Windows only approach for most systems. This also ties in nicely with the fact that despite Apple’s recent advances in the enterprise, desktops and portable computers will remain predominantly Wintel as in most cases they have a very hard time justifying the price differential (despite clear evidence that the build quality is far beyond what you get from your cheap $500 portable machine). This is where some of Lion bleed-over from iOS like the application full screen mode, larger button targets, etc. would be perfectly adapted for using an iPad as a thin client where the mapping of trackpad gestures could be passed through directly. iPhoto is an excellent example of an desktop application that could be very efficiently run from an iPad as a thin client. The full screen mode looks and feels much like an iOS app. The buttons are larger and well adapted. I can do this today via VNC and it just feels right - all that’s missing is the API to pass along native gestures to the remote screen.