Is it feasible to set up 21 unit hotel with Mac Mini's in each room?
I am building a 21 unit condo hotel in Mexico, and want to have mini's in each room connected to 42" HDTV, the features I want are
1. WiFi using "share internet"
2. Skype installed for calls
3. iChat for communicating with the front desk, restaurant and other rooms
4. Maintaing a large iTunes collection (music, video and pictures) for viewing
5. ability for clients to access their account (bill)
Does this make sense? and are there any consulting firms that would help me set this up?
1. WiFi using "share internet"
2. Skype installed for calls
3. iChat for communicating with the front desk, restaurant and other rooms
4. Maintaing a large iTunes collection (music, video and pictures) for viewing
5. ability for clients to access their account (bill)
Does this make sense? and are there any consulting firms that would help me set this up?
Comments
3. iChat for communicating with the front desk, restaurant and other rooms.
Why this?
Other than this the whole thing sounds good.
are there any consulting firms that would help me set this up?
In Mexico? Hmmm... I think there are a couple Mac stores there. Try them
You'll need webcams, too, obvi. Not many available for Mac but Logitech makes one
Why this?
Other than this the whole thing sounds good.
we are in a fairly remote area, and we will not have normal telephone land lines, only cell phones, and since we will not have land lines, and if we spend the $$ for this system, iChat would be how people "call" other rooms or the front desk instead of a phone system, and Skype would be used for calls back to the States and Canada
Our marketing is being aimed at "group" take overs , where a group of people reserve the whole complex, and as such there should be alot of inter action with the different rooms
here is what the complex will look like, 21 full ownership condos, that are then given back to us for rental as a Cond/Hotel
http://gallery.me.com/hotinplaya#100427
I am building a 21 unit condo hotel in Mexico, and want to have mini's in each room connected to 42" HDTV, the features I want are
1. WiFi using "share internet"
2. Skype installed for calls
3. iChat for communicating with the front desk, restaurant and other rooms
4. Maintaing a large iTunes collection (music, video and pictures) for viewing
5. ability for clients to access their account (bill)
Does this make sense? and are there any consulting firms that would help me set this up?
You are better off usesing E-net to link the the systems up and having wifi AP for shared internet.
Also I think that people want a real phone not a phone app on the tv.
we are in a fairly remote area, and we will not have normal telephone land lines, only cell phones, and since we will not have land lines, and if we spend the $$ for this system, iChat would be how people "call" other rooms or the front desk instead of a phone system, and Skype would be used for calls back to the States and Canada
Our marketing is being aimed at "group" take overs , where a group of people reserve the whole complex, and as such there should be alot of inter action with the different rooms
here is what the complex will look like, 21 full ownership condos, that are then given back to us for rental as a Cond/Hotel
http://gallery.me.com/hotinplaya#100427
Good job.
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I don't see people liking being looked at when talking to the front desk. People just want to pick up a phone and do it that way. I'm sure you could hook up some sort of phone to the minis and do it that way. I'd wait to see the new mini next week, then go to the Apple store and tell them exactly what you're trying to achieve. I'm sure they'll want to accommodate you. It could be like a business case study for them.
Stuff you'll have to get right is simple things like how noisy the minis would be at night when the guests are trying to sleep. As they will likely be left on constantly like Chris Pirillo's video feed from his mini.
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It's an interesting situation. It could just as easily be a nightmare for your guests as a godsend, depending on how well you manage to set it all up. It will either be "seamless" and "cool" or" a pain in the butt".
You need to look for an Apple Premium Reseller in your nearest city, see if they can help consult on this. Usually a good Apple Reseller can set it up, you don't need a separate consulting firm.
I do a little consulting for an Apple Premium Reseller, but I'm here in Malaysia. Nice project, its a pity I am several thousand miles away. And I can't speak Spanish to save my life.
As for your points, here are my ideas.
1a. Yes, makes sense, but you may need some Gigabit Ethernet to connect the access points. You don't need to much wiring, but some wiring is needed.
1b. You need a quality "main" Internet connection.
2. Yes, nice.
3. iChat is good, but as mentioned you need webcams, and for connecting with the front desk guests will probably want audio-only, with no video, iChat can do this.
4. Probably iTunes sharing, each iTunes "server" can share up to 5 users. Supposed to be for personal use only, not sure how particular the music licensing authorities are in Mexico since your iTunes setup is for a commercial building.
5. Internal web server (Intranet) connected to your billing system would do this.
6. May I suggest wireless mouse and keyboard of course, to use with Mac Mini and HDTV.
Good luck
I am building a 21 unit condo hotel in Mexico, and want to have mini's in each room connected to 42" HDTV, the features I want are
1. WiFi using "share internet"
2. Skype installed for calls
3. iChat for communicating with the front desk, restaurant and other rooms
4. Maintaing a large iTunes collection (music, video and pictures) for viewing
5. ability for clients to access their account (bill)
Does this make sense? and are there any consulting firms that would help me set this up?
I would also setup some kind of filtering as well for the internet. Give them basically complete access, but limit certain things, possibly even monitor all websites (for legal reasons).
I agree with using VoIP for phones. That would be best IMO.