LOSTINSPACE2011  I have received a number of requests today. It would have been easier if you put your name your submission.

Before enabling the client you need to discover the ABS Server (via Bonjour) and install the server and client license. This has recently been updated, and the manual hasn't caught you yet. This will be addressed shortly.

Support for ABS is available on the website (http://www.addressbookserver.com/support/) as well as via email (info AT addressbookserver DOT com) and via iChat. The Online / Offline button on the website links directly to support if it is online.

Hope this helps

ABS Support  
(Version 080516)

LOSTINSPACE2011  Address Book Server, a companion to ABxLDAP is available and offers long awaited bi-directional support. LDAP has been replaced with a relational database.

It can be found on the same website or from http://www.addressbookserver.com  
(Version 1.1.14)

LOSTINSPACE2011  You are absolutely right and a server installation would be very useful. Providing a server installation on the other hand is not as straight forward as one would think. Many environment already have some sort of LDAP server. OS X Server's Open Directory or CommuniGate Pro for example are not uncommon. Instructions for getting OpenLDAP enabled on OS X [non-Server] are included in the manual. Having done this a few times now it doesn't take long at all. One also has to consider the nature of the product. The client installation is fully automated. I would imagine that the typical Joe would not want to set-up a LDAP server to share contacts. I would see a network administrator however to install this at a small company.

This is not to say that this will always be the case. Up to now I have helped several users with the installation process, and I will continue to do so. Should users request for an easier server installation increase in numbers and the target environment would change form small businesses to home users, I will provide a server installation. So if you are really interested in this product, but find the manual (available on the web-site) a little daunting, please let me know.  
(Version 1.1.2)

LOSTINSPACE2011  Thanks for your comments. You are not the first person to bring up the topic of the installation. It is a little tricky to get working. I have however updated the manual with better instruction to get it going.

The updated manual can be found here:

http://www.j2anywhere.com/projects/abxldap/AddressBook_X_Manual.pdf

Please let me know if you still feel that information is lacking, in particular which specific sections. I am more then happy to include additional information. I have added a section on getting Thunderbird to use the extra attributes offered by the custom schema extension, for example.

As OS X already contains all the software for OpenLDAP to run, only the configuration task is left for the user to complete. OpenLDAP provides many settings and options which make it difficult to include a generic (one-size-fits-all) solution. Many clients already have an existing service running or would like to make use of a specific schema mapping. Also the project is still in it's early stage and I am still gathering user requirements and suggestions. In the past I have assisted many users via e-mail and iChat to get a directory configured. Each time taking their individual needs into account. This process takes anywhere from 30mins to 3 hours depending on the users skill set.

In many cases the typical scenario is to have the LDAP directory on a separate server to the client installations. This would require 2 type of installations, one for the client and another for the server. There are also security considerations to be taken into account.

Up to now I have tried to produce as good as possible documentation, but I agree that there is always room for improvements.

The price of $30 (£15 GBP) covers a site license and is used to cover development / hosting costs. It is not intended as a per-client basis. Unfortunately Mac-Updated does not offer this option and it is not clear on their web site. It is however covered on the projects web-site and in the updated manual. The product is still available as a free download. I have spend a fair amount debating if making this product commercial would be a good option. In the end I decided for a mixed option. I would like to make this project as much community driven as possible and maybe even open source it as some point. Up to now I have been the only developer on it with little input from others. The general feedback has been positive.

Since giving users the option to "buy" the product I have been a lot more motivated to work on new features as I could see a direct response form the community. I just find that this works best so far, as the users tend to value the software more if they paid for it, and I am more eager to work on new feature and improvements. I am under no illusions and know that this will not make me rich, never mind rich quickly. Yet I do feel that my efforts should be rewarded.   
(Version 1.0rc1.14)