Sharing Address Book Locally – The Mac Observer

iTunes and iPhoto content can be shared on your local network, and with the right tools you can share your iCal calendars, too. If you also want to share your Address Book contacts, you can make that happen with Address-O-Matic.

Address-O-Matic is an application that lets you share your contacts on your local network through Appleis Bonjour networking protocol - which means your Mac handles the networking stuff in the background so you donit have too.

Use Address-O-Maticis preferences set how often your shared groups update.

To use Address-O-Matic, you need to install the application on each Mac that will either share or subscribe to Address Book groups. The app adds a new item to your menu bar, and from there you can share all of your contacts or individual groups. Any other Macs that are sharing Address Book groups will show up in the menu, as well, and you can select which groups you subscribe to.

Share and subscribe to Address Book groups from the Address-O-Matic menu.

Combining Address-O-Matic and Address Book with iCal and CalTalk is an easy way to create a simple shared calendar and contact system without spending a load of money. Address-O-Matic is available for download at the Address-O-Matic Web site, and will set you back $20. Even better, with one paid copy, you can set up an "Address Book server" that your other Macs subscribe to through the free version.