Use at your own risk, YMMV, other standard disclaimers apply, but:
I fooled around with this a while back when I was experimenting with network home directories on Panther Server. IIRC, you can set the default user dock (actually quite a few default user settings) the way you like it on a client machine, and then copy the appropriate preference file to the User Template folder on the server (/System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/) while logged in as root so you can access it. Make sure you fix the permissions on the file so it’s just like the one you’re replacing.
I know for a fact you can set up a default user (in Jaguar & Panther) just the way you like it on a standalone machine by using the same technique with the local User Template folder instead of the one on the server. I’ve actually copied an entire Preferences folder in there after getting a dummy user account set up exactly the way I wanted it. I’ve only ever had one minor issue doing it like that… two instances where Safari would allow pageviews but file downloads would error out. Solved that by deleting the internet config plist file from the User Template so a new one is created when needed.
I’ve spoken with an Apple engineer who was amazed that I wasn’t having more problems using that technique, and some of the other tricks I’ve picked up after hours of experimentation. Either I’m very lucky, or OS X is a lot more forgiving and/or flexible than they thought.
~Philly
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