External security in connection to the INTERNET is THE Biggie!!!! I'm certain that you can find other 'Church Offices' in your area, that are 'Wintel/Microsoft' operations. It shouldn't take much in the way of conversation to expose 'Horror Stories'.
Then there is always the 'If it ain't broke, Don't FIX it' line. Chuck D. On Sep 18, 2008, at 5:16 PM, Ramon Tate wrote: > > Hi, all, > As a long-time reader of this list, I know there are a number of you > out there who tend multiple computer installations, including mixed > Mac > and MS-based PC ones. I would like some justifications/talking points > to bolster my view that for a small (3-4 computer) church office, > staying with our all-Mac installation is cost-effective as we are > being > pushed to replace them all with Windows systems. Currently, we have an > old 700 MHz G3 (OS 10.3.9) iMac, a 1.25 GHz eMac (OS 10.3.9), and a > 2-yr-old 1.5 GHz 15" Powerbook (OS 10.4.11), all on a CAT5e LAN via a > 5-port switch, an 802.11g 4-port wireless router (running wrt > firmware) > and a Comcast-supplied cable modem. Most of what we do is word > processing and document production for church programs, as well as the > usual Internet connectivity things like email and web access. All > systems have MS Office 2004 and Filemaker 7.1 - we use the latter > for a > variety of database functions such as purchase order tracking, etc. > The > eMac also has Virtual PC installed that is used to run an OLD Windows > 98 calendar program that we like. > > My stance, being the one who set most of this up about 4-5 years ago, > is that we (a) don't have anyone to watch over an office LAN all the > time as needed for a Windows-based environment, (b) we couldn't afford > it if we did and there is no one in the church who can do it gratis, > (c) replacing all the Office and Filemaker software would be extremely > expensive, and (d) the inevitable decline in security would result > in a > major breach in short order. I would much prefer to buy 3 new iMacs > (will need another for a new staff member) and upgrade the > Powerbook to > Leopard, keeping all the existing software and/or upgrading as > required > (already have FM 9 ready to go). > > So, experts, what say you? > (and thanks in advance for your sage advice) > > Ramon Tate > Rockville, Maryland > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Low End Mac's iMac List, a group for those using G3, G4, G5, and Intel Core iMacs as well as Apple eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
