> From: Mark Secker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > There are IT support officers that I work with who insist that OSX is > "pretend/fake Unix", still think Apples are more expensive than > comparable premium brand name computers (more often the reverse is > the case particularly server wise), that they still use expensive > SCSI hard drives, still use ADB mice & keyboards (despite the fact > they see me using a Microsoft mouse and Airtouch keyboard on my mac > every day and that many of their Windows users use Apple USB and > bluetooth keyboards) etc etc the list go's on and on
I have been doing call-out Mac support now for 5 years and have experienced attitudes at the extremes of each end of the scale. Some PC IT guys are completely dismissive and cynical about Macs and it is my belief that their attitudes are a result of mostly fear. They have done their MCSIE (or whatever it is) and they have become kings of their little domain and everyone calls them when something goes wrong and to some extent their self esteem is tied up with their ability to solve problems and appear to have all the answers so when they are confronted with something they don't understand instead of just admitting it they have to slag off Macs as if the time it would take to acquire knowledge about it would be wasted as they're just toys anyway (or some other similar justification). Others are curious intelligent people who just haven't come across Macs yet and when I begin to work on them they look over my shoulder interested and ask me questions. They are almost invariably impressed (and sometimes surprised) by how easy it is to do most things. Some are (still) even surprised that Macs can do things like network with PC's and browse the net even. For mine I use my Mac for Music (Reason & ProTools), Images (Photoshop and iPhoto) and Digital Video (Final Cut and iMovie) as well as the day to day stuff like email and I can't imagine using a PC for these things. If however I am asked to recommend something for a client who wants to use MYOB and Word and Excel to run a business I'll happily suggest they use PC. I setup a 5 PC network last week with XP Pro and the networking and file & printer sharing is basically zero config. The PC's cost $1400 each for 3Ghz P4's with 512 RAM Combo drives and LCD screens which is bang for buck IMO. I have a PC running MYOB for my own business and my experience with XP Pro is that it's a fast stable OS. I can plug firewire and USB things into it and they just work just like a Mac. For my server, which runs a backup mail server for our domain, hosts websites & acts as a router / firewall for my home network, I have a PC running Debian Linux which just sits under the desk and runs 24/7 doing what a server should. I also use it to store files on and I can access it from anywhere on the net with either windows or mac with SSH, AFP or Windows file sharing. Horses for courses I say Rob
