Could Using Macs Save Businesses Money?

Why don't more major corporations use Macs? Macintosh computers have been a mainstay in elementry schools for a long time. But things are starting to change. More people are trying Apples solutions, and liking them. I think businesses could benefit greatly from using Macs. They could save money on IT costs and other annoying computer problems. I would like to suggest, that this seems like a pretty good idea for Corporate America. So much downtime is caused due to computer issues. This could be solved by using Apple computers.

Note: After rereading this myself... I sound like a real Apple nut. Please excuse that. This was ment to mearly suggest some ideas.

To date, the biggest drawback to using an Apple computer was the fact that corporate America uses Microsoft Office as the defacto communications medium. This really caused a lot of greif for Apple users. If you weren't using Office, you were basically cut off. There were of course other open source options out there, but you really weren't using "office". You had to worry about saving in "Office format" and had occasional problems converting .doc files back and forth.

But with the 2008 release of Office for the Mac this is no longer a problem. Office runs nativly on the Mac, allowing you to work with your PC cohorts.

What was once an IT nightmare becomes a piece of cake with Time Machine and Time Capsle.

Time Machine is Apple's automatic backup software. It comes with OS X Leopard. All the backup features are integrated into Leopard's control panel.

Time Capsule is Apple's 500 gig or 1 terabyte file storage system. It's basiclly a wireless router with a hard drive. It provides wireless network access, and allows users to backup files to it.

Setting this all up is really easy. Users just go in, enable backup in Time Machine and select the Time Capsule to backup too. All user settings and files are then backed up automatically. It's that easy. Everything happens in the background. You know, the way it should be.

Every time a virus sweeps though the internet, I just have to laugh at the sheer numbers of PC users who get infected. The amount of downtime they suffer as a result is horrible.

Macs don't have to worry about that for 2 reasons.

1. Not as many malicious people are trying to write viruses for the Mac.
2. It's hard to write viruses for the Mac.

Mac's use Unix file permissions. Unlike Windows, the Unix security structure provides real operating system security. It disallows users from accessing each other's files, and protects key system files from possible infection. On the Mac, virus related problems almost never occur.

Ever have one of those co-workers who just can't seem to figure the whole computer thing out? You know, the guy who is always just amazed when he gets an email (but never manages to successfully send one). I'm not saying that a Mac will solve all his problems, but they do have a much more intuitive interface that makes it easy for people to learn to use. I mean, hey, if my grandmother can figure a Mac out...

For a lot of people, computers not all that familiar. They can send email and write documents, but they still have troubles finding their files later. Macs make the whole experiance easier. They try to make the user feel comforable using their computer. I mean come on, the Finder icon is a smily face. When was the last time Vista smiled at you?

Overall I think the future looks good for Apple. They have a strong brand and lots of room if they want to expand into the corporate world. It wouldn't suprise me if they started heading more that way. I think for a lot of businesses, thes would be a great way to eliminate annoying IT issues.

Since writing this Hub and generally theorizing that Mac's in the workplace could help companies, I have actually started working at a small company that uses only Macs. And since I'm "the tech guy", I've had some first hand experience with this now.

Let me share a couple things I've found.

1) Mac's can be just as dumb as any other computer out there. (negative)

I know the commercials want you to believe that Mac's are perfect. But let me tell you, there are times they are just as dumb as any other computer. They still crash (not as often though), they cause WTF moments and in general, they're computers.

2) Apple Time Capsule (positive)

Ok, this thing ROCKS! What a wonderful backup system. You set this up and then never worry about backups again. When users are in the office, their files backup. Simple. Wonderful! It's an administrative godsend.

3) Viruses and Malware (positive)

Yeah, haven't had ANY problem with this. Everything is nice and clean. But in reality, you can get the same benefit using Firefox instead of IE.

4) What is wrong with the Home, End, Page Up/Down Keys on the Mac?!

Let me start by saying FU APPLE! a) Why don't their laptops have these keys?! and b) WHY DON'T THEY WORK RIGHT!? As a developer this problem really pisses me off. These keys just don't work right. You can do some funky config stuff to fix it, but out of the box, these are so screwed up. If you come from a Windows environment this will totally piss you off.