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David Morgenstern
Can Macs and PCs get along? Why not?

David Morgenstern
Contributing Editor, AnchorDesk
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
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If you put a bad-tasting item in your mouth, the natural instinct is to spit it out (with the exception being cigarettes, I admit despairingly). A similar reaction can occur to those stalwarts testing computer hardware and software. However, quite the opposite reaction could be seen as my colleague David Coursey extended his test of the Macintosh from one month to two, and then to three.

"If I just want to sit down and write--and use a computer that doesn't get in the way--Microsoft Office for Mac and OS X are a powerful combination," he concluded in a recent column. "A Mac is a perfectly credible desktop or portable system for me, even if sometimes I run Windows on it. Mac, enhanced by OS X, has a level of simplicity and transparency in operation that allows it to get out of the way and just let me work. That's something Windows never does."

THANKFULLY, many of you Mac-philes refrained from unsportsmanlike behavior such as taunting your TalkBack fellows. Surprisingly, some diehard Windows advocates admitted that the two platforms should co-exist.

Chris O'Connor described his experience switching to the Mac, even while working at a "pure Windows" company. "To this day, working in an environment with only PCs, I can testify that my productivity is vastly higher than my peers using Windows. Their operating system is 'getting in the way.' I'm not a zealot, just someone who found a more productive way to get my job done."

"Both systems are good; both have their place. In fact, there is lots of room for them both," PC user Rod Elkin opined. "We need competing systems, and more of them. Where would we be if all the cars we could buy were made by GM!"

"Windows' biggest flaw is Microsoft's lack of serious competition in market share. Hopefully all you people converting to Macs will help change that [situation], and then MS will have to make an even cheaper, more stable product (OK, wishful thinking)," James Thomas agreed. "Until OS X, I would not even consider trying to run a stable corporate network and still allow Macs in the building. Of course, I would also outlaw MS Outlook and publicly announce [the names of] all PC users with the Anna Kournikova virus on their machines. I'm an equal-opportunity complainer."

STILL, THERE WERE plenty of disagreements between the two camps: over the cost of Macs, misconceptions about Windows compatibility, and the relative availability of software. (I admit to being particularly touched by Jonathan Berner's tale of woe when defending the Mac in a public-speaking class.) And let's not forget the mouse button controversy; and whether it's Windows XP or Mac OS 9.x that crashes more frequently.

"Mac users don't quite seem to understand that there's something nice about being able to pop the side panel of my PC and upgrade the motherboard from 200MHz to 1.4GHz, all for the low, low price of $245," Reginald Atkins crowed. "It's a new computer at a fraction of the cost, you lose no apps, and everything is faster."

On the other hand, developer Joe Smith responded to criticisms over missing Mac-programming environments. He pointed to RealBasic as an example. "No, it's not MS Visual Basic, but it's virtually the same thing, written from the ground up for the Mac--and yes, it can actually produce both Mac and  Windows applications."

"When I have to switch over to the Intel platform to check my deliveries, I cringe," programmer Alen Shapiro explained. He codes on the Mac for his PC and Unix customers. "Perhaps they'll see (by example) how productive a real computing environment can be. Detailed explanations I've given in the past have met with disbelief or (at best) skepticism. They don't expect that applications will have similar (consistent) interfaces, that plugged-in devices will just work, or that MS Word files will open on a Mac. They are generally astounded that I work (by choice) primarily on a Mac."

"I've worked on both platforms, and have never found either of them to 'get in the way' of my ability to work. Because this statement implies something that I've never experienced, I would appreciate a clearer explanation of HOW Coursey believes one OS 'gets in the way of his work' more than another (it seemed like a reasonable request to me)," Dave Diefenbach contended. "Can you imagine an IT manager trying to explain to the CIO why they should spend large sums of money on new workstations without the ability to quantify his argument? Good luck!"

THE LAST COMMENT is an example of the hyperbole surrounding the platform debate. For longstanding reasons, IT management has kept most everyone working on a single platform--with the encouragement of the PC industry. Hence, the outrage expressed that a company would contemplate the wholesale replacement of PCs with Macs.

Of course, Coursey made no such recommendation. He simply observed that the Mac can be a suitable replacement for a Windows desktop and live successfully in a PC environment. As we see from your comments above, some folks work better on the Macintosh.

Isn't it about time for the enterprise to consider accommodating alternate computing platforms?

David Morgenstern, past editor of eMediaweekly and MacWEEK, is a freelance editor and branding consultant based in San Francisco.

Would you ever consider switching computer platforms? Why or why not? TalkBack to me!

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