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<TITLE>Re: [itdiscuss] mac or PC?</TITLE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Ok, so I admit that I’m going to take my “Devils Advocate” cap off the rack and give it a run..<BR>
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But, I see a lot of “We don’t run a Mac network; we run a PC network”. So tell me, oh wise ones, what constitutes a PC network? Or conversely, feel free to tell me what comprises a Mac network.<BR>
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Yu see, I don’t think that there is any such thing as a “PC network” anymore, unless you’re having the misfortune of running Netware. It’s like saying you run a “PDA network” or an “iPhone network”; the network is the underlying structure to hang all the server bits off, and allows PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Blackberries and PDA’s to access the data. <BR>
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Taking the Devils’s Advocate cap off, I think that what most people mena when they say “PC network” is that they’re not skilled-up in another area, and it’s easier to handwave away a question about Mac or iPhone integration than actually say “look, we don’t have the skills inhouse to support you properly”. And really, that’s what everyone should be saying: “IT wants to support you well, and we can’t unless we have someone on board who is specifically skilled in this area”. I have yet to find a technical reason why a mac can’t happily coexist with PC’s on a network, and happily share data, access Exchange/Lotus, authenticate and lookup user directories, and print (with the caveat on printing that mac’s haven’t tended to support GDI printers as muc has PS or PCL). Sure, there’s some management stuff that’s going to be “different” but please ante up and say what the real issue is, and not gloss it with the boss about the network not supporting Macs. <BR>
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Or, the other tack is that, as an IT Manager/director, you’re letting personal bias get in the way of other system integration onto your LAN. I have both Mac and PC on my desk and I now use them equally. Wasn’t always the case, but I’ve forced myself to push past the “It’s too hard to do on Mac” to actively find ways of doing it. And I’d say that Hillsong is better for it. The Mac lovers get to to use their Macs, PC lovers get to use their Macs, and the Linux lovers (I have a couple) get to use their Linux laptops as well. Smartphone users can select from iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile or even Palm, and it all works. Different technologies, different limitations, but the tools of choice for our teams are usable. <BR>
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Does it mean I’m going to swap my Blackberry Bold for a Treo or iPhone? Nup.. I just have to have the attitude of a support team that takes a little time, gleans some basic support stuff from Google and volunteers, and set the Acceptable Use Policy to match. <BR>
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My $0.02 worth.. Your mileage may vary<BR>
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Steve Ollis<BR>
Supporting 1500 users with 6 staff across 16 sites<BR>
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