Are Macs going mainstream Forrester?

I want to start out saying that I have fostered an equal platform / opportunity workplace for sometime now.   When you walk around today in our offices you see people with Macs and PCs; both laptops and workstations.  You will also see iPhones, Blackberry's, and Android mobile phones as well as iPads and Android tablets.  All of these connected via wired or wifi throughout all of the offices. This is accessible to employees using company issued devices or employees owned devices.


This is totally against my higher headquarters IT policy but I've felt this was one of the keys to our innovative culture. 


It was surprising to see that Forrester, via GIGAOM, just released a report stating the following:

"Forrester made some waves in the IT world Thursday morning when it released a report strongly urging large enterprise companies to let their employees use Macs at work, or as they phrased it “it’s time to repeal prohibition.”

I believe that mainstream corporate IT departments just had a stroke!  Their entire existence is standardization on basic platforms, e.g. Dell latitudes, running Windows 7, BTW just migrated from XP, and ensuring that nobody downloads any unapproved application.  Not to mention that a standard computer is the only one authorized to connect to the network.  It's great we have the freedom to lean into the 21st century in our office.


So with the release of this report by Forrester I wonder when I will see something in the works in the mainstream C suite embracing their recommendation.  I'll report back when I see that happening.  Don't hold your breath.

The Cool Kid Syndrome

In the early nineties I was a heavy Mac user working as an electrical engineer for the Dept. Of the Navy. Somewhere in the mid nineties I was convinced to switch over to the PC.   The primary motive was the cost delta and the lack of available SW for the Mac platform. I did not go willingly but over time it made sense and I became very comfortable in the PC ecosystem.

Fast forward to 2010 and it seems like every few months now people are talking to me about switching back to a Mac. The head of my IT group is a big Apple fan.  And of course I'm resisting the change back just as much as I did switching to the PC in the first place.  That said I was handed a new 13" MacBook Air before Christmas and begged to try it out - who turns that down.  

Bottom Line:  I really like the MacBook Air HW but my reservations still lie with the OS and applications.

The form factor, the instant boot up, the weight of the notebook, battery life, and the touch pad are great to use.  I have basically left my Sony VAIO at home now for over the last month.  I'm fully using the MacBook Air when I travel and work remotely.  But in the office and at home it's all PC.  The reason why is the OS and the SW apps.  As an example MS Office just isn't the same on the MAC and features of the OS are just different and confusing.  All of this causes me to fight the computer rather than be productive.  Forget about networking the device to a NAS - nothing natural in that process.

So I guess this is a training issue.  People tell me the Mac is so very intuitive and flows better than Windows/Office.  This isn't the case for me.  I find myself hunting around to do the simplest things.  And why is MS Office on the Mac different from the Windows version.  The menus are completely different and the features are all rearranged.  An an example of another change for the Office app is to add a new slide on a PC just type ; on the Mac it is .  This whole key instead of the key drives me nuts - not just with Office.  Lastly why is everything opposite on the Mac:  files download to the desktop on the right side; PPT full screen projection is on the left side - all opposite from the PC.  All of this make no sense and drives me crazy.  

I have a friend that works for a different firm that has gone through a complete changeover from PC to Mac.  We talk regularly about her experience in this change over.  She is a complete convert to Apple.  She said the funniest thing the other day when I was discussing my frustrations with networking and the Mac.  She said that yes she has given up capabilities from the switchover from PC to Mac but feels she is better for it.  I found that the oddest comment.  Why would a loss of productivity be better in any way?  In discussing this further I have determined that is the COOL effect that is drawing us to Apple.  Not reason.

I'm sure most people will disagree with this but when you're in a meeting and everyone has their Dell Latitudes deployed on the table and you whip out your cool Mac with the glowing apple on the back everyone takes note.  It makes you feel like a cool kid on the cutting edge of technology and productivity. Who doesn't like to talk about how great Apple is anyway.  We all have a lingering bias against windows going back to the late nineties and early 2000s.  Who can forget the Vista debacle.  Remember Windows ME.  Enough said.

So to close this out, I guess I'm a victim of the Cool Kid Syndrome.  I'm going to continue to use my MacBook Air and incorporate it into the work day and re-address this decision in 6 mo or so.  If I'm still struggling with the training aspect of it by then I'll probably give it up and move back to the PC or maybe install Win7 on the MacBook Air.  That just seems wrong is so many ways but I do like the HW form-factor.