Comments on: Macs in the Enterprise

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:07:49 +0000

Yeah, I think it's good news overall, e.g. did you see Windows 7 sneak peeks at PDC? Not too shabby and focused on UI, winna-winna-chicken-dinna.

It's a hunch. I have no credible information, but that's usually enough in cop shows on TV so I figured go with it.

By: Chuck Speaks

Chuck Speaks — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:31:28 +0000

I, for one, welcome our new AAPL overlords.

Seriously, if MBP's end up on iProcurement you can bet I will be living in my mngt's office bugging them for a laptop refresh. And I'll have to stand in line.

This a gut-feel, Jake, or have you heard a rumble?

By: Jake

Jake — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:27:15 +0000

You're such a nay-sayer. Take the under, you heard it from me first.

By: manalang

manalang — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:45:05 +0000

I'm a bit more skeptical on this… at least here at ORCL. I don't think we'll see Macs in the iProcurement catalog anytime soon. Think about it. If we can't eliminate Internet Explorer 6, how can GIT formally support Macs. VMware images of XP aren't gonna cut it… too much expense (XP license and VMware license — we don't even have a VMware site license) added to the Mac hardware cost.

Anyway, I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:59:04 +0000

It was a bit tongue-in-cheek, since we've previously talked about the Mac options for DB. I am curious to know if you can get a sample.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:57:03 +0000

". . . Setting half its accounting department up with OSX while the other half have Windows"
That's a funny example. Sales switching to OS X while accounting stays on Windows sounds more realistic.

Browser compatibility issues are OS independent. Besides, are you really surprised that Outlook web anything isn't that great in a non-Windows OS? Compatibility isn't solved, but it's not the non-starter it once was. VMs are a huge help.

Here's what I'm not suggesting (and didn't say): every IT department will switch wholesale to Mac and hug its users.

What I am saying is that Macs are making a dent in the enterprise, partially through IT and partially through user preference. You can bet Apple has a plan to push into the enterprise too, witness the iPhone's 180 into a phone for business between the 1st and 2nd generation.

And Macs are pushing better (and more stable) software into Linux and Windows, which is a good thing for everyone.

By: Dan Norris

Dan Norris — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:45:39 +0000

I don't think many of them run DBs on their laptops at all, but if they do, they obviously would use Oracle and run virtually. Good question, though–I'll ask around now that you've raised my curiosity.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:05:48 +0000

"I do expect that new hardware will offer the choice of OS X. "
In small groups maybe. I don't see a big bank or government department setting half its accounting department up with OSX while the other half have Windows.
"Compatibility issues are not really a problem anymore"
Mileage may vary. I have problems with Outlook Web Access in Linux or Windows Firefox (or at least limitations), though I don't know if Safari is better. Depends how tied up your firm is with the MS Stack or legacy apps. And if your Accounts app does work exactly the same on Windows and OSX, then how much is the Apple experience worth.

I can see Apple in niches and upper echelons, and in customer facing places for a business that wants a 'look', but I won't hold my breath for mass adoption

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:21:20 +0000

Yeah, mass replacement isn't realistic, but I do expect that new hardware will offer the choice of OS X.

10.5 Leopard has been out for a while and is stable, and you can't really choose what version to put on a new Mac, which is the same model as Windows, until recently when Vista did a faceplant.

Compatibility issues are not really a problem anymore, with a few exceptions that can be addressed case-by-case with Windows VMs. I doubt Apple will ever sell its hardware standalone without OS X. They tried that back in the late 90s on the Motorola chipset and failed. Recently, they went after some clone manufacturer too. Not happening.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:21:22 +0000

I think that Corporate IT will have a few questions to ask before it puts Macs as standard equipment on the desks of a large proportion of the desks.
Firstly, you don't replace all the PCs in an organisation at once, so it will be introduced over several years. So you are looking into compatibility issues. One solution would be to be buying Mac hardware but running (mostly/solely ?) Windows on them for a couple of years. Especially if you've already got Windows licenses. The question is will Apple sell the hardware at a suitably competitive rate (or let its hardware manufacturers sell the same box without the Apple logo/OSX).
Secondly, if you do go for OSX, which OSX ? Businesses are reluctant to upgrade OS at MS pace, let alone Apple's (or even worse, Ubuntu's). They'll want an OSX version that will still be up to date in five years time.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:10:15 +0000

I had that experience at WhereCamp last weekend, but luckily there were lots of Macs around so I could charge.

What DB do they run on OS X? Or do they run virtually?

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:07:37 +0000

As more people get exposure to OS X at work, true cost will come into focus.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:05:52 +0000

Let me know what you think of NeoOffice, heard it was good, but that was pre-OO 3.

The lack of a Visio clone is a bummer, but as you say, VM is the way to go. I love that my MB is beefy enough to run XP virtually without breaking a sweat.

By: Floyd

Floyd — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:59:39 +0000

Don't really care of Office 2008 on the Mac myself. Checking out OpenOffice 3 and NeoOffice 2.5. Even with all that, I'm still setting up Visio on a VM this weekend…no good alternatives when somebody sends me a Visio file.

By: Dan Norris

Dan Norris — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:16:49 +0000

FWIW, some notable Oracle experts that I highly respect have also been toting Macs around here at MOOW 08: Cary Millsap, Anjo Kolk, many other Miracle employees that I have yet to meet too.

By: David Haimes

David Haimes — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:47:53 +0000

I've got a bunch if Macs, including a much maligned cube which is now becoming a collector's item.

I agree about MS office on Mac, I gave up on it too.

On price, my experience of Dell versus Mac is you need 4 replacement hard disks in a Dell fir every one on a Mac. So mac has to be cheaper?

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:15:29 +0000

Nice, I'm a bit surprised that Macs are in your catalog, but this is good news. We're eagerly awaiting that day over here. When it comes, there will be a huge demand.

One thing that bugs me is Office on the Mac; it's very disjointed, not nearly the same experience as on Windows. That's why I've got two other options. This may be different in the more recent versions, but I'm guessing if we go Mac, we'll go OpenOffice too. 3 is nice.

By: Floyd

Floyd — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:17:33 +0000

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you that about half my company has gone Mac - and Macs are in our corporate replacement catalog. I'll be wrangling my way into a Mac at work very soon.

On a somewhat related point, I'm also finding that my iPhone, iMac, and logmein.com make a very powerful combo.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:00:20 +0000

We've debated the cost of Mac vs. PC in the past here, and you're right, price is getting close, while Macs continue to be better than Windows PCs. Everybody wins.

I think cost (monetary and support) drives bigger companies away from Mac, and obvious the amortization of assets in service is part of the discussion too. This is changing though from what I hear. I expect to see MBP on the official list for us soon, which will be nice.

By: jason arneil

jason arneil — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:07:46 +0000

Ha,

I was toting my MacBook Pro at OOW.

By the way the Mac Pro is quite competively priced when we were speccing up an equivalent rig.

I guess this is one in the eye for the big corporation, here at nominet the tech department has had Macs on the "authorised list" for quite a few years, I've a Mac Pro under my desk and the MacBook Pro for when I'm on the road.

I too could not go back to running anything else, If I ever joined another company the lack of being able to run on a mac would be a deal breaker!