thinking of hopping the fence

B

boxorocks

Registered
recently i started looking for a new laptop, and some how i can't get the idea out of my head that maybe i'd go mac.....Here the thing, i've got years and years of windows software/hardware etc. I was up til recently in tech support/network administration, all on the pc side, have used Solaris some, linux a bit, mostly NT, 3.11 etc. Now i work as tech support for a company that does medical imaging, all W2000 house.

So without all the preaching and hype, can someone give me the ins and outs of using a mac in the world of pc's? what about PCAnywhere? what about VNC? or other remote tools. how about using the companies exchange sever? how about moving and storing files? what about all the things i wont think about until im trying to do something with a mac that i take for granted with windows??

Quite a bit for my first post, thanks for any help or direction
 
Being the only mac on a PC-only network is basically a pain in the ass, but it's doable, so long as you realize what you should and shouldn't be doing.

Your biggest problem is the lack of client software to access PC databases. There are piles of Windows-only databases (especially medical databases) that don't work on Macs and never will.

When you need to run those programs, you can either get Virtual PC (it works in a pinch), but much better is to get an old PC to put on your desk next to your mac. You can do all the important stuff from the Mac (word processing, etc.) and do the database stuff on the PC.

As far as document sharing, most cross platform applications these days are smart enough to create cross platform data, so you shouldn't worry about that too much.

One little annoyance that you wouldn't necessarily know beforehand is that there is a size difference with text on a PC vs. text on a Mac. This is because Macs assume a 72 dpi screen, and Windows assumes a 96 dpi screen. The result is everything on a PC screen looks 25% smaller then it actually is when viewed on a Mac screen or when printed. (I wish they'd just stick to the typographical/postscript standard of 72 dpi, but nobody listens to me.) This goes along with the next problem, that too many corporate web developers believe strongly that the only web browser that exists is Windows Internet Explorer. The Win version of IE does _a lot_ of stuff that the Mac version doesn't; chances are someone is going to be using some obscure active-x thing that just isn't going to work right on your mac, but you shouldn't worry about that, because the text on the page will be too small to read.

The Jaguar release of OS X coming out this summer (or whenever) says it increases the ease of file sharing, which probably means that it comes with a complete SMB/NetBIOS client/server built in. This eliminates any kind of file transferring issues you might have (although right now you can do pretty good with Samba or Sharity or Dave or something).

Having said all that, I regularly use a Mac on a PC network with a Linux router. I use PC file sharing (Samba) to get files back & forth, and save files in cross platform formats a lot (RTF, DOC for text, TIFF for images, and PDF for everything else). I have basically no problems. My Mac has a lot of advantages over my PC. My PC has one or two advantages over my Mac too .. it has a neat 3D video card so it can run all those neat 3D screen savers and ... err .. uh .. well .. yeah .. 3D screen savers ... Maybe I'll get back to you on that ;)

- shrill -
 
It sounds like you might not want to use your Mac as your work machine, but I don't know how much of your "Medical imaging" stuff is Windows specific... But I'll address the questions you asked.

what about PCAnywhere? what about VNC? or other remote tools.

I don't know that there's a Mac equivalent of PCAnywhere from the same company, but I know that Timbuktu software is made for both most flavors of Windows, and most versions of Mac OS. If you want professional-grade cross-platform remote control software, Timbuktu is it. There are also many different VNC clients and servers made for Mac, mostly freeware, and I've tried them... they work fine with Windows machines and vice-versa.

how about using the companies exchange sever?

If I'm not mistaken, Microsoft Enterouge (Part of Microsoft Office v X for Mac) should let you access Exchange.... someone correct me if I"m wrong.

how about moving and storing files?

All Macs come with at least a CDRW drive. The Mac OS has data CD burning capability built in. Just drag your files to the CD and then click "Burn"

No Mac comes with a floppy drive. However, if for some stupid reason, you need to access floppies on your Mac, you can get a USB floppy drive to work just fine with it. I got one from VST... think it was around $50 at the time.... a while ago

Network File Sharing- The program entitled "DAVE" has always allowed the Mac to be on equal file-sharing footing in the past, but, come late summer, it seems that Apple will have these better networking capabilites built in to Mac OS X.

what about all the things i wont think about until im trying to do something with a mac that i take for granted with windows??

Switching to a Mac is (for the most part) a plain and simple process. Most people who switch never go back, now that they have found an elegant solution for their everyday needs... I can't quite predict what you're going to miss from Windows... but, it is very rare that a Windows PC can do something a Mac cannot do. There's always a Mac equivalent, in one form or another.

But we Mac users are happy people. :D Different, but happy.

Hope this helps. And, if you decide to get a Mac, tell us which one you got!
 
thanks for taking the time,(jotting notes), i feel like a babe in the woods, but maybe its just the unfamiliar ground, and wondering why i fell such a tug toward the macs, hhhmmm.... something in the water?
 
About the exchange server...

You'll be able to get access to the mail and some things like LDAP, but the scheduling and tasks I dont think work directly with Entourage (currently M$'s only OSX mail client).... that said, it is rumored that M$ may be working on an OSX version of Outlook, which bodes well for us, as the recent OS9 version of outlook is actually pretty decent.... If the MacBU (a division of M$ that programs the Office suite for Macs) handles the project.

It is getting easier and easier to coexist on the network with Windoze, mainly because Apple is doing a great job of listening to what we want as users in a corporate environment. 10.1.4 is good at this, and 10.2 is going to be great at it.

Good luck with your decision, I don't think you'll be dissappointed.
 
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