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Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

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Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#71

Post by rbritton »

WayneBro wrote: post #65
jgforbes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There could be other biases too. For instance, if the Mac users at IBM were in largely technical roles (e.g. working on their MacOS integration service) vs large non-technical departments working on Windows machines (e.g. HR and accounting). It wouldn't be very surprising that technical departments had less help-desk complaints than non technical departments.

There are definitely other biases. Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting. That's why companies like Disney and Google have to build their own systems management tools. I could not imagine running a financial services house, an insurance company or a warehouse without Windows. Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac. Yes the Mac has screen sharing but it is nowher…

There's this[1] or are you looking for more functionality than it offers?

[1]: http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#72

Post by fnordsensei »

gramstrong wrote: post #4

*for a corporation. For a single user who knows their way around a Windows machine, they are not.

That depends on what your own time is worth to you. I mentally (but inexactly of course) price my spare time quite high. I have a PC for gaming that I use occasionally, and a mac for work that I use a lot, and yet the PC sees more maintenance than the mac per time unit used for its actual purpose. That's my personal ROI calculation, and I get that others may see it differently.

The only reason I keep the PC is because I still find macs to be suboptimal for gaming, and PCs to be easier to keep current by switching out the GPU or adding more storage or RAM. Given a mac with a more open-ended upgrade path, I would probably throw it out.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#73

Post by greedo »

WayneBro wrote: post #65
jgforbes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There could be other biases too. For instance, if the Mac users at IBM were in largely technical roles (e.g. working on their MacOS integration service) vs large non-technical departments working on Windows machines (e.g. HR and accounting). It wouldn't be very surprising that technical departments had less help-desk complaints than non technical departments.

There are definitely other biases. Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting. That's why companies like Disney and Google have to build their own systems management tools. I could not imagine running a financial services house, an insurance company or a warehouse without Windows. Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac. Yes the Mac has screen sharing but it is nowher…

You're speaking out of ignorance. There are applications like TeamViewer that are cross platform, if you don't want to use Apple's own Remote Desktop...

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#74

Post by forgetsusername »

linkmotif wrote: post #2

Don't know about the stats, but this has definitely been the case for me. My late 2010 MBA worked for 5 years then broke one day. Apple fixed it in under 24 hours for $304.80 (that's with 8.75% NY tax) and I'm typing on it as we speak. PS the thing is basically indestructible... I have no excuse not to buy another some time in the future. Can't wait to try the 12" MB.

>My late 2010 MBA worked for 5 years then broke one day.

I had the same experience with the 2011 model. About 6 months ago the motherboard went, computer is non functional. And yet...I have 13 year old Gateway laptop (first laptop I ever owned), and a 10 year old Dell that both still boot without a hitch. And that Gateway has some miles on it (bought it to play World of Warcraft).

But, as someone else here said, the "quality" difference between the Apple and PC products is immense.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#75

Post by stOneskull »

roryisok wrote: post #62

my first reaction is to not accept this and share anecdotes of my experiences, but maybe he's right. I don't run an IT dept. I've not done any cost benefit analysis. I just know my second hand thinkpad was cheap, works well and I won't trade it for a mac any time soon. Maybe if I was loaded I'd buy my folks and siblings macbooks, but I'm not, and I'm happy enough to fix the odd issue on their cheap windows laptops. o…

for sure. there's a huge spectrum between a person and a small business and then massive IBM. for IBM it's three times cheaper. for me, it's probably cheaper to use debian on a raspberry pi than debian on a free second hand desktop that originally came with windows xp or vista, just based on electricity cost.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#76

Post by martin_bech »

WayneBro wrote: post #65
jgforbes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There could be other biases too. For instance, if the Mac users at IBM were in largely technical roles (e.g. working on their MacOS integration service) vs large non-technical departments working on Windows machines (e.g. HR and accounting). It wouldn't be very surprising that technical departments had less help-desk complaints than non technical departments.

There are definitely other biases. Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting. That's why companies like Disney and Google have to build their own systems management tools. I could not imagine running a financial services house, an insurance company or a warehouse without Windows. Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac. Yes the Mac has screen sharing but it is nowher…

You must be high.. remote desktop works on mac, teamviewer works on mac etc. Etc. Etc.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#77

Post by stirner »

greedo wrote: post #73
WayneBro wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are definitely other biases. Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting. That's why companies like Disney and Google have to build their own systems management tools. I could not imagine running a financial services house, an insurance company or a warehouse without Windows. Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac. Yes the Mac has screen sharing but it is nowher…

You're speaking out of ignorance. There are applications like TeamViewer that are cross platform, if you don't want to use Apple's own Remote Desktop...

Windows' Remote Desktop feature is different from regular screen sharing. It's able to transmit data at a lower level than the actual pixels on screen, making it a lot faster.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#78

Post by tibbon »

freehunter wrote: post #8
linkmotif wrote: post #2

Don't know about the stats, but this has definitely been the case for me. My late 2010 MBA worked for 5 years then broke one day. Apple fixed it in under 24 hours for $304.80 (that's with 8.75% NY tax) and I'm typing on it as we speak. PS the thing is basically indestructible... I have no excuse not to buy another some time in the future. Can't wait to try the 12" MB.

I agree but I would strongly hesitate to say "basically indestructible". Macs are incredibly destructible. They have a very thin glass screen, you could bend the chassis with your hands if you wanted to, and they're not even a little waterproof. How I would describe a MacBook is "quality". It's not especially durable, it just doesn't break down over time. Other laptops break in stupid ways. The hinges snap because it…

Anything pushed hard enough can be destroyed. I find the newer Macs to be pretty good partially from their light weight. I literally throw my 13" MBP around the apartment (toss it onto the couch, bed, etc) which I'd never have imagined doing with 10 pound laptops of yesteryear.

I've taken my Macbook Pros to Burning Man (and used them while sitting having a drink on Esplanade reprogramming an LED display), and other camping events and have yet to kill one there. Surely at some point I will, but so far so good. But this is just my set of datapoints. My partner's older Macbook Pro just died for apparently no reason at all while using it at home last week, and she treats her much better than I treat mine. No manner of boot key pressing could get it to even bring up anything past the Apple logo.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#79

Post by bdcravens »

werdna123 wrote: post #24
linkmotif wrote: post #2

Don't know about the stats, but this has definitely been the case for me. My late 2010 MBA worked for 5 years then broke one day. Apple fixed it in under 24 hours for $304.80 (that's with 8.75% NY tax) and I'm typing on it as we speak. PS the thing is basically indestructible... I have no excuse not to buy another some time in the future. Can't wait to try the 12" MB.

Why would you pay $300 to fix a 5yo MBA? Just dump it on eBay or CL and buy a new one...

In theory that $300 was a fix and then business as usual. Ignoring the cost of a new machine, time to sell + buy + setup may cost far greater than $300.

Re: Macs are 3 times cheaper to own than Windows PCs, says IBM's IT guy

#80

Post by Delmania »

WayneBro wrote: post #65
jgforbes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There could be other biases too. For instance, if the Mac users at IBM were in largely technical roles (e.g. working on their MacOS integration service) vs large non-technical departments working on Windows machines (e.g. HR and accounting). It wouldn't be very surprising that technical departments had less help-desk complaints than non technical departments.

There are definitely other biases. Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting. That's why companies like Disney and Google have to build their own systems management tools. I could not imagine running a financial services house, an insurance company or a warehouse without Windows. Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac. Yes the Mac has screen sharing but it is nowher…

> Macs simply can't do as much as Windows can in a business setting

https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Office-...

> Even simple software like remote desktop does not exist on the Mac.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id7...

https://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

Where on earth did you come up with this belief?

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