[itdiscuss] mac or PC?

[Dan Barber]

Kevin,
Great point. I totally agree with your assessment of "power users." We all think we know what's best, don't we?

One thing that has been pointed out to me often in this discussion especially centers around the senior (or preaching pastor), or really anyone who is regularly responsible for teaching and preaching the Word of God. There are several intangibles to them, but the most important I have found is their Bible software. Many pastors have hundreds if not thousands of dollars invested (or donated) in software resources. And the longer he has been in ministry, the more familiar he is with his own tools.

In such cases, I have found my responsibility is not to make it difficult for them, but to (hopefully) design a network with enough flexibility-without losing standardization and protection controls-to accommodate such a person. If you have a pastor who has been using a Mac for 10 years, and you ask him to come into a PC-only network, churches often say, "We will rebuy or convert your existing software." But this still doesn't compensate him for his own personal investment, nor does it speed his ability to perform a major component of his job. The converse is also true: if he has been using a PC for a long time, it is wise to ask the question, "Do we want him to switch given the amount of extra time it will take him to get up-to-speed on everything for the first year or so?"

The answers will always depend on the person. If he has already been spending a lot of time troubleshooting his PC personally because he has consistent problems, then you might actually gain time in a Mac switch. If he is going to be spending too much time trying to figure out Keynote, instead of actually writing the presentation, then that should also be a consideration.

My point here is that often as a Network Administrator I am quick to jump at "what is best" for my end users. As I have recently been reminded from other situations, this is often where we get into trouble, because we assume we know what the end user is doing on an hourly/daily basis. In reality, it could be very different from what we think. I would suggest in these scenarios that the Network Admins sit down with their pastors and talk about what a conversion would potentially mean, taking careful inventory of software, even examining whether or not this particular move facilitates the person's job description of not.

Just some thoughts of late...

Dan

From: discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Brunson
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 9:32 AM
To: 'IT Discussion Forum'
Subject: Re: [itdiscuss] mac or PC?

I agree with the post on there that he should let his IT staff do their job.  If the IT department can support mac and pc on the network equally, with the same functional experience on either, and they really don't care what he gets (which I doubt), then maybe it is okay for a public discussion.  The comment that his old mac was "secreted away somewhere" makes me think that the network is designed for pc, which means he should run a pc.  But I post this here instead of there because this should be a technical decision, not a personal or business decision, as much as BOTH sides (apple or Microsoft) would tell you otherwise.  The commercials that say "buy me because I will make your life complete" are only valid for home users.  In the workplace, you don't get a personal choice, even if you are the senior pastor.  You get the choice that makes the most sense.  Whether that is mac or pc, it is a decision that needs to be made by the people that are QUALIFIED to make it.  Even the most powerful  "power user" is nowhere near qualified to make decisions about what will integrate with the network better.  In the church world in particular, this is a huge thing.  In big business, where there is lots of cash floating around just to make executives happy, they can afford to integrate lots of systems into a semi-functional network.  In the church world, the mandate is "be good stewards" which means "take limited resources and stretch them to the breaking point".  And when I say resources, I mean both money and employee time.  The most effective way of doing that is to get as many users as possible in a homogenous environment.

I think there are some people on here who feel like I'm preaching to the choir, and some people would totally disagree.  But IT does not exist to make people happy, IT exists to make people as happy as possible while maintaining maximum efficiency.  When the network is well-designed, stable, and efficient, everyone is happy, even if they have to use a computer that doesn't fit their personal preference.  But when the network is a hodgepodge of disparate systems, it is hard to keep anyone happy, even if they all happen to be using their own preferred platform.

Part of the reason people get paid to work is so they can do what they want in their own time.  If someone doesn't like the computer they have at work and wants to use something else at home, they are provided with a way of doing that.

Kevin Brunson
Senior Systems Engineer
Higher Ground Technologies
901-333-7777



From: discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org] On Behalf Of Jason Powell
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 10:42 PM
To: IT Discussion Forum
Subject: [itdiscuss] mac or PC?

Apparently our senior pastor is looking for public advice on Mac vs. PC ...

http://www.markbeeson.com/mark_beeson/2008/09/how-much-longer-will-i-tolerate-my-laptop.html

Pro/Con ... please weigh in as you see fit.
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