[itdiscuss] mac or PC?

Tue Sep 16 22:44:44 EDT 2008

This is a great discussion and I'm glad it's something that we are talking about.   Has the concept been mentioned or thought through that whether the end user has a MAC or PC could be a smaller function of the network?

I guess I'm asking how Server-based computing may fit into this question or change it?  For example, with Server-based computing options like Citrix, VDI, etc...  the servers (or virtual desktops) are what matters and the 'medium' used to access the server is not the top concern anymore.   Citrix actually implemented a company policy called "BYOPC" which simply means "Bring Your Own PC".  They don't mind which type of computer you use if you work there since the Citrix client can run on both platforms which allows access to all applications.

Our environment is a Citrix environment and our only limitation to supporting MAC computers is ensuring we have in-house knowledge or experience of how to support those MAC computers - but in a much more limited capacity than if apps were installed locally that had to be maintained or updated.   So I wanted to ask... are any of you using a Server-based computing model and if so, how does that impact (or not impact) the Mac versus PC debate?     You may still have to standardize your applications for all users on something like a Microsoft platform, but it may allow the end user to feel more freedom in choosing their own workstation OS.

Thoughts?

Kind Regards,

Mike Walter
Director of Professional Services
(678) 297-0066 x595 | mwalter at xcentric.com<mailto:mwalter at xcentric.com>

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From: discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org] On Behalf Of Glenn Kelley
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 9:53 PM
To: IT Discussion Forum
Subject: Re: [itdiscuss] mac or PC?

Got cha -

I know there are limits :-)

10 years ago - mac would have been a nightmare - but then again so was Windows NT :-)

HAve a great round table

On Sep 16, 2008, at 9:42 PM, Jason Powell wrote:

My boss, Kem Meyer, actually prompted me to tell my IT peers about this blog post and get your input.  Didn't mean to stir up such a discussion on IT Discuss ... just wanted people to post on Beeson's blog because he was asking for public input.

However, it's fun seeing all the comments on here too.  Anyone object to me passing them on (I'll remove names)?

For the record: NO, "we" did not take his mac away.  I don't know the story but he stopped using a mac like 10yrs ago :)  There are other bits of "helpful" info that are missing from his blog post, but that's the way it goes.  And just to clarify...I've got Beeson's back 100%.

I disagree with some of the thoughts in some of the replies, but that just makes life more interesting eh? ;-)

IT and other support departments exist to support ministry ... period!  However, that does NOT mean we say yes to whatever anyone wants.  Often even good intending people want something that will end up being harmful to the organization as a whole.  We have to say NO to a lot of good things so we can say YES to the great things.  Sometimes we say yes to Macs, more often though we say no for many reasons.

Gotta jet ... GCC IT Roundtable tomorrow then 2 Days of Innovate. Busy week on top of all the major IT issues we've had last 2 days.

Jason

Jason Powell
IT Director
Granger Community Church
630 E. University Drive
Granger, IN 46530
574.243.3506, x305 * jpowell at gccwired.com<mailto:jpowell at gccwired.com> * GCCwired.com
http://jpowell.blogs.com<http://jpowell.blogs.com/> - yup, I've got a blog

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