Why not go Mac?

[mkmurray]

I agree, Mac is so much more stable, secure, and has less problems than Windows.

I never said that...

[Kaz-p40]

I never said that...

.

Well, two-thirds of it if you wanna be exact. : P Besides, it's true.

[jtwitchell]

Here is what I am thinking:
"Show me a product that doesn't have issues and I can show you a product that doesn't have market share."

Mac has been gaining a lot of popularity lately. OSX is a clean looking operating system. It does some wonderful things. I use a Mac at work quite often. One reason that OSX seems to be secure is due to the fact that it isn't as widely used as Microsoft Windows. Granted, OSX is based on BSD which is very good, but to think that OSX is secure because it doesn't have viruses is incorrect. There are a couple of viruses out there that are OSX specific. Why are anti-virus vendors looking at creating anti-virus solutions for OSX now? It is because OSX is becoming more and more popular. Soon you won't be able to run your Mac online without needing anti-virus. The same goes for Linux.

One thing to consider on why the Church hasn't purchased Apple hardware may be due to the cost of maintenance. I am a contractor for a certain hardware manufacturer, and to lower the initial cost of their product, they increased the cost of the replacement supplies to make up for that cost difference. I am not saying this is the case for Apple, but it is possible that the hardware price may be reasonable, but their maintenance plan may be more expensive than their current solution. As it was mentioned before, our purpose is the salvation of people's souls and we need to use their donations in the best possible way.

Just as a side comment. Desktop 5.5 is just a disk imaging system. OSX has similar tools. We reimage Macs a lot at work, so I am sure the Church could come up with a similar system if they decided to change operating systems. I also don't think the Church is tied to Microsoft. The reason I think this is because we are using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office. MLS is written in Java and not in .Net. If the Church needed to change, they could. The current system is working, so there isn't a need to change.

[gregneg]

Apple sells a Mac mini for $599 -----

That is not a complete machine
According to Apple's on-line store:

"Just BYODKM — bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse."

And there are other issues, besides the single source item mentioned by others.

Even though it has Intel hardware, it will not run Windows OS without an emulator package of some sort (which implies there are built-in "gotcha"'s)

The mini is a neat package -- from the outside. Just try to get in there to upgrade RAM, replace the HD, repair/replace some other component, or clean out the dust-bunnies --- next to impossible---. All easy to do with the church's existing machines.

Just FYI, I am on-line with my 4+ year-old Mac lap-top -- sitting next to my wife and her new HP --:p

[jbh001]

Even though it has Intel hardware, it will not run Windows OS without an emulator package of some sort (which implies there are built-in "gotcha"'s)

Not correct. Windows XP or Vista can run natively on any Intel-based Mac. No emulation or vitualization software is required. The necessary Windows XP and Vista drivers necessary to take advantage of the Mac hardware are included in the Mac OS 10.5 install DVD.

Windows cannot run simultaneously with Mac OS 10.5 except under emulation/vitualization, but it can run natively instead of Mac OS 10.5 without needing emulation/vitualization software.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

FYI, my Intel Mac Mini turns two years old in February 2009.

[gregneg]

----- The necessary Windows XP and Vista drivers necessary to take advantage of the Mac hardware are included in the Mac OS 10.5 install DVD----


http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

FYI, my Intel Mac Mini turns two years old in February 2009.

Bootcamp is one of several ways to accomplish it ---- all have had their flaws/limitations (including bootcamp's infamous "turning the Mac into a brick" Tiger/failure episode). The access to/ use of "Mac Hardware" (internal and external) seems to be the common challenge.

It's what they don't tell ya is what jumps up to bite you ---- (applies universally, not just Mac)


I'll say no more on the matter.

[jbh001]

Bootcamp is one of several ways to accomplish it ---- all have had their flaws/limitations (including bootcamp's infamous "turning the Mac into a brick" Tiger/failure episode). The access to/ use of "Mac Hardware" (internal and external) seems to be the common challenge.

The "brick" problems seems to only have applied to Mac OS 10.4.11. This operating system is no longer offered with new Macs, and hasn't been offered on new Macs since Mac OS 10.5 was released over a year ago. I don't see how this is relevant or current. Boot Camp is no longer supported on Mac OS 10.4 and was never intended to be supported on Mac OS 10.4 after Mac OS 10.5 came out.

How many (and what) driver issues have yet to be resolved with Mac OS 10.5? Your post implies that this is an ongoing problem and that it was unrelated to Vista. Yet I'm not finding that these are current issues with Intel-based Mac hardware and Windows, at least not since the release of Boot Camp 2.1 in April-May 2008. I guess I need to dig deeper.

I still have drivers for my Dell laptop that were just part of the package with Windows XP, but are missing in action with Vista, and Dell will not provide updated Vista drivers for that particular laptop. How is Vista's challenges accessing/using my Dell hardware any worse than Vista's similar challenges on Mac hardware? At least Apple provided updated drivers. Dell? Not so much.

[techgy]

This thread has run its course.