jdepould wrote:andrys wrote:
And at the university where I worked the last 6 years (UC) they're now
moving depts from Macs to PCs due to the software that's more
commonly used and custom programs that are made for pc's first
while making Mac users wait.
like what?
Business apps, for the most part, where most recent updates are first
done for Windows and then later for Macs.
There was a lot of interest in Google Earth and it took some time before
it was finally available for Macs.
But this is generally the case, because Macs have something like 5-7%
of the market in regular businesses and the work on Mac versions is done
later as a marketing decision. In the meantime, things aren't easily
sync-able when dealing with constant shifting of staffing and training time
needed. In a university promotions are encouraged (usually out of dept)
and you have a situation where people have to be ready to take over
without much training time. And there is a focus on hiring student
help, on a temporary, short-term basis. Lots of shifting there.
My dept had only Macs (I worked there for 5 yrs until recently) and we
looked for people with Mac experience but they are harder to find. While
Mac users will find it simple to learn -- to be a Windows user quickly
functioning well on a different OS is quite frustrating for some.
We also produced software (astronomy educational programs) and when
OSX came, the money available for a Mac version of what we did was just
not there. So that's been hanging for a couple of years.
The University has system-wide customized programs for its day-to-day
functioning, customized for the University. In order for Macs to run it,
one has to go through another client app that acts as an interface, but
it's buggy and when new functions are made, the Macs have to wait to
be able to use them. So, slowly, depts have been shifting to pc's.
It's costly to 'support' both as far as troubleshooting and helpline time.
In digital photography and Dreamweaver classes I'm taking (one at
Berkeley City College, with brand new hardware and software) --
Mac-oriented, surveys showed that most classroom students are on
Windows at home, and then they need to show how both work, for any
app that the student might use at home or in the office.
So, now they're running Windows as default on bootup. The upside
to the Mac is that the current Macs can run Windows (though most
Mac users would not consider that a plus
)
Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:49 pm