Newsletter #407 Preview: Memo to PC Users: Why Do You Take All This Abuse?
September 16th, 2007I must admit that I am perhaps a little too tolerant of people who use Windows. Yes, when the occasion arises, I do express the appropriate Mac preference, but I don’t wear an Apple logo on my sleeve.
In fact, I readily accept the need to use Windows on some occasions, particularly in situations where there is no Mac equivalent to the software you need for your business, or adapting to a new application may prove difficult and costly.
On the other hand, I often feel sorry that so many businesses depend on Microsoft to operate their mission-critical software, particularly banks and hospitals, where any service interruption or slow-down can have serious consequences.
A year or two back, I read a report from Consumer Reports, which tends to favor PCs in its coverage, talking of billions of dollars of losses to industries as a result of Windows malware. You had to consider just how the affected companies financed those losses, and the conclusion is obvious. They would simply raise the cost of their products or services, and you and I would foot the bill.
Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.
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Part of the answer is that in any reasonable-sized organization there are one or more people (purchasers and tech gurus of various sorts) who out of sheer laziness prefer to stick with what they know, which is the peecee. I bet in many organizations it’s these guys rather than top management who call the IT shots. So they get to hold the whole shop hostage.
Part of the problem is that Apple’s business sales staff can’t match Dell and HP either. It all adds up, but I think, as more and more people get sick to death of Microsoft, they’ll want something — anything. Linux will gain as well here, but on the server end of course.
Our Web server, by the way, uses Linux (CentOS Enterprise). Alas, we can’t get a Mac setup that’s as affordable, yet. Also, certain software that we use to manage the basic functions of the server, such as cPanel, are largely Linux oriented, at least for now.
Peace,
Gene
There is more to it than that. Some organizations are stuck in a given platform because of a custom application, which may cost far more than hundreds, or even thousands of computers. Others are burdened by regulatory hurdles that force use of Windows, such as in many government shops.
This doesn’t apply only to Windows. Until not that long ago air traffic control was handled by antiquated computers from the 60s and 70s simply because of the monumental task of moving it to something else. Finally there is the issue of effort. Moving from one platform to another is not as simple as buying a new computer and turning it on. Even in the same platform it can be annoying, but when changing platforms can be downright disruptive. Try moving years worth of mail or database entries to a different application without error, let alone a different application on a different platform.
Sometimes its easy, but just as often not. I have Macs that play nice on my Windows network in the office, and Windows PCs that play nice on my Mac network at home, but don’t ask me to switch the dominant platform in either instance without a lot of free time and a good migration plan.
Maybe there’s something to the saying, “You get what you deserve.” 🙂