Re: looking for evidence to support using macs

ed wrote:

I'm talking about the general costs of maintenance, like IT staff and so
on. I know there is nothing we need that a Mac can't do. There is no
other project similar enough to ours to make the comparison
like-for-like, any other companies or educational institutions would do.

if this is something you really want to do, the REAL answer is to get
evaluation hardware from apple and a pc vendor that your company
uses. do a real evaluation, not some bull*** comparison based on
some consultants' evaluations, especially if there is 'no other
project similar enough to" yours.


We can't afford to do that. We're starting out small but decisions made now will determine the future too. I don't need to prove anything, just to overcome the usual myths about Macs and I'd like to do it in a way that will not make friends into enemies. So I thought a few comparisons from companies who had made the transition would help to allay those fears. No-one has come up with any evidence that Windows boxes would be cheaper overall, all they have done is repeated the 'macs are expensive' mantra. I need to overcome that. If they go with windows it will be a nightmare, and I won't be part of it, but that sounds like a threat so I don't want to say that.

The cost argument is the only one I'm having trouble with. The others I can easily overcome. "People need to learn the system they will have to use later in life" was overcome by pointing out that whatever OS kids learn on now will be nothing more than a source of hilarity by the time they are adults. "Compatibility" myth is easily overcome by pointing to the internet and the emerging standards, and current and snow leopard server features.

I've said that support costs are higher for windows generally, and for cheap boxes of any make in particular, but I need evidence of that to convince some people. Most of the equipment will be in remote places, so call-outs will not just cost more, breakdowns will be a fsckin nuisance. FOr this reason alone we would be better not buying cheap boxes, even if we do use windows. So that kind of takes care of the cost argument anyway, but again I need references.

I just thought someone might have some urls to hand that would save me trudging through page after page of search results.

Andy
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