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  • #2210436

    IT personnel motivated by fear?

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    by vulpinemac ·

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    • #2845691

      I could agree with you were not the zealotry so rampant

      by vulpinemac ·

      In reply to IT personnel motivated by fear?

      Almost 20 years ago, a company ran an experiment and filmed it for PBS. The experiment put a brand-new (at the time) PC running Windows 95 against an equally new Macintosh. They hired secretaries from a temp service under the condition that neither had any computer experience. The machines were connected to the corporate network and the two temps were given identical tasks using Microsoft applications. The two were given 30 days training to familiarize themselves with the hardware and software, then worked for 60 days in a full production environment. During the experiment, all down time for any reason was logged as well as the effective productivity of the two individuals. Again, their tasks were identical.

      At the end of the experiment the data was collated and guess what the results were. To summarize, the temp using the Mac approached 100% more productivity than the Windows user while maintenance costs were 60% lower.

      It is well known that IT is the single most costly department in the enterprise. The desktop support staff is manned with people specifically trained for Windows maintenance and happen to like the job security that Windows has given them over the decades. To realize that more than half of them could lose their jobs if Apple’s hardware and operating system manages to smooth their troubled seas generates fear and hatred for that different platform. Considering that I have seen that hatred online and in person for more than 20 years, I think I can state with some confidence that it’s not just the DIYers who hate Apple.

      • #2845686

        i am sure you are right

        by jjfitz ·

        In reply to I could agree with you were not the zealotry so rampant

        About the almost 20 year old data but even 2 years is old in computing technology is old. Its relevance is practically nonexistent now.
        First of all no one who works in my IT department “hates” Apple. In fact, many of them have iPads. They don’t use them at work. I prefer my Flyer which I do use at work.
        I disagree with your statement that IT people stick with Windows because that is where they are trained.
        Most IT departments use Linux heavily on the back end. We do. Most web sites run on Apache servers. -not Windows.
        We don’t “hate” Apple. We just don’t see it as the most practical and cost effective solution in the enterprise.
        That being said, we do support Apple Laptops at work and we spend a lot of time trying to get them to work as well as a Windows machine on our network.

        • #2845684

          Quibble

          by charliespencer ·

          In reply to i am sure you are right

          He didn’t say “IT people stick with Windows because that’s where they are trained.” He specifically limited it to “desktop support staff”. Those folks rarely deal with Linux or Apache.

        • #2845678

          my bad

          by jjfitz ·

          In reply to Quibble

          Let me add that all of my desktop support staff have Linux boxes as their personal desktops. It is easier to support multiple segregated networks via VM instances using a giant linux box. They support Linux thin clients, Windows machines and even scary Apple desktops and laptops.
          My point is none of the desktop support or my NetOps staff have any fear of or hatred for the Apple because they use them.
          What we use is the right tool for the job. In the typical enterprise that means Windows OS.
          We do work with Apples in the enterprise but it usually comes down to the enterprise apps requiring Windows OS or IE to run. Oh, and try to find vendor support for Apples accessing an enterprise app! The vendor almost always says, “Get a Windows box.”
          So the most common solution for getting an Apple to work in the enterprise is to install a VM instance of Windows on it (Parallels). To me, this layering does not make any sense.
          So tell me. Where is the fear? Don’t blame IT departments.

        • #2846361

          One thing…

          by ansugisalas ·

          In reply to my bad

          Sure, layering because you have to may be uncool… but what’s the difference to having “VM instances using a giant linux box”? Fundamentally it’s the same thing.
          Also, security wise it could be a good thing. A lot fewer people write generic malware for “OS X boxes pretending to be MS boxes”, the size of the audience matters.

        • #2846350

          economics

          by jjfitz ·

          In reply to One thing…

          It is cheaper to have one big Linux box that can be configured (and reconfigured) to connect to several separate networks than several smaller desktops.
          It does not make sense outside of the IT department at my company.
          Although Apple’s OS is not targeted for malware as much as Windows, it is not invulnerable. Just look at the recent attack.
          With the right security tools, managing less expensive Windows, an enterprise can successfully mitigate computer threats without layering on desktop OS complexity.

        • #2846347

          Oh, I don’t buy into the iron-clad mac BS…

          by ansugisalas ·

          In reply to economics

          I was referring to the VM.
          Every little subterfuge helps.

    • #2845685

      If there’s fear, I don’t think it’s at the support level.

      by charliespencer ·

      In reply to IT personnel motivated by fear?

      The old saying was, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” Now it’s Microsoft instead. If there’s fear, it’s at the Director or CxO level. I suspect any fear at that level is mostly about capital already invested, and productivity lost during a switch.

      I’ve supported ‘Wintel’ boxes my entire support career; I’ve never seen an Apple system. Still, if the boss came in Monday and said, “Those who make strategic decisions say we’re going with Apple systems” (or Linux), I don’t think it would bother me. Most desktop people have to pick up new skills all the time anyway. If nothing else, it would mean I could scrap some of the 5+ year old systems.

      • #2845677

        no fear here

        by jjfitz ·

        In reply to If there’s fear, I don’t think it’s at the support level.

        I am the CIO at my company and I am not afraid of recommending and deploying the right tool for the job. The IT folks I have had the pleasure working with look forward to trying out new technology and getting it to work in the enterprise.

    • #2845679
      Avatar photo

      Fear of what?

      by hal 9000 ·

      In reply to IT personnel motivated by fear?

      I’ve supported all Platforms over the years and some of those even fell into the camp of Windows and OSX.

      I fail to see how needing to support a different platform is something to fear.

      I do however get a good laugh about what I’m called by people when I criticize both the Windows and OSX Platforms for their poor coding and general security holes. :^0

      Col

      • #2845676

        Reduced

        by santeewelding ·

        In reply to Fear of what?

        To non-discussions, are you?

        • #2846349

          As opposed to

          by charliespencer ·

          In reply to Reduced

          the discussion preferences of others?

        • #2846348

          Negative

          by santeewelding ·

          In reply to As opposed to

          Inherent, rather than, “opposed to”. “Fear” and “hatred” squandered on claptrap.

        • #2846301

          ‘Hatred’

          by nexs ·

          In reply to Negative

          This, I like. However ‘hatred’ is often the misinterpreted remains of ‘unfamiliarity’.

          Me, I simply disagree with Apple’s direction and attitude, though I would support it if required.

        • #2846300

          Fear and loathing on TR…

          by ansugisalas ·

          In reply to ‘Hatred’

          Now I get it… the new look only works for people on acid! Keeps the bats away.

        • #2846262

          I quite like the bats

          by nexs ·

          In reply to Fear and loathing on TR…

          It makes for interesting conversation

        • #2846346
          Avatar photo

          Yes exactly

          by hal 9000 ·

          In reply to Reduced

          If I post to a Big Technical Thread I can not keep track of what happens once more than 20 people post to it in one night. :p

          But the really frustrating thing is how something I post just disappears a day or two latter, and a major problem is how I have to switch browsers to post a reply to something. It’s driving me nuts.

          And as I’m [b]Crazy[/b] enough to begin with I don’t need to get any further over the edge. :^0

          Col

        • #2846342

          I’m not a big fan of this "take this offline" in place of the reply link

          by jjfitz ·

          In reply to Yes exactly

          I don’t like popping around to follow a thread.

        • #2846337
          Avatar photo

          Iâ??m not either

          by hal 9000 ·

          In reply to I’m not a big fan of this "take this offline" in place of the reply link

          But at least I had to try as nothing else was working. :_|

          Col

        • #2846291

          Ditto.

          by charliespencer ·

          In reply to I’m not a big fan of this "take this offline" in place of the reply link

          My one test resulted in a blood oath to never use it again.

    • #2846205

      Haiku to Blue

      by jck ·

      In reply to IT personnel motivated by fear?

      The sky is so blue
      Why are you two still fighting?
      Just another day

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