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Mac Pros in Business

Cromulent

Cromulent

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 2, 2006
6,829
1,132
The Land of Hope and Glory
I am seriously thinking about getting a Mac Pro as my main business computer for security and ease of use reasons, after using Windows based machines for the past 7 years or so. I'm used to Apple Macs having used them since the old LC475. The main question I want to know is are they good for traditional business tasks (financial planning, budgets, stock control blah blah blah)?

I'm not sure if this is the right place but it did say advice so here we go :). Any advice on Mac equivalants to the boring tasks listed above would be fantastic.

Thank you.
 
I would look into the differences for aftercare as well if this will be your main computer. This is my #1 problem with Apple apart from the hardware - which is prettier but definitely less well engineered than Dell / HP et al's professional offerings, and as such as a higher chance of going wrong (not saying it will, it's just that all current Macs will run hotter than equivalent PC's for example, and that build quality may be inferior on occasion).

As for apps, I'm sure someone else will wade in or you can search as it's an oft-asked question around here.
 
Ah thats a very good point. I hadn't thought of that. It has been a while since I have been in the Mac world, all the other Macs I have owned seemed to be built fine. Has build quality decreased since the 603e/604e PowerMac days then?
 
Cromulent said:
Ah thats a very good point. I hadn't thought of that. It has been a while since I have been in the Mac world, all the other Macs I have owned seemed to be built fine. Has build quality decreased since the 603e/604e PowerMac days then?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I've come back since similar days (First one was a IIci I think, the last one I bought was a PPC 7xxxAV) and back then I had near-zero hardware issues. Came back this year it's been a minor disaster. Unreliable hardware I can sort of deal with as long as the service is good - but turnaround takes ages and over-telephone support is about the level of Dell's low-end support levels, not approaching the Precision/Latitude/Optiplex support. People in the US may have better luck with visiting an Apple Store, but over here Regent St is certainly rammed most of the time.
 
I've been working as an independent graphic designer for 4 years now, running my business on my macs. I had zero problems with my G4 Cube and the 12" G4 Powerbook Rev A. that became my main working machine (with external screen) 3 years ago. Last year I bought a 15" Powerbook G4, which was a little less lucky.

This august it crashed very often, I repaired permissions and things like that without success. A hardware test showed that the 1 gb ram modules were faulty. After a visit at a local apple retail store we discovered that not the ram modules, but the logic board was the problem, it needed to be changed. The computer worked fine with 2x 512 mb ram sticks though. So the store lend me 2x 512 mb ram modules so that I can go on working until the new logic board arrived, which took about a week. The exchange of the logic boards was finished in an afternoon. I had to give my computer away for something like 4 hours.

For more extreme cases this particular store has a couple of replacement machines, which they give away if they have to keep the faulty computer for a couple of days.

So, if you have a good apple (retail) store near you I guess running a business on one apple is no problem. If you have to send it to them in case of a problem, well, this might be a different story.
 
Thank you for the input, it has given me something to think about. I still think the added security added by having Mac OS X (my business requires being on the Internet basically all the time) does add quite a bit of weight to the Mac Pro argument. Any other advice from anyone at all?
 
Cromulent said:
The main question I want to know is are they good for traditional business tasks (financial planning, budgets, stock control blah blah blah)?
Click to expand...
The choices are pretty slim - not bad, but few options - when you start looking at accounting, inventory, payroll, blah blah. The good news is that Parallels does a much better job of filling the gaps than VPC ever did. It can work out very well, you get to pick from the nicest Mac-only and Window-only applications and run them on one desktop.
 
A Mac Pro is a great business computer- it is designed to be super-fast, stable, and secure. The real question is why buy anything besides a Mac? :)
 
Several businesses run Macs while networking to a primary p/c server for certain
applications that are still Windows only.

It doesn't take much of a computer for basic data entry, you just need to link
to the server.

There are Mac OSX equivalents to just about any program you can think of.

For accounting MYOB Accounting Edge, MYOB First Edge, and of course QuickBooks Pro and MS Office for Mac and FileMaker Pro 8.5.
For sales and inventory ezBusiness 1.5, Coyote Business RecordKeeper, or Inventory Tracker Plus, SoftBooks Pro and KiBizSystem 3.6.
Check the listings at MacUpdate.
Most of these applications allow you to import and export to Microsoft products.

Companies Like Oracle and Cisco are running XServes for safety and reliability.

It all depends on if you're making a complete departure from Windows programs
or if you're going to use both.

There are Windows applications you can use only when connected to a known secure server and otherwise completely offline to the internet.

Or you can make a complete switch putting Windows security issues behind you
running only OSX applications.

You also have several open source LInux applications that work running X11.

My neighbors both work in what has been up till now a complete Windows Only business environment. Running MS Remote Desktop, she can now network directly to her P/C at work or connect directly to the server via VPN.

Her IT guru at work is amazed at how seamlessly her MacBook Pro is able to
access everything necessary without installing one single Windows application.

Her husband does need to run a custom Windows Only application, but Parallels Desktop allows him the freedom to do so.

The primary benefit is that neither of them need to connect to the internet
unless they are running OSX.

They also love system wide spell checker!

The primary hurdle you may face is training to run new applications and unfortunate wide spread ignorance about the ability of OSX to network
in a Windows environment.

The hardware in the Mac Pro is second to none.
 
Sesshi said:
...This is my #1 problem with Apple apart from the hardware - which is prettier but definitely less well engineered than Dell / HP et al's professional offerings...
Click to expand...

I couldn't let this kind of misinformation go uncontested. Apple's computers are of a far better build quality than Dell/HP. This has consistently been proven in independent studies over the years, the most recent of which was reported here just a few days ago (link). This isn't really a matter of opinion, independent studies of failure rates, total cost of ownership, customer care satisfaction, etc have all shown Apple to be far and away the highest quality computer company.
 
AmbitiousLemon said:
I couldn't let this kind of misinformation go uncontested. Apple's computers are of a far better build quality than Dell/HP. This has consistently been proven in independent studies over the years, the most recent of which was reported here just a few days ago (link). This isn't really a matter of opinion, independent studies of failure rates, total cost of ownership, customer care satisfaction, etc have all shown Apple to be far and away the highest quality computer company.
Click to expand...

Problem is in those cases you're not comparing Apples and Apples. I'd be interested to see the comparisons only drawn between Precisions, Latitudes and XPS - price/performance/build comparable units to Macs, Not your Dimensions or Inspirons.

Figures are even more open to misuse by the clueless than opinions. You've just got to be smart enough to compare truly like for like.
 
Go to the Apple Store and have them open up the side of a Mac Pro Tower.

Even the most militant P/C hardware sites are applauding Apple for the
workmanship and performance of the new Mac Pro Workstations

P/C magazine, extremetech, Toms hardware guide , you name it.
 
Hey there.

I personally believe that Mac's are good in almost any kind of business.

http://www.apple.com/business/

if you are a doctor, lawyer, shop owner, graphic professional, web person, creative or more. the software is there to help you work efficiently.

also, one VIP feature coming soon, will be automated backups. invaluable for businesses which productivity needs some occasional help.

You have microsoft office, virus protection, other programs to protect security.

you can definitely do well here.
 
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