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Military Friendly?

M

medic20

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2011
3
0
Hi All,

I'm a PC user right now, considering moving to Mac because my Dell is in the process of crapping out. As a member of the military I need something compatible with Army software. I'm hoping there is a service member out there who can tell me that I can buy a Mac with confidence that I'll still be able to access everything I need.

Thanks!
 
medic20 said:
I'm a PC user right now, considering moving to Mac because my Dell is in the process of crapping out. As a member of the military I need something compatible with Army software. I'm hoping there is a service member out there who can tell me that I can buy a Mac with confidence that I'll still be able to access everything I need.
Click to expand...
Any software you need to run, you can run on the Mac. Either there are equivalent apps on the Mac that do the same as Windows apps you have, or you can run Windows apps on the Mac, via Boot Camp or use Parallels or VMware Fusion.
 
I hope you haven't bought it yet. Go to your local post Exchange and buy a $1000 gift card with your star card. You then get a $250 gift card free. Then price match apples gov price and buy it. Valid at air force and army exhange. Expires Christmas eve.
 
ethics101 said:
I hope you haven't bought it yet. Go to your local post Exchange and buy a $1000 gift card with your star card. You then get a $250 gift card free. Then price match apples gov price and buy it. Valid at air force and army exhange. Expires Christmas eve.
Click to expand...

Wow wish I would have known about this.


But osx will not run all the software you need natively. I had to download a xdls (I think thats thats format) form last week to fill out and had a hard time finding software to open it. When I finally found something that was supposed to work it kept giving me errors and could not open the form. I have not tried to kook up my CAC reader yet as I rarely need it at home

However you can run windows on your mac for the times you need the software, but like I said -dont expect an easy solution to getting what you need done in OSX
 
Sorry to butt in here but I do not think that a Mac is what you want in your situation. Get either one of the higher spec'd Toshiba's (e.g. the Tecra) or get a Panasonic Toughbook. Both have been "ruggidised" and can stand up to travel etc and have a long life expectancy. A Mac is a "fashion" item (just like you have "fashion" phones) and they do not stand up to a hard life which what happens when you are a road warrior (I was one, had platinum status with the airline: they even would hold the plane waiting for me - within reason ofcourse). Mac's are also running very hot and if you finish up having to use it in a hot climate then I fear for the longevity of your expensive toy.(look at the MBP GPU issues)

The Lenovo Thinkpads T series may be a remote third possibility but quality is slowly going down.

PS Keep up the good work!
 
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That guy above me is just full of exaggerations.

Other than software compatibility issues, I see no problem.

Heating? Really? If you can't use it in hot areas, I wonder how Apple sells Macs in California or similar areas.

Durability? Aside from the dentability of aluminum, your Mac should be fine. If you're scared, you can get protectors for everything, including the screen, trackpad, palm rests, and keyboard. You can get hard cases for the top and bottom.
 
w00t951 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

That guy above me is just full of exaggerations.

Other than software compatibility issues, I see no problem.

Heating? Really? If you can't use it in hot areas, I wonder how Apple sells Macs in California or similar areas.

Durability? Aside from the dentability of aluminum, your Mac should be fine. If you're scared, you can get protectors for everything, including the screen, trackpad, palm rests, and keyboard. You can get hard cases for the top and bottom.
Click to expand...

And what do you know about Quality Assurance and have you ever been repsonsible for annual hardware purchases of 400+ laptops?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/515067/

And it is not an isolated case - the Mac mini i5 2.5 Ghz is running very (too) hot too.
 
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I am using my 13' MBP and deployed right now. This is the second time I have taken it with me. I have only been in 5yrs but have yet to need any software on my personal computer. Is there a special reason you need certain software? You can't use a Government PC for all your work?


Also I'm curious to what annual hardware purchases of 400+ laptops has to do with anything? We don't care.....
 
MJL said:
Sorry to butt in here but I do not think that a Mac is what you want in your situation. Get either one of the higher spec'd Toshiba's (e.g. the Tecra) or get a Panasonic Toughbook. Both have been "ruggidised" and can stand up to travel etc and have a long life expectancy. A Mac is a "fashion" item (just like you have "fashion" phones) and they do not stand up to a hard life which what happens when you are a road warrior (I was one, had platinum status with the airline: they even would hold the plane waiting for me - within reason ofcourse). Mac's are also running very hot and if you finish up having to use it in a hot climate then I fear for the longevity of your expensive toy.(look at the MBP GPU issues)

The Lenovo Thinkpads T series may be a remote third possibility but quality is slowly going down.

PS Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

A Mac isn't a "fashion" item, though it does look nicer than other notebooks out there, IMO. It's a tool. Just because something looks nice doesn't make it non-functional. The OP didn't state that he needs something super-rugged. He said he needs something that will let him run Army software. A MBP will do that, either natively or by running Windows, as others have stated. You flying around the world and purchasing tons of laptops for others really has nothing to do with the questions asked by the OP.
 
MJL said:
And what do you know about Quality Assurance and have you ever been repsonsible for annual hardware purchases of 400+ laptops?
Click to expand...

Companies generally buy systems based on cost & service arrangement, quality being further down the line.

I work and live internationally and have never had issue with any of my Mac`s from the Middle East, Sub tropics, Tropics, to the deep cold of northern China. A mac is every bit as durable as any PC, if not more so, barring a few specialist applications like the "ToughBook`s" suggesting that they are unreliable due the design is simply nonsense.

As is the link to the 8600m GT GPU`s I have a early 2008 4.1 MacBook Pro and has no such problem, only recently retired due to being replaced by the new 2.4 i7.
 
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Typing on my MBP 13, which I have used for 1+ years now in the middle east and in the med. It gets hot like every other laptop.
 
MJL said:
A Mac is a "fashion" item (just like you have "fashion" phones) and they do not stand up to a hard life which what happens when you are a road warrior...[snip]... Mac's are also running very hot and if you finish up having to use it in a hot climate then I fear for the longevity of your expensive toy.(look at the MBP GPU issues).
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I've beat my Powerbooks and MBP's to a pulp both in use and in travel and they have always kept on ticking. My last 2 I've utilized in hot climates without issue or damage to longevity.


MJL said:
And what do you know about Quality Assurance...[self-aggrandizing]...
Click to expand...
You have made it very clear in several threads your strength and prowess in decision making. It appears that you have had some buyers remorse with your personal purchase and have made it very clear your dislike for all things Apple. Heat heat heat, the sky is falling, the sky is falling. Sigh. Starting to appear trollish.

Back to the OP, as GGJstudios you can run all of your PC programs with the aid of the programs he named. Good luck with your decision!
 
ethics101 said:
I hope you haven't bought it yet. Go to your local post Exchange and buy a $1000 gift card with your star card. You then get a $250 gift card free. Then price match apples gov price and buy it. Valid at air force and army exhange. Expires Christmas eve.
Click to expand...

Hey I just called over to the AF Base Exchange and they said you can't buy the 1K in gift cards. Are you sure about that?
 
It'll be fine for whatever you use if for and besides if you're using it for work (which I suspect you won't be) then IT will bolt your machine down like fort knox :D. I think they've just recently been able to use smart cards w/ OS X thanks to certify so that's good news. DoD certified and everything.
 
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