Howdy

[uSheep]

Hi folks, I am new to EMUG and new to this forum, and new to this post!

New to Macs? Well, no and yes... I grew up in the 80's in the US, where school computer labs were all Apples. So I had a bit of time on the Apple II GS and various incarnations of the Macintosh. This went on up through junior high which I spent mainly playing Zork, Marathon 1, Civilization, and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? I learned Photoshop, Pagemaker on those Macs and I still miss the OS effects from those early Macs (black and white interface, quack sounds, etc). I learned to program on a Mac with a program called LOGO that you had to instruct using Basic to move a turtle around the screen. But then since high school my life was all 100% PC since that's all there was around me and I became a Windows and Linux user in the corporate business world, and never had the opportunity or need or time to touch an Apple product since. Not a Mac, not an iPhone, not even an iPod. So you can say that now I am rediscovering Steve Jobs' whole new world and a lot has changed.

I'm not prepared yet to join EMUG, but for starters you are going to see me hanging around this forum when I have some time!

[fangpyre]

Welcome to the site.
So do you have Apple products now?
Why the sudden interest in Apple?

BTW, LOGO is different than BASIC.

[uSheep]

The long answer is:
I thought I would mosey on in gently so I'm waiting for a cute tiny Shuffle to arrive in the mail I'm also going to grab an iPad next month...
If I were to hone in on why the renewed interest, ask Apple: for the first time in history they've succeeded at cracking the corporate world [outside of creative industries] for business use, thanks to their strategy of breaking their niche through consumer electronics and taking their coolness mainstream. You of course know how working in a big company over the last decade you'd be nuts to get a Mac because you'd be going against the current and struggle talking to everything else. The only laptop you could expense was a PC because it was the only one IT supported thanks to Finance selecting low-cost suppliers (goodbye, Macbook), and of course you'd get a Windows smartphone because you don't want integration hassles with syncing Outlook contacts. What changed recently? Senior Management did. Basically, kids and wives of corporate C's and VPs got iPods into their houses, gaining Apple mindshare in the household, so when these bosses wanted to buy themselves a new laptop, they knew about the Macbook Air, and got it since it was easier to carry to meetings. After all, all they need is anything that gets them on the Internet and can open a PPT their PA created for them. What a sight it was when I started seeing even here in Dubai our top honchos who are totally not techies suddenly like little kids showing off that they have a white Macbook. All it took was one influential senior guy to fall for the Snow leopard eyecandy, then the political ____ measuring competitions and macho games usually seen when one guy gets a Porsche all the rest get a Porsche etc, started with his Macbook. One became three became 4 etc.. And so that's why IT departments now across the world's Fortune 1000s are being ordered from above to also support their Apples. So only now does it make business sense for me to lean again into Apple, because the IT ecosystem is there - your iPad will tether to your iPhone that will sync with your Mac that will print to the office printer etc. So far, I'm still in my comfort zone with my PC laptop, until I am eligible for a new one, and can expense a Mac, I'll get a Mac. For now at least I can start immersing myself when I have time with personal devices. The iPad for one, has really triggered a lot of ideas in my head for pet projects.

The short answer is: I'm on my first extended leave from a 24-7 job in 8 years, so for the first time I can breathe a bit and experiment!

Wow, 2808 posts. You are EmiratesMac. I've been starting to think this was just Magnus's playground.

P.s. Don't know why I think Basic whenever I remember LOGO. Maybe we saw both of them at the same time when I was growing up. Could have something to do with line numbers similar to angles e.g. GO TO 20. END vs FORWARD 20. END

[Magnus]

Wow, 2808 posts. You are EmiratesMac. I've been starting to think this was just Magnus's playground.

Glad you recognize other users. I'm actually taking a less active role lately, much because of being busy with Shufflegazine and other things. And a big chunk of my posts came in the first year or so of this site, trying to get it going.

[fangpyre]

I haven't replied to a week that was up for 1 week?
Something is wrong.

Your story is very correct.
Apple has also made a lot of progress in making the Mac corporate-compatible.
The MacBook Air has also made large strides because of its portability, without compromising on usability.
In fact a number of our board members carry MacBook Airs running Windows.

But I love how you brought it all together.
People with a decision (C's & VP's) were influenced by tech-savvy people who had they would listen to (their kids).

I have had a Mac for some time in the corporate world.
In some cases I ended up paying for it (that has its own benefits)
But the peace of mind was worth it.
And it gave me an edge over other people.
For example, because I use iWork, my presentations are amazing (if I do say so myself).
After one of my more recent presentations, the CMO said: "first of all, we all have to get Macs…"

[denby]

I haven't replied to a week that was up for 1 week?
Something is wrong.

Your story is very correct.
Apple has also made a lot of progress in making the Mac corporate-compatible.
The MacBook Air has also made large strides because of its portability, without compromising on usability.
In fact a number of our board members carry MacBook Airs running Windows.

But I love how you brought it all together.
People with a decision (C's & VP's) were influenced by tech-savvy people who had they would listen to (their kids).

I have had a Mac for some time in the corporate world.
In some cases I ended up paying for it (that has its own benefits)
But the peace of mind was worth it.
And it gave me an edge over other people.
For example, because I use iWork, my presentations are amazing (if I do say so myself).
After one of my more recent presentations, the CMO said: "first of all, we all have to get Macs�"

So glad to see this talk about Macs in the commercial environment. Nice summary uSheep and glad to see you've been using them in the corporate world fangpyre.

We are just embarking on an office move and as a Mac user for the past 4 years, I mentioned that we should look at Macs. This has been well received, so I am trying to find out who I could use as an IT supplier for Mac.
Your recommendations on who to use would be welcome fangpyre.
Kind regards
denby

[fangpyre]

My first response would be a company like CDA (04) 335-9800.
As a company you require fast response times and strong commitment.
Hopefully, these guys can deliver.

Note: I have only used them as suppliers, not for much service.