Re: Migrating from Word 97 to FrameMaker 5.5 (and back); Macs and PC's

Subject: Re: Migrating from Word 97 to FrameMaker 5.5 (and back); Macs and PC's
From: "Amy M. Lattof" <amyl -at- ILINC -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 14:38:53 -0400

>>I've seen many studies indicating that mixing
>>Macs and PC's is no more expensive to support than a PC-only environment,
>>and that "content creators" are on average $23,000 more productive per year
>>using a Mac. (Well, we all know how dubious these statistics can be, but I
>>think there is something to this.)

Hmm. I'd hesitate to say that its no more expensive to run a mixed network than straight PC or Mac. Even if (in an ideal world) all of your hardware plays together nicely (which, I'm guessing would take some serious sacrificing to the computer gods) your software may be another nightmare.

I work in a PC environment, but most of my vendors/contractors are Mac. We've had various hassles with fonts, matching software versions, Mac to PC file compatibility (even when it had worked in the past) and other nasty problems that usually crop up at the last minute. There are hidden costs associated with a mixed environment -- maintaining two software environments *is* more expensive than maintaining one -- there's no way around that. And there's also the cost of your time and stress as you fight with these hassles.

If you are really going to work exclusively on a Mac, and share files with co-workers, contractors, and vendors on Macs maybe it would be worth it to you. But FWIW, my advice is to go in with your eyes wide open and looking for trouble if you're going to be interacting with PCs often.

As to the statement about content creators being more productive ($$) on a Mac -- I don't buy it. A good content creator doesn't rely on his or her operating system to be productive. I've worked on both extensively, and at this point, I use both with equal ease. In fact, the only thing that hinders my productivity is switching back and forth -- I wind up using the wrong short cuts, etc. for the 1st half day each time I switch.

Good Luck,

_________________________________
Amy M. Lattof
Manager of Technical Communications
Interactive Learning International Corp. (ILINC)
518-283-8799
amyl -at- ilinc -dot- com
www.ilinc.com

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