

IBM considering switch to Macs - jiparker
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/04/16/ibm_launches_internal_pilot_program_to_test_migration_to_macs.html

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thingsilearned
I'm very hopeful but somewhat skeptical. They also said they'd quit windows
several years ago but haven't gotten close.

I just quit IBM in January. I brought my own mac in and used that exclusively.
My boss did as well. There was a small but strong community of mac users. It
was not common to use a mac, but no one minded.

It would be really awesome if you could choose. Using a Mac at IBM, even
though it was completely unsupported, was easier than windows.

There are a lot of compatibility and VNC tools because everyone I worked with
had to do most of their work on Unix. With X11 everything just worked very
smoothly on mac.

~~~
tx
I work at a engineering company even bigger than IBM, and what we have here is
crazy:

There is a corporate Windows network and all computers come pre-damaged with a
special "Corporate Image" that we are all obligated to run: it's Windows XP
with tons of stuff specific to the company: it even keeps a special wallpaper
along with the screensaver that you cannot change. And, of course, there are
plethora of daemons running: spying on what you do, anti-viruses, etc. And
this image won't run under VM.

Well... these beautiful and powerful workstations that we get from the company
aren't really used by engineers: they sit in the dark corners of our offices
only to be used to read "corporate email" once a day. Everyone is either on
MBP+OSX or ThinkPad+Ubuntu like me, connected to our own "engineering network"
we built for ourselves with our own internet gateway, using gmail and IM to
communicate.

From what I hear, AMD in Austin runs exactly the same way. This is probably
why their CPUs suck lately.

This truly is pathetic. The price you pay for being acquired.

~~~
maximilian
How do you guys pipe in the internet? (what do you mean with "your own
internet gateway".

That sucks balls that you guys have to go to so much trouble to get your work
with your computers how you like them.

At least you engineers are a tight-knit group and can do this. Thinks of all
the poor fellows who can't do this! (either for computer proficiency or group-
size or whatever)

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dangoldin
This quote probably summarizes why a lot of people are switching:

Said another: "I have been a true PC stalwart for 2+ decades, but after trying
Vista, I’m ready for a change."

Vista drove me to try Linux and I doubt I'm going back any time soon.

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redorb
Doesn't mean a lot; I'm sure IBM has considered millions of options in the
last week. They have people who think about people thinking about ideas.

~~~
mpc
They also are always looking to the future and don't mess around.

If MS releases another Vista (or worse) in a couple of years, do you think
they'll stick with windows?

~~~
redorb
no my friend just got out of alpha works; and they used linux very heavily.
see <http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource>

\- any company that is spending money with little to no (gauranteed) return;
is ahead of the curve.

~~~
kleevr
Sorry, but I have to correct. I was a lead on packager on one of our projects
to alphaWorks, I was working in the emerging standards department. The peace,
love, free software and standards side of the business.

I hear lotus notes is multi-threaded now. :)

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umjames
If only they had done this when I was working there in 2001-2002. Oh well,
better late than never.

Now if my current employer let me use a Mac as my primary machine...

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halo
Isn't IBM also just-as-long-time Linux supporter?

~~~
angstrom
Not to mention their long time PowerPC relationship with Apple.

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goodkarma
If 18 of the 24 said that the Mac offered a "better or best experience"
compared to their existing computer (i.e. the IBM Thinkpad), but 15 of the 18
(83%) already had "moderate or expert knowledge of the [Mac] platform" - does
IBM have enough unbiased data to make an educated decision?

~~~
wmf
It depends what decision you are talking about:

Can Mac experts use Macs productively? Can we switch all employees to Macs?
etc.

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deepsea
For pretty much everywhere the MS --> Mac move is considered, isn't the big
sticking point Exchange Server?

AFAICT, everything else has a good replacement. It's the email server that has
everyone locked-in, right? I'm not a Mac user though, ... maybe OS X can talk
to exchange?

~~~
wanorris
Exchange options I know of for a Mac:

* Microsoft Entourage

* Outlook Web Access

* The open source Gnome email client Evolution now runs on a Mac, and it can connect to Exchange (actually, it scrapes Outlook Web Access)

* I believe you can configure Exchange to support IMAP connections

* Parallels and VMWare Fusion allow you to run Outlook for Windows

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damon
In 2004 IBM was considering a switch to linux. I hope they are successful with
the mac push.

"First, our chairman has challenged the IT organization, and indeed all of
IBM, to move to a Linux based desktop before the end of 2005. This means
replacing productivity, web access and viewing tools with open standards based
equivalents."

[http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2004/01/07/inter...](http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2004/01/07/internal-
memo-confirms-ibm-move-to-linux-desktop)

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figureB
I guess Apple supports see this as a win, I see it as a death sentence. Big
Business will kill the Mac, power to the people

~~~
damon
Apple seems too consumer focused to start putting in all sorts of crap just
because someone from Walmart corporate suggested it.

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Monti
I will believe it when i see it. that said, I seriously doubt it.

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Tichy
I've considered it, too - but then I decided against it...

