That is not true. There have been many business sites that when appraised of the facts, such as there are approximately 25,000,000 Mac OSX/Safari users in the United States, most of them consumers, customers they do not want to piss off, have changed their websites to be Mac compliant.
ChevronUSA's website is one that comes to mind. The website literally required customers to be using a PC with an Intel processor, a Windows OS, and Microsoft Internet Explorer to use it. I first tried to use Firefox and the website insisted that I had to use Internet Explorer. So I opened the site with IE for the Mac and the site told me I had to be using a Windows OS... so I fired up VirtualPC running WindowsXP SP2 and used IE for windows, and was informed by the website that I had to be running a PC with an Intel processor... I had an AMD machine here that I was working on for a client and fired it up, only to be informed that I had to be running with an Intel processor! Talk about restrictive.
After getting no response from repeated emails to their website managers, I wrote a letter to both the President and CEO of Chevron complaining about their PC/Intel/Microsoft only website. In my letter I politely pointed out that I spend almost $3,000 a year at Chevron Stations, that there were (at that time) 22,000,000 Mac users like me that would be offended by their website requirements, and then asked if Chevron was in the business of selling gasoline of promoting Intel and Microsoft products. I received very polite apology letters from both the President and CEO saying they were unaware of the problem. Two months later ChevronUSA's website was fully international HTML compliant.
Just five years ago there were FAR more non-standards compliant websites than there are today. Apple also wants to be informed of non-compliant websites and will work with those web designers to redesign their sites using international HTML standards so that they are compliant.
3) Mac sure the people you do business with will not send you MS-Office files with Macros, etc.
Then don't get MS Office '08 for the Mac... buy a copy of the older version which works fine. The fact is that very few organizations use Macro's any more because so many places will strip them out because of the threat of Macro viruses.
Your last two points are just FUD. 99% of people will not have a problem. A2 more and more of the now 32,000,000 Mac users complain to the owners, presidents, CEOs (not the offending website builders) of companies with non-compliant websites, more and more of them will move into compliance with international standards rather than building sites with tools from Microsoft that are designed to maintain their monopoly.
“Your last two points are just FUD. “
Come on Sword...give it up.
People, do not listen to Sword on this. Listen to me - carefully check out all websites and apps before buying a Mac. They are great computers but may not be compatible with the websites and applications you need and/or require kludging around.
Some consumer sites may have caved in. But others have not. Delta last time I flew I could not print the boarding pass on Safari.
But that is not my VALID point. Before buying a Mac users should carefully check out the websites they need for their jobs or business. Some may not work. I used to NEVER have problems with conference calls but there is a fair percentage today that require IE6 or later. And if you understand how this works IN THE REAL WORLD you would know they are sometimes set up just before they begin so testing and jerking around with Flip, switching User agent under Firefox, etc, sucks.
If you listen to a lot of earnings calls or look at company presentations or models just use windows and save the hassle.
If you are even a modest active trader you need windows. Even Schwab does not support Mac for its premier retail software. Forget professional trading tools.
I am in windows at least once a day out of necessity. Parallels is my first windows machine in 20 years or so. During earnings season I live in windows.
The dilemma for some people using MS Office is that the old Mac versions do not open the new file formats and the new ones do not run macros. While some users do not, if your customer saves his MS-Office files in the new format with macros, you have to find workarounds — Windows again!!
Macs are supposed to be easy. But when it turns out that your job is Doctor or Wall Street guy it is becoming obvious you need windows.
Try to run the hottest EMR or Practice Management Apps on a Mac - go ahead - try.
I was at HIMSS and something very close to ALL of the vendors only offered MSFT required application. No linux, no Mac, they all REQUIRE IE6 or better.
The MSFT booth was PACKED with developers all doing this. PACKED. You can tell me this is crazy and I can tell you this is crazy but it is a fact. Now can you if you are the CIO of a hospital require open only apps - sure - but your choices go down dramatically - and if you are not the CIO or CEO you get what the practice of hospital supplies and these guys are sucking firmly on the MSFT teet.
These are REAL compatibility issues and not FUD. Look I do not like MSFT any more than you do but to belittle my points is not appreciated.
I don’t care what your opinion is on this but Mac is not ready for the enterprise generally, by MSFT design, because of compatibility.