![]() ![]() Take all of the major Adobe applications, for example. Luckily, it's a rare market-leading application that doesn't exist in both Windows and Mac OS X versions. Leopard comes with a broad range of utility software, too, from Disk Utility to such gnarly bits as an ODBC Administrator and Directory Server manager. Pages, the third iWork application, is a serviceable word processor and basic page-layout application Microsoft Office's Word is still a more-capable word wrangler, though the latest iteration of Pages is much improved from its deservedly maligned original. Numbers, a basic spreadsheet program, is also included, though it can't match the enhanced formula and macro capabilities of Excel. ![]() Its smooth integration with Mac OS X's graphics and video engines provides award-winning transitions and on-slide effects. iLife includes Keynote, a presentation app that embarrasses PowerPoint with its superior animation capabilities and more-elegant prepackaged "themes"-Mac-speak for templates. Macs also include the consumer-level creativity suite iLife, and a demo copy of the $79 iWork productivity suite. They're a $49 USB option-even though most manufacturers of Windows-based laptops realize that, yes, sometimes we business travelers are sitting in a Motel 6 without broadband access, and a modem would be welcome.Īll Macs ship with a boatload of Apple software, starting with Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, the latest version of the rock-solid Apple operating system. All Macs are equipped with gigabit ethernet, USB 2.0, and FireWire 400, with FireWire 800 also standard on the iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro. All except the Mac Mini and Mac Pro come with 802.11n Wi-Fi the Mini's still stuck with 802.11g, while both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR are build-to-order options on the Mac Pro (all other Macs come with Bluetooth standard). Though the Mac lineup is diverse, its members have a lot in common. If your staffers need to edit video on location, spring for the 17-inch MacBook Pro, and consider upgrading to the enhanced 1920-by-1200-pixel display. The aluminum 15-inch MacBook Pro has a higher-resolution display, a significantly better graphics subsystem, an ExpressCard/34 slot, FireWire 800, and an illuminated keyboard. The 13-inch, plastic-bodied MacBook is fine for your junior road warriors, but your executive team will want the expanded capabilities and professional cachet of the MacBook Pro. Traditionally Macs have snuck into Windows-centric offices in laptop bags, and the latest crop of MacBooks and MacBook Pros continues that invasion. But although the Mac Pro's pop-out RAM cards can hold up to 32GB of DDR2 ECC FB-DIMMs, you should skip Apple's pricey memory and buy from Mac-savvy suppliers such as Other World Computing. It's overkill for most business needs, but the morale in your content-creation departments will soar if you bring a couple of these beefy systems to the office. ![]() The Mini's pedestrian graphics subsystem won't win any benchmarking races, but its small size and near-silent operation make it unobtrusive on a desk.Īpple's top-of-the-line Mac Pro (now with eight processor cores) has over-the-top power, plus PCI Express and four-bay SATA-drive expandability. The iMac comes with a 20- or 24-inch flat-panel display, so if you've already invested in monitors, select a compact, low-cost Mac Mini instead. Today's iMac is a sleek, speedy, sexy, space-saving business partner. The days of those candy-colored bubbles are long gone. For most business uses, the iMac has more than enough CPU power and peripheral-connection choices-and forget about any preconceptions you may have about the iMac's being a "toy" computer. The first step in Mac integration is, of course, picking the Mac that's right for you and your staff. If, however, you're simply seeking to provide your employees with systems on which to, well, work, basic PCs are less expensive, especially if you've acquired your enterprise applications on a site-license basis. If you're looking for full-featured, high-end business systems, the two platforms are certainly comparable in price. One caveat: Apple claims that Macs are as cost-effective as PCs.
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