Mac networks

[jwolf6589]

Any work at a company with a all Mac network? If so do macs have this problem or limitation that Windows has?

At my job like most we have a PC network. I can work on one PC and save files to my desktop but when I log onto another PC I do not see those files or saved I.E. Settings and bookmarks. Do Macs have this limitation?

 

[Geeky Chimp]

We run an all OSX network now (we used to have an all Windows network before).

On OSX you can use Network Homes to achieve what you require. (On Windows you would use Roaming Profiles to achieve the same.)

 

[jwolf6589]

We run an all OSX network now (we used to have an all Windows network before).

On OSX you can use Network Homes to achieve what you require. (On Windows you would use Roaming Profiles to achieve the same.)

It's a shame the Mac versions of MsOffice are so scaled back compared to Windows as we rely on them and Outlook heavy around here. Does your company use Outlook for mail?

 

[Geeky Chimp]

No we don't use any Microsoft Software anymore. We use the OSX Mail App for mail, calendar app for appointments. Haven't looked back since going to Apple Mac; the migration took a while but well worth it for us.

 

[jwolf6589]

No we don't use any Microsoft Software anymore. We use the OSX Mail App for mail, calendar app for appointments. Haven't looked back since going to Apple Mac; the migration took a while but well worth it for us.

How big is this company? How many computers on the network?

 

[jwolf6589]

No we don't use any Microsoft Software anymore. We use the OSX Mail App for mail, calendar app for appointments. Haven't looked back since going to Apple Mac; the migration took a while but well worth it for us.

Mac Mail is more stable than Outlook for Mac which can be buggy and more so than the Windows version.

 

[Geeky Chimp]

How big is this company? How many computers on the network?

~50 users, each user has an iMac , iPad and iPhone. A lot have a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro too.

All OSX servers too.

 

[jwolf6589]

~50 users, each user has an iMac , iPad and iPhone. A lot have a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro too.

All OSX servers too.

What do you use for your spreadsheets?

 

[Geeky Chimp]

What do you use for your spreadsheets?

We use Numbers for Spreadsheets. (Pages for Word Processing, Keynotes for Presentations).

 

[jwolf6589]

We use Numbers for Spreadsheets. (Pages for Word Processing, Keynotes for Presentations).

I thought abut that, but knowing Apple's history of business products that have vanished (remember AppleWorks?) I am not sure. MS Office is used by millions of corporations around the world and is not going anywhere.

 

[AFEPPL]

Any work at a company with a all Mac network? If so do macs have this problem or limitation that Windows has?

At my job like most we have a PC network. I can work on one PC and save files to my desktop but when I log onto another PC I do not see those files or saved I.E. Settings and bookmarks. Do Macs have this limitation?

That simply means you haven't implemented roaming user profiles or folder redirection for your windows desktops.
This has been around since the 90s, so its simply a user issue as to how things are being managed on your site.

A dont blame the tools..

 

[jwolf6589]

That simply means you haven't implemented roaming user profiles or folder redirection for your windows desktops.
This has been around since the 90s, so its simply a user issue as to how things are being managed on your site.

A dont blame the tools..

Yeah must be an issue with the IT department.

 

[AppleNewton]

Yeah there are tons of companies that utilize Macs in some of the environment or those who are completely mac with thousands and thousands of them. Most use AD bound systems some with mobile accounts and some with local. so it just depends on how its set up and configured and what you're trying to accomplish.

Apple's office applications aren't really going anywhere either, but chances are most environments have Office licenses. But free is free (apple office apps that is). you can get a Volume license for them as well from Apple.

So it really depends on how you want to set up your environment and manage it, there are tons of tools and options available.

 

[Mikael H]

Yeah must be an issue with the IT department.

Not sure if you were being sarcastic, but yes; in this case it definitely is. To be honest, the whole Active Directory thing is one of the few things I believe Microsoft got better than most other companies out there. Getting Macs to work reliably with it is a pain, though, so if you're going all-Mac, stick to the tools provided by Apple.

From what you wrote in the OP, you seem to mostly use products that work better in a Windows environment than in macOS. Given that Windows also lets you do exactly what you ask for in the OP, I see no reason to make a (very expensive) switch for this reason alone, unless your company explicitly wants to move in that direction and is prepared to take on the costs and overhead induced by the switch.

 

[jwolf6589]

Yeah there are tons of companies that utilize Macs in some of the environment or those who are completely mac with thousands and thousands of them. Most use AD bound systems some with mobile accounts and some with local. so it just depends on how its set up and configured and what you're trying to accomplish.

Apple's office applications aren't really going anywhere either, but chances are most environments have Office licenses. But free is free (apple office apps that is). you can get a Volume license for them as well from Apple.

So it really depends on how you want to set up your environment and manage it, there are tons of tools and options available.

They said the same of AppleWorks years ago. But anyways the features seem to be lacking in Apple's business products. Heck even the Mac versions of MS Office are lacking compared to Windows.

 

[AppleNewton]

They said the same of AppleWorks years ago. But anyways the features seem to be lacking in Apple's business products. Heck even the Mac versions of MS Office are lacking compared to Windows.

I guess, but "iWork" apps are free and they are more compatible with Office apps than AppleWorks versions were. And its only been 5-6 years they stopped being truly supported on a modern OS X platform, so with all the iOS usage and office just hitting that market I doubt theres going to be much change yet.

So it really depends on what you're trying to do as its not entirely clear. Contact Apple's enterprise business team and they can set you up. Theres tools for enhancing AD integration with Apple tools as well.

 

[Altemose]

They said the same of AppleWorks years ago. But anyways the features seem to be lacking in Apple's business products. Heck even the Mac versions of MS Office are lacking compared to Windows.

There is a significant difference in the product models of Apple and Microsoft though which justifies the feature differences. Apple is looking for an all around tool that fits the usage patterns of the majority of users while Microsoft looks to offer every tool under the sun to its users regardless of their needs. Microsoft also offers many different versions of their server software, while Apple offers one distribution, OS X Server. With the correct implementation, OS X Server can perform most any of the same tasks that Windows Server can perform, though with some usage differences.

Office has been gradually improved over the years and has now reached the point in the current release where the Windows and Mac versions are about equal. That being said, there will always be differences in the software between platforms as Windows is Microsoft's primary concern and customer platform, while the Mac is an upcoming second. Office 2016 creates a fantastic level of equality in terms of features across both Windows and Mac which was unseen before in a Microsoft product. I am quite happy to roll out Office now as it is not like I am deploying the Windows version's little brother.

 

[jwolf6589]

There is a significant difference in the product models of Apple and Microsoft though which justifies the feature differences. Apple is looking for an all around tool that fits the usage patterns of the majority of users while Microsoft looks to offer every tool under the sun to its users regardless of their needs. Microsoft also offers many different versions of their server software, while Apple offers one distribution, OS X Server. With the correct implementation, OS X Server can perform most any of the same tasks that Windows Server can perform, though with some usage differences.

Office has been gradually improved over the years and has now reached the point in the current release where the Windows and Mac versions are about equal. That being said, there will always be differences in the software between platforms as Windows is Microsoft's primary concern and customer platform, while the Mac is an upcoming second. Office 2016 creates a fantastic level of equality in terms of features across both Windows and Mac which was unseen before in a Microsoft product. I am quite happy to roll out Office now as it is not like I am deploying the Windows version's little brother.

I do not have Office 2016 is it really that good? Usually Mac Office products have far less features than their Windows counterparts.

 

[chrfr]

I do not have Office 2016 is it really that good? Usually Mac Office products have far less features than their Windows counterparts.

There's still a significant difference in more advanced capabilities between Office for Mac and Windows. Outlook and Excel especially have large gaps in functionality.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Just get a trial of Office and try it for yourself....

 

[jwolf6589]

There's still a significant difference in more advanced capabilities between Office for Mac and Windows. Outlook and Excel especially have large gaps in functionality.

Then I will stay with Office 2011

 

[jwolf6589]

Just get a trial of Office and try it for yourself....

How much better is it over 2011?

 

[Altemose]

I do not have Office 2016 is it really that good? Usually Mac Office products have far less features than their Windows counterparts.

I highly recommend that you try Office 2016 as only you can test whether it works in your usage case. I believe that Microsoft still offers a free trial.

There's still a significant difference in more advanced capabilities between Office for Mac and Windows. Outlook and Excel especially have large gaps in functionality.

Sadly, this will likely always be the case. Windows is Microsoft's target market with OS X being a second child to it.

How much better is it over 2011?

Microsoft did a lot of work to make 2016 comparable to Office for Windows 2013, however there are still some notable exclusions in terms of features.

 

[Fabian90]

The new Office is pretty good! There are updates every few weeks and it has been really stable for me. I would suggest you try it out yourself. I can only tell for writing scientific papers tho.

 

[ZMacintosh]

How much better is it over 2011?

just try it out, there is a trial? i dont quite get your post...do you want people to do work/make up your mind for you..trying to understand.