4 ms·

> macOS isn't business-level stable. Can you elaborate this assertion? As far as stability goes, macs are top notch. I'd say in the business context Windows ma

> macOS isn't business-level stable. Can you elaborate this assertion? As far as stability goes, macs are top notch. I'd say in the business context Windows machines are prevalent because of successful MS strategies (in terms of marketing, not ethics) in 1995-2005 era, and it kind of stuck around.

ynniv 9y ago
Business is full of "just good enough" solutions, and loves control. Apple has shown that breaking backwards compatibility doesn't bother them, they're not going to build IT control features to the same level, and ... maybe macOS is going to be sacrificed at the alter of iOS? We're not sure these days. Meanwhile, custom Windows software from forever ago works just fine today, and that's good for business.
nulagrithom 9y ago
The enterprise tooling for macOS is woefully insufficient. Windows has provisions for performing all sorts of tasks across a fleet of desktops. I can automate deployment of a Windows desktop to the point where all you have to do is boot it up and join it to the domain (which makes it easier to hire someone to do it as well). What's more is that these settings will work across updates. I've gotten really sick of the screwy changes Apple makes to macOS with little warning. Windows goes to great lengths to ensure backwards compatibility between major version upgrades. (For example, did you know VB6 apps still run just fine?) Also, I can get fine grained control of updates to Windows. But maybe most importantly, I can virtualize Windows and create a virtual desktop environment. Now I can hand out toasters to users and they can just log in to their box from anywhere. Windows is simply much better at making desktop units fungible.
- ams6110 9y ago
  Agreed. To get anything close to this with Apple you need to go to third party tools such as Jamf.
- rconti 9y ago
  I was going to reply to the original thread with [citation needed], but thankfully someone already did it. The fleetwide maintenance is the issue, not stability. That said, everywhere I've worked the past 8 years, across 3 jobs, was virtually Mac-only. But yes, the valley is an outlier.
  - nulagrithom 9y ago
    > The fleetwide maintenance is the issue, not stability. From the medium to enterprise range, maintenance and stability issues are often one in the same. Breaking automated maintenance and/or deployment leads to instability. Keep in mind I don't mean "kernel panic" levels of instability or even "programs crashing" levels of instability. The smallest of changes can cause a mountain of work in large environments. Simply changing the icon of an often used program can cause a deluge of tickets. This level of stability and control is something that macOS doesn't even come close to recognizing.
- ckaygusu 9y ago
  I can agree with the stability of the tooling since Office products have become the de-facto standard of "enterprising" and MS doesn't really sweat herself to keep OSX tooling pristine. The original statement sounds like it is a statement about the stability of the operating system itself, which I'm sure it is good enough to support personal and business computing needs.
ThrowawayR2 9y ago
> As far as stability goes, macs are top notch. My MBP and its periodic gray screen of death begs to differ. Apple really needs to shore up its QA.
nickspag 9y ago
It's possible they mean stability in terms of length of support. macOS as an operating system is more "user-stable" if you will, than Windows- i.e. less crashing. But Windows is that way because of the massive legacy interoperability in that codebase. Windows didn't just work because of marketing, it worked because when Microsoft supports something they do it for Enterprise-lengths of time- and with the proper Enterprise tooling ecosystem that Windows has. Ironic that what, probably (some of this is assumption), makes it attractive to Enterprises also probably makes it difficult for them to deliver a OS as solid, to the user, and excluding High Sierra, as macOS.
izacus 9y ago
They literaly broke enterprise provisioning between the last beta and final release of High Sierra pretty much preventing update of huge fleets of enterprise MacBooks. That's not something business customers appreciate. And that's only the tip of the iceberg ignoring things like my MacBook deciding to fail to boot after a High Sierra security update.
tonyedgecombe 9y ago
I always thought one of Apples strengths was that they ignored the enterprise market, Windows has always been compromised by the need to support both home users and corporations.

ynniv 9y ago

Business is full of "just good enough" solutions, and loves control. Apple has shown that breaking backwards compatibility doesn't bother them, they're not going to build IT control features to the same level, and ... maybe macOS is going to be sacrificed at the alter of iOS? We're not sure these days. Meanwhile, custom Windows software from forever ago works just fine today, and that's good for business.

nulagrithom 9y ago

The enterprise tooling for macOS is woefully insufficient. Windows has provisions for performing all sorts of tasks across a fleet of desktops. I can automate deployment of a Windows desktop to the point where all you have to do is boot it up and join it to the domain (which makes it easier to hire someone to do it as well). What's more is that these settings will work across updates. I've gotten really sick of the screwy changes Apple makes to macOS with little warning. Windows goes to great lengths to ensure backwards compatibility between major version upgrades. (For example, did you know VB6 apps still run just fine?) Also, I can get fine grained control of updates to Windows. But maybe most importantly, I can virtualize Windows and create a virtual desktop environment. Now I can hand out toasters to users and they can just log in to their box from anywhere. Windows is simply much better at making desktop units fungible.

ams6110 9y ago
Agreed. To get anything close to this with Apple you need to go to third party tools such as Jamf.
rconti 9y ago
I was going to reply to the original thread with [citation needed], but thankfully someone already did it. The fleetwide maintenance is the issue, not stability. That said, everywhere I've worked the past 8 years, across 3 jobs, was virtually Mac-only. But yes, the valley is an outlier.
- nulagrithom 9y ago
  > The fleetwide maintenance is the issue, not stability. From the medium to enterprise range, maintenance and stability issues are often one in the same. Breaking automated maintenance and/or deployment leads to instability. Keep in mind I don't mean "kernel panic" levels of instability or even "programs crashing" levels of instability. The smallest of changes can cause a mountain of work in large environments. Simply changing the icon of an often used program can cause a deluge of tickets. This level of stability and control is something that macOS doesn't even come close to recognizing.
ckaygusu 9y ago
I can agree with the stability of the tooling since Office products have become the de-facto standard of "enterprising" and MS doesn't really sweat herself to keep OSX tooling pristine. The original statement sounds like it is a statement about the stability of the operating system itself, which I'm sure it is good enough to support personal and business computing needs.

ThrowawayR2 9y ago

> As far as stability goes, macs are top notch. My MBP and its periodic gray screen of death begs to differ. Apple really needs to shore up its QA.

nickspag 9y ago

It's possible they mean stability in terms of length of support. macOS as an operating system is more "user-stable" if you will, than Windows- i.e. less crashing. But Windows is that way because of the massive legacy interoperability in that codebase. Windows didn't just work because of marketing, it worked because when Microsoft supports something they do it for Enterprise-lengths of time- and with the proper Enterprise tooling ecosystem that Windows has. Ironic that what, probably (some of this is assumption), makes it attractive to Enterprises also probably makes it difficult for them to deliver a OS as solid, to the user, and excluding High Sierra, as macOS.

izacus 9y ago

They literaly broke enterprise provisioning between the last beta and final release of High Sierra pretty much preventing update of huge fleets of enterprise MacBooks. That's not something business customers appreciate. And that's only the tip of the iceberg ignoring things like my MacBook deciding to fail to boot after a High Sierra security update.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago

I always thought one of Apples strengths was that they ignored the enterprise market, Windows has always been compromised by the need to support both home users and corporations.