Thinking about making my next "work pc" a MacBook. Can they coexist?

I coexist in an all PC enviornment. Microsoft Office for Mac makes it pretty easy

We do this in our office as there are two pieces of software that are much better in the windows environment. To access the software on our mac, we utilize parallels software. Parallels seta up a virtual machine on your computer and is a Windows operating system. You can view in coherence mode or just as if you were opening individual programs on your machine. I personally utilize Windows Exchange for Mac for accessing outlook mail, excel spreadsheets and word. I only utilize the Windows side for our accounting and Autocad software. It's worked seamlessly for 12 years now.

While it's certainly doable, the less computer savvy you are, the more I would be inclined to talk you out of attempting this. Put another way, unless you are capable of troubleshooting and fixing your own compatibility problems, everyone is going to resent you for being a snowflake that wastes their time.

quote:

---

To access the software on our mac, we utilize parallels software. Parallels seta up a virtual machine on your computer and is a Windows operating system.

---

Since Apple is now releasing systems using their own chip architecture instead of Intel chips, using Parallels to load the standard X86 (Intel) versions of Windows is not possible anymore.

You can use Parallels to load the Technical Preview ARM version of Windows, but it's far, far more likely a vendor has a Mac version of its software than a Windows/ARM version. So you'd be relying on ARM Windows' built in ARM->X86 translation layer which is going to introduce compatibility and performance issues.



I ultimately agree that...

quote:

---

unless you are capable of troubleshooting and fixing your own compatibility problems, everyone is going to resent you for being a snowflake that wastes their time.

---

quote:

---

I wouldn't expect the PC guys at work to be able to help you if something is giving you a problem.

---

This. We have about 50/50 split between macs and PC and it is so dumb that the shortcuts are not even remotely similar. People ask me how to do something and I am using a shortcut and have no IDEA what mac wants. I don't know why they can't google it... does that not work on a mac too?

You can always run windows with a product called Parallels

Like talking about jobs, are you running from something, or running to something? What is the problem you are trying to fix, if any? Then you can triangulate a proper solution.

Businesses overall have a problem with asset allocation (I was issued a developer laptop when I started at a three letter company in a global job that was over 5lb, but I traveled exclusively, the kind of Houston to JNB kind of travel, not IAH to OKC, and didn't code anything) where your Windows PC may just be too bulky for your role.

The basic way IT works (nobody flame me, I'm adjusting the message to Giantkiller's skill level) is that the "network" stuff is largely irrelevant to whether you're using a Windows PC or a Mac. The computers know how to talk to each other, and have, for almost 20 years (since Netware adopted TCP/IP, ish.) Everything bad that happens, at this point, is because of your company, not the operating system you choose. Your computer sees a "drive" (like Z:\ and your computer has probably no idea what is on the other side, just that it's showing a storage area, and your computer should label it as Z:\ . Is it an AS/400? Mainframe? Dropbox? Your daughter's computer? Your computer doesn't know. It's just storage)

I have clients where I can add their printers no problem when I'm onsite, and I've been at my own company where I have to email crap to someone in our Polish office to print it (200k employees). My new company, I'm not allowed to change my wallpaper. I'm almost 46, this is BS, but it's not the PCs fault.

Your level of stress will depend on local IT to support you, as many others have said. I've been able to add printers to a network and to my PC since Windows NT 3.51. If you asked me to add a printer to a Mac, I'm going to Youtube.

A clean Windows laptop is essentially the same as a MacOS laptop, unless you have to use AutoCad or similar specialty programs (which I don't think you are). You're hitting Outlook, Slack, Teams, Webex, etc.

quote:

---

Nah, they're using Linux.

---

Not a good sign. This indicates they'll try to "figure stuff out."

Again, what are you trying to gain by being the black sheep? It's probably not worth it. Your company can fark up a MacBook usability exactly how they can fark up a Windows laptop, so what's exactly is it you want with the move?