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Guest Post :: Apple’s “Walled Garden” – Unsustainable Model or Certificate of Quality?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Mac vs. PC, Security, Technology 4 Comments
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I am proud to exclusively present the following Guest Post from Mariana Ashley:

Apple is one of the most recognized brands around the world, and, at least according to a recent Barron’s survey, one of the most respected. Still, not everyone is Apple crazy, as an earlier post about why people love to hate Apple indicated. Apple is always in the news, so I knew something was up when I saw the phrase "Mac-lash" being bandied about on the Internet over the past few days.

Several news outlets used the term "Mac-lash", so let’s look at one such article, published in the UK newspaper The Independent. The thrust of this and other related articles is that the Apple business model may be unsustainable in the long-term. Experts cite a growing discontent from not just developers and publishers, but customers, too. Quoting UK journalism professor Paul Bradshaw, The Independent article notes:

"I’ve been a consumer of Apple products for a while and I’ve very definitely decided not to get an iPad. Apple is increasingly closed and controlling and I think with the iPad they’ve crossed a line to a place where the usability that Apple is so famous for is being undermined by the lack of adaptability. There are so many things that you can’t do with content on an iPad that it makes for quite a poor user experience if you are anything other than a basic user."

Basically, the argument goes that Apple products differentiate themselves by (1) portraying itself as something of luxury item, (2) portraying itself as an "alternative" or "rebellious" product, (3) justifying higher prices by delivering a generally higher quality product , (4) being a closed system in which everything is designed to get you to buy more Apple products.

With the iPad, Number (1) became less relevant, as prices of many of their products fell such that way more people can afford them, in the process losing some of the snob appeal. Same goes with Number (2); now that too many people own Apple gizmos and gadgets, their iconic 1984 commercial seems laughably ironic. Number (3) still holds, and Number (4) is what is angering a growing number of people.

Those who argue that the closed, rigid, some would say almost "old school" business tactics, in which collaboration is insular and products don’t adapt across different platforms, puts Apple at a disadvantage with its competitors like Google. And Number (3), the idea that Apple products are still superior, easy to use, secure, and are generally of a higher quality is what Steve Jobs says makes Apple better.

Jobs noted in a statement last October that open systems aren’t always better, and he attributes his products’ superiority precisely to the way he runs his business, despite it being somewhat reactionary in a climate in which "open" is the hottest buzzword. Detractors say that Apple’s success in terms of delivering hot, in-demand products, is largely attributed to Jobs’ creative genius itself, and that once he goes, Apple will go down with it.

What do you think? Is Apple’s future secured, or will it have to change in some ways to keep up with the competition?

Source:  Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.

PC World’s “Reliability and Service Survey” Finds Apple Best in Quality

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, Mac vs. PC, Product Reviews 1 Comment
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Earlier this week, PC World released the results of its annual "Reliability and Service Survey", which interviews customers and asks them about the tech products they use, how reliable those products are, and the quality of the services associated with those products.  After interviewing over 79,000 people, PC World concluded that Apple was the best tech firm in terms of quality.

Some of the interesting quotes from this article are:

  • Apple once again smoked the competition in the desktop, notebook, and smartphone categories, winning high praise from customers in all reliability and service categories. The Macintosh and iPhone maker did so well that virtually all its scores were above average.
  • In addition to unveiling the iPad, a touchscreen tablet that launched a new genre of mobile computing devices, Apple enjoyed record sales and profits. And now it’s won the trifecta by smoking the competition in our reader poll.
  • IDC computer analyst Bob O’Donnell attributes Apple’s popularity to the company’s stylish, well-made computers and its easy-to-use operating system. "It’s a combination of having high-quality hardware–you pay a premium for it–and a software experience that’s more straightforward," he says. "And if you have fewer questions, you typically have fewer problems."
  • Apple is very good at offering extras too. "You have things like the Genius Bar at all the Apple stores. People literally walk in with their systems, and the [support] guy sits there and says, ‘Oh, yeah, you’ve got to do this, this, and this,’" O’Donnell adds. "It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling: ‘They’re taking care of me.’ Nobody has anything close to that on the PC side."

You can read much more about the results of PC World’s survey by clicking here.

Sources:  "Survey: Apple ‘Smokes the Competition’ in Quality, Reliability" by Jason Mick, published at Daily Tech, and "The Tech Brands You Can Trust" by Jeff Bertolucci, published at PCWorld.

Take the Apple in Law Firms Survey (and maybe win an iPad)

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Mac vs. PC Leave a comment
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The folks at Clio are conducting the Apple in Law Firms Survey.  If you are an attorney, law student, law school professor, or other legal professional, I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate in this survey.  This survey asks questions in the following areas:

  • Extent of lawyers’ current or intended migration to Macs or Apple products
  • Operating System Choice: Mac vs. Windows OS
  • Mobile device preferences: iPhone vs. Blackberry vs. Droid and others
  • Plans to purchase iPads and other Apple/Mac hardware and software in 2011
  • Cloud-based vs. desktop application usage in the law office
  • Satisfaction with Apple products

This survey literally took me less than two minutes to complete, so don’t say you don’t have enough time.  It will remain open until Tuesday, November 9, 2010, at 5:00 pm Eastern. If you need additional motivation, a randomly selected survey recipient will win a free iPad (thanks to the good folks at Clio).  The results of the survey will be shared during Jack Newton’s presentation at MILOFest in a few weeks in Orlando, FL.

 

Another Lawyer Converts to Mac

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Mac vs. PC Leave a comment
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The Greatest American Lawyer switched to a Mac at his office about two months ago, and he recently blogged about his "conversion experience."  Some of the key quotes from his article are:

  • There is simply no comparison between a PC and a Mac. It’s like going from a stick with a rock on the end of it to a precision machining tool.
  • [E]verything Mac does is intuitive.
  • In start up time alone, I probably add two hours of productivity per week.
  • The ease of navigation on the Mac and finger commands are incredible. … This probably saves me another two hours of productivity per week.
  • Two finger scrolling within the browser, finger pinching zoom controls and related functions … make browsing the internet 50% more enjoyable and productive.
  • Overall, there is literally no reason why any lawyer would want a PC over a Mac if they are at the decision point of purchasing a new computer.
  • Now that I’m Mac, I will never go back.

His observations are similar to those experienced by the vast majority of attorneys who have made the change to Macs.  While it is easy to find former PC-users praising the Mac, you just don’t see any former Mac-users praising the PC.  Gee, I wonder why?

Source:  "MacBook Pro for Lawyers: The Dramatic Difference Between PC and Mac" posted at The Greatest American Lawyer blog.

Guest Post :: Why We Went Mac, and Have Never Looked Back (Part One)

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Mac vs. PC, Office Management, Switching to Macs 4 Comments
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My friend, Randy Juip, has written a two-part Guest Post explaining in depth why his firm converted to Macs.  He was also a guest on an upcoming edition of the MILO Weekly podcast discussing this same subject.  I am pleased to present Part One of his Guest Post, “Why We Went Mac, and Have Never Looked Back….”:

So many firms are locked into legacy systems — they have PC’s, and so they continue to buy PC’s, almost without thought or consideration to the alternatives.

But I was lucky. When I opened my firm in July of 2009, I was starting from scratch. This was a totally new firm; the logistics were almost overwhelming. We would need everything, from trash bins to desks, and from staplers to computers. Taking time off from selecting legal pads and chair mats, one of the more interesting questions was also one of the easiest to answer: Mac or PC? Since I’ve always loved Macs, it was easy to go in that direction. We’ve never looked back.

The PC Consideration

So yes, PC’s are cheaper out of the box. And cost was a factor. We priced a number of different PC systems, from custom-built boxes to ordering the whole lot from Dell. It turns out that the savings — not counting valuable, billable time — was measurable but not as compelling as one would expect.

There were a number of considerations that lead us away from PC’s. First was the sheer technological hurdle of setting up and running a PC-based office. Macs are easy easy to set up and easy to network. You don’t have to spend hours adding available printers or copiers with a Mac. With a PC environment, on the other hand, our fear was that we’d spend much of our critical first-month start-up time babysitting fragile network settings. Macs just work, PC’s aren’t really that easy.

Second, we didn’t want to have a PC firm. PC’s are notorious for “gunking up,” for not working as well as they should, for needing constant attention and diligence to make everything work right. My partner and I knew from our own experience that running a firm from Macs would avoid these hassles.

Third, we are a young firm. We’re clever, and technologically savvy. We rely on email, PDF conversions, electronic records, and computers in general much more than our competitors. I had used PowerPoint (and now Keynote) for trials long before other attorneys began utilizing such things. “Going Mac” would fit in with the image we wanted to portray. It just made sense.

So, everyone at the office is now on one of two set-ups:

The MacBook Pro Set-Up

My partner and I, as well as our office manager, are on MacBook Pros (various models, but a minimum of 4GB RAM). The important consideration for us was making sure that the MBP had enough Video RAM to run an external monitor without choking on it. For docking and/or desk space, I have my MBP nestled in one of twelvesouth’s BookArc stands. They’re really sharp, and help not only display the sharp design, but to cool the MBP while it’s processing. I am waiting eagerly for HengeDock’s new product — a base that you will slip a MBP into and out of, with all the connections available at all times. I understand that they have availability for 13” MacBooks and MBP’s, but not for the 15” and 17” models (yet).

For the external display, we selected Dell 24” G2410t monitors. They’re beautiful, accept an external arm mount on the back, and are generally well-reviewed (although I understand they’ve been discontinued by Dell — too bad!).  Also, they are very affordable — if you don’t mind buying on eBay.

These monitors are mounted using Ergotron’s LX monitor arms, which are not only sleek and stylish, but have support for multiple-monitorconfigurations. You know, in case we want to do that… The Ergotron LX, again, can be found very affordably on eBay.  I have really appreciated the flexibility of this arrangement — especially on heavy drafting days. Moving the monitor in and out, closer and further from my face is a luxury I don’t know if I could now do without.

Lastly, for input, I use the Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad — I can’t tolerate the smaller keyboards without the number pad. They just don’t work for me. Being old-school, I also am partial to the original wired Mighty Mouse, which is no longer available from Apple. My partner believes that I’m crazy, as he’s devoted to the Apple Wireless Keyboard and the new-model Apple Magic Mouse. Our office manager likes a generic PC USB Keyboard and a generic PC USB Mouse. I suppose everyone will have their own preferences for input.

With this set-up, there are also the peripherals…. Each MBP needs an adapter (like the Micro-DVI to DVI adapter sold by Apple) to connect the external monitor. I bought a USB extender cable to snake up through the Ergotron arm so I could have my USB keyboard cable not drape across my desk. Each computer, as well, has a 1TB External Drive (I have grown attached to the reliability and aesthetics of Fantom Drives’ GreenDrive) attached (either by USB or by Firewire, depending on the set-up) for use as a Time Machine disk.

The iMac Set-Up

The support staff and associates have 24” iMacs. We bought these refurbished from the Apple web site, and purchased an AppleCare package for each of them. We were fortunate that Apple had enough of the refurbished models in stock when we needed them; it’s sometimes hit or miss when buying refurbished from the Apple site.

My office manager and support staff, along with some of the associates, were concerned about the switch from PCs to Macs, and with “relearning” the everyday workflow of a new OS. However, when they saw the difference between the old 15” CRT monitors they were used to, and the beauty and size of the new 24” iMac display, much of this concern was alleviated. We had already transitioned away from Corel’s dreaded Word Perfect word processor to Microsoft Word and the Office suite, so there wasn’t much to learn there. And, once the staff learned to integrate spotlight, quicklook, and the dozens of other helpful Mac shortcuts into their workflow, everyone — every single employee of mine — agrees that they are more productive and happier using Macs than using the old PC’s.

There’s not much more to say about these set-ups. They make work easy and employees happy, and what more could one want?

Randall A. Juip is now a partner with Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, PLLC, and he focuses his practice on professional negligence defense, business litigation, civil rights law, and public relations work (including risk management, crisis management, and public representation).

How to Seamlessly Run That Windows Apps on a Mac

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Mac vs. PC Leave a comment
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One of my favorite websites is LifeHacker, because it routinely explains ways that I can make my life easier.  It recently published an article which explained how to make "running one or a handful of must-have Windows applications on a Mac simple and seamless. It makes things much easier for non-expert computer users who just need access to an app that there isn’t a Mac version for, and it makes the user experience feel less disjointed and cobbled together. When you’re done here, you should be able to run that must-have Windows app on your Mac as though it’s just another Mac application."  You can read this article here.  

Source:  "How to Seamlessly Run That One Windows App You Need on a Mac" by Kevin Purdy, published at LifeHacker.com.

Got Apple Envy? Macs in a PC World (Best of ABA TechShow 2009)

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Ben Stevens Posted in Mac vs. PC, Office Management, Presentations, Switching to Macs Leave a comment
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The ABA TechShow blog has a series called "The Best of ABA TechShow 2009", which features some of the best presentations given by past speakers to showcase some of the content available to attendees.  I am pleased that "Got Apple Envy? Macs in a PC World", the presentation given by David Sparks and me is one of those featured. The session description is listed below, and you can download a *.pdf version of our materials as well.

It used to be the only apples found in the law office were in lunch bags. No longer: the resurgence of the Apple Macintosh platform has led to many attorneys now practicing law on their Macs. Popular Mac attorneys and bloggers Ben Stevens and David Sparks discussed the Macintosh platform at ABA TECHSHOW 2009 in their session "Got Apple Envy? Practicing Law with a Mac."

David and Ben provided a convincing argument about why using a Mac for the practice of law makes sense, and also shared strategies and recommendations on the best hardware and software solutions for a Mac attorney. Finally, they explained how to successfully drive a Mac in a PC firm with recommendations for networking and file sharing.

The attendees enjoyed an entertaining and educational session. Ben and David will both be back presenting at ABA TECHSHOW 2010.  Click here to read David and Ben’s paper!

Guest Post :: Thoughts About Microsoft’s Current Ad Campaign

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Mac vs. PC 2 Comments
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The following Guest Post is from one of my readers and fellow attorney, Kurt Gibson, in response to the current "anti-Mac" ads being run by Microsoft:

I just saw the Microsoft ad (for the hundredth time) where the announcer states that the buyer gets a budget to purchase a laptop. The buyer looks at the Macs and says they are too much money, or too small, or not enough memory, or she is not cool enough to be a mac person, etc. The buyer purchases the PC with the announcer’s money. I am sure you have seen the commercials.

I suppose everyone would purchase a windoze computer if Microsoft gave it to them free. I would do the same thing, but the following day I would put the brand new computer on eBay and use the money toward the purchase of a Mac.

Apple should run a knock-off ad where the buyer takes the announcer’s money, adds a few hundred from his or her pocket, and buys the better laptop — the Mac.

Kurt Gibson opened his practice in Anderson, SC in 1995, and he focuses on bankruptcy and litigation. His law practice uses Macs exclusively, although he must use Parallels and Windows XP for one bankruptcy program that does not have a Mac flavor.

Mac Pricing :: “Apple Tax” or “Microsoft Discount”?

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, Mac vs. PC Leave a comment
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Microsoft has begun an aggressive "laptop hunters" ad campaign to attempt to convince consumers to buy PCs instead of Macs.  In fact, the latest one actually shows one of their "hunters" standing outside of an Apple Store complaining about the high costs of Macs.

PC advocates claim that there is an "Apple tax" – defined as the supposed premium that Apple computers usually cost over comparably equipped PCs.  Mac advocates counter with the concept of the "Microsoft discount" – the theory that maybe PCs cost less because Windows is worth less.

For instance, PC World compared comparably equipped machines and found the following:

  • MacBook Pro vs. Dell XPS 1330 :: When configured with similar features, the MacBook Pro was only $95 more ($1,399 vs. $1,304).  These machines included the following:  13.3" LED backlit screen, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard disk, Nvidia GE Force 9400M Graphics Card, 802.11n networking, integrated webcam, backlit keyboard, and Bluetooth. The Mac has a 2.26 GHz Intel processor with a 1066 MHz frontside bus, whereas the Dell XPS 1330 comes with 2.4 GHz and 800 MHz, respectively.
  • MacBook Air vs. Dell Adamo ::  The starting price for the Air is $1,499, whereas the Adamo starts $500 higher at $1,999.  In its $1,799 configuration, the MacBook Air matches the 128GB Solid Stage Drive of the Adamo and bests its 1.2 GHz processor with one that clocks in at 2.13 GHz. Both come with 2GB of RAM and no optical drive. The Air weighs one full pound less than the Adamo at 3 lbs.  As it turns out, the Air is less expensive than the Dell.

When I give presentations on the benefits of using Macs in a law practice, the "cost" question is one of those that almost always comes up.  I have always pointed out that Macs hold their values much better than PCs, as can be easily seen by visiting eBay and looking at the resale prices of each.  Now, I can point to the articles below to help show that Macs don’t cost much (if any) more on the front end either.

Sources:  "Reassessing the Apple Tax" by Michael Scalisi, published at PC World, and "The Microsoft Discount" by Dan Miller, published at Macworld.

The Legal Mac :: Using Windows on Your Mac

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Ben Stevens Posted in How Do I ...?, Mac vs. PC, Other Operating Systems, Software 3 Comments
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This month’s The Legal Mac column from Law Practice Today, the ABA Law Practice Management Section‘s webzine, features an excellent discussion of the options available to those Mac-using attorneys who want or need to use Windows programs. I am pleased to present “Using Windows on Your Mac” by David Sparks:

One of the excuses that attorneys give for their reluctance to switch from PCs to Macs is that they “need” Windows for one reason or another. The good news is that Macs can run other operating systems, including Windows, whenever needed.

As a Mac-using attorney, I often raise eyebrows when people look over my shoulder to see Windows on my screen. They are even more surprised when they found out how easy it is to run Windows on a Mac.

In 2006, Apple moved the entire Macintosh line to Intel processors. This is the same hardware used by most PC manufacturers. While there are some small differences, Macs and PCs are all using compatible hardware. Almost immediately after this transition, Apple and third party software developers found ways to run Windows on Apple hardware. There are currently three primary methods:

Apple Boot Camp – One Operating System at a Time

Boot Camp is Apple’s own free virtualization application built into every new Macintosh computer. It allows you to make two separate partitions on your hard drive, one for Windows and one for the Apple OS X operating system. Once you enable Boot Camp, you are presented a choice when you boot up, Windows or OS X? You simply click the desired operating system and away it goes.

If you choose Windows, your installed Windows partition will load no differently than if it were a Dell or Lenovo. You can run any Windows application your hardware will support. If you click the button for Apple OS X, your computer boots into the Macintosh operating system. This, in essence, gives you two computers in one.

One of the biggest advantages of Boot Camp is that it allows you to devote the entire resources of your computer to whichever operating system you choose. If you load Windows, the entire processor, memory, and operating components are driving Windows. People who operate graphics intensive video software often prefer to use Boot Camp for this reason.

The fact that Boot Camp only runs one operating system at a time is also its biggest detriment. A lot of Mac users want to have the benefits of Windows and Mac OS X at the same time. That is not possible with Boot Camp. This leads to the second method, third party virtualization solutions.

Third Party Virtualization – Peaceful Coexistence

While Boot Camp provides a free and easy solution to run Windows on your Mac, some users prefer to run both Windows and OS X at the same time. Using virtualization applications such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion, both of which cost $70, you can install Windows (or Linux) to run as its own OS X application. These applications support any version of Windows from Windows 95 up through the recently released Windows 7 beta.

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