PCs or Macs or Linux

How do I decide if I should buy PCs or Macs or Linux for my business ?

Well, there is a question that will divide our readers. You will find people who are fans of each type of computer and will argue at length the reasons why their chosen camp is the one you must join.

Our opinion is for business then the PC is best. Ignoring the technical arguments the fact is if you are relying on complex technology to run your business then you are going to need skilled people to look after your technology. The availability of PC support skills, not to mention software, range of hardware suppliers is much better that for Macs or Linux.

Macs have traditionally, and for good reason in my opinion, been the choice of the artist, graphic designer and other creative people as their graphical ability and style operation is very suitable in these areas. PC and Linux users will argue, correctly, that their computers have done a lot to catch up or perhaps overtake in some areas but I suspect the Mac will still be used within its creative marketplace for many years to come. Help with Macs can be harder to get than with PCs simply because fewer people use them. Companies that use Macs often also use PCs for their more business users, running their accounts, stock control, project control and databases.

The attraction of Linux is that it is kind of a community project. Software is often free, developed by logical teams or volunteer developers spread around the globe. Many people seem to like Linux simply because it’s not Microsoft. Many big software companies have adapted Linux, of note is Netware whose original server operating system was largely wiped out by Microsoft Server products. Plus of course there are the original Unix (the commercial forerunner of Linux) such as Sun. Some companies including big organisations use Linux. We have a couple of Linux servers running our FTP Service (basically a secure filing cabinet for electronic files so our clients can access and download our software, updates etc) and our wonderful Wiki which we use for storing all sorts of unstructured information, like our internal phone list, support details of our network and servers. See Wikipedia for an example of a very big wiki. Like most Linux software the Wiki cost us nothing.

The downside with Linux, like the Mac but perhaps more so, is the availability of professional business support. Yes it is there, but it’s not as prevalent or varied as for the PC.

I think that the bottom line is that if you are a fan of the non PC technologies then you probably know enough about them to make a reasoned decision as to if and where you use non PC computers. If you don’t have this knowledge then you a probably best sticking with Microsoft and the PC. As always there are people out there in the marketplace to help you make the decision – just beware of evangelists and make sure you choose what is best for you or your organisation.