Advice on switching users to MAC

[Amida]

Hi Guys

I was wondering if someone can give me some advice on the best approach to switch users to mac?

We currently have a demo Macbook that one of the users is working with. She has been working with it for about 2 weeks but the moment she had a deadline she threw out the mac and got her old laptop back.

have any been able to do this and how did you do it?

 

[bwana]

She threw out the mac? I'd be the first person dumpster diving after it.

 

[MidnightWizard]

SIMPLE

Hi Guys
for about 2 weeks but the moment she had a deadline she threw out the mac and got her old laptop back.
have any been able to do this and how did you do it?

Elementary my dear boy

Get rid of the demo USER

IF she cannot use a MAC she is obvioulsy INCOMPATIBLE



PS; after disposing of the user you can throw the Mac this way


MW

 

[StbA]

Show the user the power of Spotlight.

 

[wheunis]

The main thing to stress to the users is the following:

"Forget what you think you knew. Forget where you thought it should have been. Forget everything you ever got used to."

People too hastily cling to their old habits. Ask anyone working on Vista and they will say they prefer XP. As anyone then working on XP and they will prefer 2000. Never-ending chain of clinging to old habits...

In the end... If the application suits better on Mac for your company... FORCE the change.
LITERALLY lock up the laptops inaccessible to anyone and give out Macs all around.

"If you cant make it work, get the fudge out, NOW!"

Sorry but people will never AGREE WITH CHANGE unless its forced on them.

 

[SlinkyMike]

People need a reason to change.

For many users the differences between the two systems are simply not reason enough.

Personally it was Vista that turned my head toward the light. I had sunk a bunch of cash into a laptop with Vista preinstalled only to find myself with a barely functioning POS that foisted umpteen limitations and conditions upon me as a user.

I felt cheated and ripped off. I couldn't even install my beloved XP because HP simply did not release ESATA drivers for XP thus forcing an entire generation of customers to use the unfit for market Vista. I felt that this was unfair and heavy handed. I felt less like a paying customer and more like a victim. I knew something had to change and that it wouldn't unless I changed it.

What I am trying to illustrate through all of this is the fact that switching is actually a deeply personal experience - I doubt many people will share all of the same reasons and I am certain that there are people who simply do not use or care about computers enough even to consider it an issue.

I doubt that you will succeed in switching users as such, maybe convincing them to switch would be a better approach.

 

[Amida]

She keep having small problems like for instance printing with OS X 10.5.8 to a windows shared printer works very sporadic. Some times the printer spooler would come up other times you would have to printer a couple of times before the spooler would come up when priting from Word 2008.

Also working on a docx document that was created in windows the formatting is out and sometimes the screen would go blank when she is busy typing.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Expose & Hot corners! Sorry, I don't know what to say about your issues

 

[wheunis]

She keep having small problems like for instance printing with OS X 10.5.8 to a windows shared printer works very sporadic. Some times the printer spooler would come up other times you would have to printer a couple of times before the spooler would come up when priting from Word 2008.

Also working on a docx document that was created in windows the formatting is out and sometimes the screen would go blank when she is busy typing.

The key here is to focus on the bigger picture, not the singular experience in a multi-platform environment.
Most, if not all, of the issues will not be present if the whole network switches.



More on topic to the original question... how to change the users to Mac.
I don't hold any belief that a seminar or educational session on advantages will ever sway any users in any which direction.
Personally they might not like what they have at the moment. Employees dont curse Microsoft when the pc crashes. They curse technology. They dont curse Intel when the servers go down, they curse technology. The average user wont even be able to give a clear definition as to what constitutes blame for the DVD drive not working. Half would just say something in the lines of "Its the whole thing thats messed up".

A major problem for you right now, is that one test subject has already (very likely) poisoned EVERYONE against the change.

Best scenario i can imagine for you, would be to simply state to the employees that "this is happening. deal with it."
Send a company memo announcing that you "WILL officially be changing on xxxxx date" and thats final.
Between now and that date however, the company will have to fork the bill for some basic Mac usage training for everyone, possibly in business hours.

As sad as it all might seem... THIS difficulty of progression is what M$ banks on. "Its just too much trouble"... is that the main thought in your head already? Thats exactly where they want you to stay.

 

[Amida]

The key here is to focus on the bigger picture, not the singular experience in a multi-platform environment.
Most, if not all, of the issues will not be present if the whole network switches.



More on topic to the original question... how to change the users to Mac.
I don't hold any belief that a seminar or educational session on advantages will ever sway any users in any which direction.
Personally they might not like what they have at the moment. Employees dont curse Microsoft when the pc crashes. They curse technology. They dont curse Intel when the servers go down, they curse technology. The average user wont even be able to give a clear definition as to what constitutes blame for the DVD drive not working. Half would just say something in the lines of "Its the whole thing thats messed up".

A major problem for you right now, is that one test subject has already (very likely) poisoned EVERYONE against the change.

Best scenario i can imagine for you, would be to simply state to the employees that "this is happening. deal with it."
Send a company memo announcing that you "WILL officially be changing on xxxxx date" and thats final.
Between now and that date however, the company will have to fork the bill for some basic Mac usage training for everyone, possibly in business hours.

As sad as it all might seem... THIS difficulty of progression is what M$ banks on. "Its just too much trouble"... is that the main thought in your head already? Thats exactly where they want you to stay.

Thanks for the response.

The problem is that before we can start switching users we need all these issues resolved.

I've been talking to the user and we compiled a list of the issues that she is having:

1. When printing from Word or Powerpoint 2008 the print queue sometimes doesn’t open and you have to re-print a couple of times before it opens.

2. Opening a word document with tables that was created on a windows computer the formatting is out and you have to manually correct it.

3. Sometimes when typing in one of the office applications the screen just goes white and you have to wait a while before it comes back.

4. When trying to open .PPTX (Powepoint 2007) documents across the network the computer tries to open the document but after about 20 minutes you have to force powerpoint to close.

Now if you look at the problems they all seem to be Office 2008 specific so it's not really a difficulty getting the user to switch but actual problems with the computer.

We also have a user running Office 2004 who have none of the problems listed.

Any suggestions?

 

[wheunis]

I have only one thing to add to this...

If youre moving away from Microsoft, do it properly. None if this half-half nonsense.

Office, no matter what the version... is STILL MICROSOFT.
Give the iWorks package a spin.

Lastly, youre printing from a Mac to a Windows...
Yes a ford engine does fit into an old Golf body... that does NOT make it a good idea as far as the gearbox is concerned. See the problem here?

If you want to test a Mac, test it in a Mac environment, NOT a Microsoft environment.

 

[Nerfherder]

Use the Mac as a doorstop... get PC back.

 

[Amida]

I have only one thing to add to this...

If youre moving away from Microsoft, do it properly. None if this half-half nonsense.

Office, no matter what the version... is STILL MICROSOFT.
Give the iWorks package a spin.

Lastly, youre printing from a Mac to a Windows...
Yes a ford engine does fit into an old Golf body... that does NOT make it a good idea as far as the gearbox is concerned. See the problem here?

If you want to test a Mac, test it in a Mac environment, NOT a Microsoft environment.

Problem is I can't just say ok throw out all the windows servers and replace them MAC servers and replace all the desktops with MACs.

What are trying to achieve is to just switch one user to MAC then when this user is happy we can switch another user.

 

[bwana]

Sounds like you're just having a few network problems that - if you found someone knowledgeable with both systems - would probably be pretty simple to sort out. I regularly print to PC without a hitch and open files across my network.

That said - Office 2008 is a dawg. The previous version was so much better.

 

[Amida]

Sounds like you're just having a few network problems that - if you found someone knowledgeable with both systems - would probably be pretty simple to sort out. I regularly print to PC without a hitch and open files across my network.

That said - Office 2008 is a dawg. The previous version was so much better.

That's the thing one user with Office 2004 don't have any of the problems mentioned.

 

[gdot]

On switching users:
1. Identify early adopters and switch them over first.
2. Expound a no-way-back strategy while making it seem like progress rather than an enforced change.
3. Move more than one user at a time. The users should be located in the same area so that they have someone to lean on when they have problems.
4. Get management and team leaders' buy-in first. Swap them last.
5. Try to give the users some unrelated positive benefits of going with the change (i.e. keychains, mousepads, access to industry info, clips of the mac ads, etc...)

 

[Twinkler]

Use the Mac as a doorstop... get PC back.

Should be the other way around ie. use the PC as the doorstop. A Mac is like driving a Merc, and the PC a clapped out old VW.

If you compare apples with apples (excuse the pun) the Mac wins hands down. It's all about how smooth and easy a ride you want.

 

[Drunkard #1]

People running Office apps don't want Macs. Macs are for fanbois and arty types (sorry if I've offended any arty types who don't use Mac). I assume that your company's policy is "The beatings will continue until morale improves."

Really Amida, why would you force a Mac onto an innocent office worker? If you need to get rid of your IT budget quickly I recommend the Lenovo T400 (NM355ZA). It's the same price as a Mac, but has all the features your office workers want (like an encrypted hard drive and built in 3G) and none of the features they don't want (like an overpriced, incompatible, fault prone, flashy macbook with an unreadable glossy screen and poor aftersales support.)

Your users should be your priority, not making Jobs richer. <-- sorry, is that concidered blasphemy?

 

[Moklet Kcuf]

If the primary purpose of the computer is to be working in Office, it may be hard to please a skilled Office user with a Mac. Because MS Office frankly works better on Windows.
Not to say that Mac isn't a better machine on the whole, just that Windows and Office are built for each other. And it's obviously not in Microsoft's corporate interest to provide an equally compatible product for OSX.

Possible solutions:
- Revert the user to Office 2004, until the issues have been sorted in Office 2008
- Run Windows on the Mac (through Boot Camp, Parallels, etc)
- If tech knowledge about Mac within your company is inadequate, seek professional IT assistance.
- let the user stay on a Windows machine if it means their sanity and productivity is preserved. It should really be their choice at the end of the day.

 

[d0b33]

Elementary my dear boy

Get rid of the demo USER

IF she cannot use a MAC she is obvioulsy INCOMPATIBLE



PS; after disposing of the user you can throw the Mac this way


MW

+1