Reasons why not to go Macintosh

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Reason 22 : "Our network is PC based"

Validity level:

Macs today use standard networking protocols and interfaces, and they more often than not, will be compatible with existing wired or wireless networks transparently.

For Internet routers and simple server setups in the home or small business – e.g. file and/or printer servers – it should be entirely feasible mixing Macs into a Windows (or Linux) network. The biggest limitation will be the multiple platform knowledge of the system administrator, not necessarily any limition of the Mac's hardware or OS.

Potential issues would be more likely to arise in the corporate business world. Microsoft proprietary solutions may have been adopted, and databases may only be compatible with software available on Windows only. There may be be multiple platform compatible alternatives, but porting an entire exisiting solution could be prohibitively disruptive.

This can all get rather complicated – far too much to go into here – so I'll leave it here. I'll just urge you, don't assume a Mac won't talk to a network of PCs, because it may not be true.

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