I agree with those who say that there is really no way to fully resolve this
issue, but I still feel compelled to relate some of my experiences, having
worked for 10 years in a museum with both pcs and macs and, more recently,
operating a small museum consulting business running both pcs and macs.

Starting with the bottom line, if I had to pick one platform over another,
I'd pick a pc based system....In my experience its the pcs that are both
more reliable and easier to repair if they break. Pc's can do just about
anything a mac can do - macs do have the edge in graphics applications, but
it's not much of an edge - plus, there's much more software written for
pc's. Pcs' are used in many many more workplaces than macs, so their files
can tend to be easier to integrate with vendors', donors', and other 3rd
parties.

If you are networking a few or a lot of computers, I think you are also
better off with a pc based system. Macs network well with each other, but it
is just the devil to try and network macs and pc's together (if you end up
in this situation, contact me directly and I can offer some tips).

If your exhibits or facilities people will be using CAD applications, I
think the pc is also superior, just because, with a pc you can use Autocad
easily, and, even though it's a monster of a program, it is the standard CAD
application for 70 percent of the CAD workstations in the world. So, you'll
have an easier time communicating with architects and engineers, etc. who
use CAD programs.

Macs are well liked by a lot of people because their user interface is
seemingly more friendly. You don't have to be a computer whiz to learn how
to use a mac. But, in my opinion, in developing their user friendly
interface, Apple has created a system that is confounding to troubleshoot
and maintain. Yes, you don't have to know much about computers to use a mac,
but you will end up learning a lot if you ever get stuck having to fix one.
AND, Apple's help system and manuals are the worst I've ever seen.

As I said above, in all the museum settings I've worked in there have been
BOTH macs and pc's. Why? - two reasons - 1. To make life easier for the
employees.... some people adamently prefer one platform over another, so you
end up with happier employees if you acquiesce to their preferences. and 2.
If you are communicating and sharing files with 3rd parties, you have to be
ready to accept whatever they send you.

In our current practice, then, we operate both systems, sometimes paying
double for software, since we have to buy the pc and the mac application.
But we can exchange files and communicate with just about anybody, which
makes it relatively effortless for outside parties to do electronic business
with us.

Getting back to the bottom line, if you must choose one operating system
only, just the ease of maintenance and networking, I vote for the PC as the
best solution.

hope this has been helpful

John Moser, president
Moser Productions, Inc.
exhibits planning, design, and fabrication
[log in to unmask]

(formerly director of exhibits at the Science Museum of Virginia)

p.s. By the way, I will say that, if you are doing any music production (not
a common thing in museums) the Mac wins hands down.








----- Original Message -----
From: "Timothy McShane" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 11:09 AM
Subject: Re: Using Mac in museums


> I agree with Kyle's post about Mac's being the best for graphics work,
> but I'd like to pop the balloon about their so-called superior
> reliability over PCs.
>
> I worked at a museum that bought a Mac G3 when new--it started to give
> trouble within two months of being set up.  Over the next two years we
> had dozens of service calls, replaced all the major components in the
> computer, and spent more than the original purchase price of the
> machine, and it still wouldn't get through a week without crashing.  The
> problems were blamed on extension conflicts--that we had too much loaded
> up on the Mac.  We were using that computer almost exclusively for
> Internet access and graphics work, so we had a flatbed scanner, film
> scanner, printer and CD burner hooked up to it, plus associated
> software--all stuff we needed on a pretty regular basis.  We did
> occasionally used the Mac for word processing and spreadsheet
> applications, but not too much.  We still had loads of memory on the
> machine and empty USB ports, so it certainly didn't seem like we were
> asking too much of the computer, but still it refused to behave.  If
> you're looking for a multi-use computer, you should seriously consider
> staying away from Macs because of the possibility of these extension
> conflicts.
>
> I'm just glad that in that position, the collections database was on a
> PC.  I've used PCs at home and work for going on nine years, and they've
> never given me one-tenth the grief I've suffered from Macs.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
> Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
> 1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
> Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 5E6
> (403) 502-8587
>
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