[This page contains both general overview information and more in-depth, technical information. We have marked the in-depth discussion of issues by indenting them from the main body text.]

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Moving from a Macintosh to a Windows-based personal computer raises a number of issues for the individual or group making the transition. Concerns that will need to be addressed include the purchase of new hardware and software, training in the new Windows environment and new or unfamiliar software packages, and increased support needs requiring increased support staff or additional training of existing support personnel.

Moving one or two individuals from Macintosh to Windows-based computers might seem easy enough, but concerns such as printing, networking, file sharing and software compatibility within a mixed Macintosh and Windows environment pose questions that will require workable answers for all users and support staff. Transitioning an entire group to Windows can eliminate many of the mixed environment concerns, but will require additional training and support to switch the organization to Windows as smoothly as possible.

The following is a list of issues that should be kept in mind when contemplating or beginning the transition from Macintosh to Windows-based computer systems.

Do you rely on a program written just for your organization, such as a FoxPro-based database or form, a HyperCard-based application, or something else that was developed specifically for your group by an individual or company? Is this program or data necessary to your group? If it is, you will either have to find an equivalent way of maintaining this data on a Windows-based computer or continue to use the Macintosh for those functions that cannot be replicated in Windows.

Do you have licenses for the Windows applications you will run, or do you have the budget to acquire the programs you will need?

Will Macintosh users in your group need to upgrade their software to provide compatibility with Windows programs? Will everyone be able to share files easily between Macintosh and Windows computers?

In order to share files between Macintosh and Windows users the data needs to be in a common format that can be read on both platforms. The best approach to achieving this compatibility is to acquire equivalent software for your Macintosh and Windows users. For example, if you use FileMaker Pro and you purchase FileMaker Pro version 4 for Windows, you should plan on upgrading your Macintosh users to the same version for Macintosh so the FileMaker data is available to all users.

Similarly, there are numerous version differences of the Microsoft Office software on the Macintosh and Windows which do not share compatible file formats. In one case, Office 97 on Windows 95 and Office 4.2 (Word 6, Excel 5) on the Mac, the Macintosh version of the software cannot read the Windows version file formats.

TRAINING/SUPPORT

Are you already familiar with a Windows environment or will user training be required to get up to speed on the new computer system? Will you or your users require training on the software applications running on the Windows-based computers?

Does your group have sufficient user and/or system support resources to provide assistance to the new Windows users and computers?

Macintosh users and support staff have traditionally had a single point of hardware and software support through a range of free and cost-effective subscription options from Apple. Windows users, on the other hand, must obtain hardware (and some software) support from the manufacturer or vendor of the computer (with widely differing warranties and support approaches), while operating system support for Windows from Microsoft is available on a fee-based approach only. The differences in manufacturer support between Macintosh and Windows-based computers translates into higher external support costs for users and local support staff.

If you will have a mixed environment of Macintosh and Windows-based computers, do you have adequately trained support personnel to handle the proven increase in support needs for a mixed environment¹?

If you are making a complete transition to Windows computers, does your support staff have the Windows knowledge available to assist your group? How will your support staff get that knowledge?

Support costs for both mixed environments of Macintosh and Windows-based computers and in Windows-only environments are higher than for Macintosh-only environments. Support personnel will most likely need to attend Windows certification training, network and server management training, and application training in order to adequately support your group or department. An adequately trained support staff with ongoing access to external support will be able to provide timely assistance on the increased number of requests from Windows users.

In the end, the best Windows training comes with experience. Complex hardware and software issues under Windows are common. Even in the case of difficult issues on the Mac, the re-installation of the operating system and/or starting over is not all that difficult. On a Windows machine, removing the OS and starting over is an extremely time-consuming and involved task. For a support person this can translate into many additional hours of work per workstation.

NETWORKING/DATA SHARING

Do you have a strategy for sharing files between Macintosh and Windows users? Most mixed environments rely on servers to act as bridges for data sharing and networking. Do you have a server computer that both Macintosh and Windows computers can access? Do you have the budget to acquire one? Do you have support staff who can install and maintain such a server?

Do your users know how to share files between Macintosh and Windows computers? Basic knowledge of issues such as file formats, software version compatibility, server folders and directories, and shared media (floppies, zip disks, etc.) will be required to avoid common mistakes when sharing files in a mixed environment of Macintosh and Windows computers.

While certain applications such as Microsoft Office have made it easier to share data between different versions of the same program on different platforms, sharing files between Macintosh and Windows users can be difficult. Moving between a common Macintosh application such as ClarisWorks and Microsoft Office, for example, requires the user to either use a file translation program to convert the data or to save the file to an intermediate format that both ClarisWorks and Office can read, usually resulting in formatting corruption. Removable media such as Zip, Jazz and SyQuest cartridges have their own compatibility issues that need to be addressed before these media are put into multi-platform use.

Do your current printers offer Windows support? If not, do you have access to printers that can be used by Windows computers, or do you have the budget to acquire printers that will?

While most HP laser printers and some Apple printers can be used by both Macintosh and Windows users, the great majority of printers cannot. Non-networkable printers (like most inkjet-style printers) that are connected directly to Macintosh computers now will probably be useless to Windows users. Laser printers that do not offer a parallel port interface, cannot be accessed via Ethernet, or do not have printer driver support for Windows will also be unavailable to Windows users.

Does your group print to networked printers that are visible to Windows users? Unlike most Macintosh printing over a network, Windows computers require printers to be accessed through a server. Do you have a server that can be used to access printers?

If you have a group of Windows 95 users and a shared printer you will almost certainly need some sort of intervening server. Your two most likely choices will be Windows NT or Novell. For a workgroup of 5, 10, or more people, printing to a shared printer via a Windows 95 box can work, but this is not a robust solution and the Windows 95 box sharing the printer will need to be dedicated to this task. (it becomes a print server).

HP JetDirect and JetAdmin software are not good solutions for any significant number of people simply because of the complexity of setting up each printer on each workstation and, more importantly, because each individual user has total control of the printer. Also, there is no queuing of print jobs in this case (that's what a print server does), so people cannot reliably print if the printer is heavily used. Finally, HP software only works for HP printers.

There are, of course, always other solutions. You can purchase UNIX-based solutions as your print server (not trivial to set up). You can use eXceed on Windows and the LPR functionality of this product to print to most printers (including Apple printers) over TCP/IP. But products like eXceed are time consuming to install and maintain, and the expense per workstation in the end may cost more than just installing a server.

LPR and LPD solutions will require that you purchase network printers which have their own IP stacks built in. All HP printers with JetDirect (i.e., Ethernet) interfaces are an example of this. LPD can run on a machine with an attached printer. Using LPR software you can then print to a printer attached to a machine running LPD. There are numerous shareware and freeware LPR clients available for Windows-based machines, but none of them run in such a manner as to be transparent to the end user.

Another solution would be to place inexpensive laser printers at each workstation. Usable laser printers can now be purchased for $400.00. This can work if there is sufficient space at the individual workstation. If your group needs access to additional printing features, such as color, speed, higher resolutions, etc., you may still need to use a networked printer.

If you have a mixed environment (Windows 3.1/DOS, Windows 95, Windows NT, Mac, etc.), using a Windows NT or Novell fileserver will allow these users to print to multiple types of printers.

One caveat - if you have more than one physical subnet in your group and you are considering the purchase of a Window NT box to solve your filesharing, application sharing and/or printing issues, reconsider your decision. For more in-depth information about Microsoft Networking and how it does and doesn't work in our network environment please see our discussion of this type of setup on our Web page at

http://micro.uoregon.edu/microsoft_networking.html

Does your support staff have sufficient knowledge of server administration to assist your group with both data sharing and printing through servers? How will your support personnel get that knowledge?

CAN YOU PAY FOR IT?

When considering all of the issues involved in transitioning a user or group from a Macintosh to a Windows-based computer, the bottom line is cost. How much time, training, support, hardware and software will be required to make the transition? Each of these elements has a financial component in both the short and long term. The hardware and software you choose can influence your longer-term support and maintenance costs.

How well you train your users and support staff now can reduce the needs for repeat training later. Spend enough now to purchase reliable hardware and software, train your users and support personnel, and develop a server-based network that your support staff can manage. Through wise planning, the up-front costs of a well-crafted transition from Macintosh to Windows-based computers will easily pay for themselves through reduced repair and upgrade costs, lower support costs, less computer and network downtime, and an educated and confident group of Windows users.

(1. Gartner Group Consulting Services. "Technical Support Costs and Dual-Platform Desktops: Managed Diversity." Summary available at http://www.apple.com/whymac/ggstudy/default.html.)

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