Myth: Apple only makes consumer products.
Fact: Macs are for serious computing and storage.
In addition to the famous iPod, Apple provides a wide range of products and services that enable scientists to do highly complex computational research and achieve quick results. With the Power Mac G5, the Intel-based iMac, and Xserve G5, Apple puts the power and performance of 64-bit, high-performance computing within reach of the bench scientist. Xserve RAID provides massive storage capacity in a rack-optimized enclosure. Xsan, Apple’s 64-bit cluster file system, lets multiple computers concurrently access terabytes of storage on Xserve RAID.
Myth: The Mac is unstable.
Fact: Macs provide a powerful, UNIX-based platform for research.
Don’t let its elegant and easy-to-use interface fool you. Beneath the surface of Mac OS X lies an industrial-strength UNIX foundation. With preemptive multitasking and protected system memory, it’s hard at work to ensure that your computing experience remains free of system crashes and compromised performance. The most widely-distributed UNIX-based operating system, Mac OS X integrates the fine-grained multithreading of the Mach 3.0 kernel and state-of-the-art FreeBSD 5 into Darwin — the open source, UNIX-based foundation of Mac OS X.
Myth: Macs are proprietary.
Fact:Mac OS X is open at the source.
Mac OS X is based on an open source variant of FreeBSD. Developed entirely with openness and interoperability in mind, it incorporates the major open standards for directory services, programming and scripting languages, interprocess communications and arithmetic libraries. Apple hardware also uses industry standard management protocols and physical connectors.
Myth: Limited applications for the Mac.
Fact: Over 12,000 applications are available for Mac OS X and the number continues to grow.
The most important and popular scientific research applications, spanning a wide range of disciplines in the life sciences and physical sciences, are available for UNIX-based Mac OS X. These include a variety of open source, commercial and custom code that give you a full range of tools to acquire, analyze and publish your research data. And the number of applications for Mac OS X keeps on growing.
Myth: Macs won’t fit into my network.
Fact: Mac OS X can talk to every major file server protocol on every major server platform on the market today.
Mac OS X includes the major networking protocols for accessing every major server platform, including Windows, Linux and UNIX. You can browse Windows networks right from the Finder, as well as easily communicate with UNIX NFS file servers. Mac OS X is the most compatible operating system available today. On the server end, whether you have Mac, Windows, UNIX or Linux clients — or any combination thereof — UNIX-based Mac OS X Server provides cross-platform support right out of the box for native file sharing, as well as Apache web server and WebDAV server, POP and IMAP mail, ftp, QuickTime Streaming Server, DNS and DHCP.
Myth: Macs are expensive.
Fact: Apple hardware and software offer tremendous value.
Here are just a few examples: Xserve cluster node delivers the industry’s best value in price per Gigaflop. Xserve RAID with a cost of just over $2 per gigabyte offers a breakthrough price/performance standard for storage deployments in Windows, Linux and Mac operating environments. Xsan delivers an advanced storage area networking (SAN) solution at a fraction of the price of competing systems. Xcode, Mac OS X’s integrated developer environment, is included with the operating system. The Apple Volume License Program offers great cost savings with unlimited client licensing on Mac OS X — you can serve thousands of users without spending additional thousands in licensing fees. And the Power Mac G5 offers dual 64-bit G5 processing power and phenomenal expandability at an extremely competitive price.
Myth: Even with a Mac, I still need a PC on my desk.
Fact: Acquire, analyze and publish data — all on a Mac.
What’s unique about the Mac is its ability to run productivity Mac applications side-by-side with your UNIX scientific applications — X11, Java and command line applications alongside Microsoft Office, your email client and browser. This means you can move your entire workflow to a single Mac system. Not to mention that the Mac is a breeze for new users to learn, while at the same time providing powerful, customizable tools for professionals. Plus, you can easily connect your Mac to any network — whether wired or wireless, Mac-, UNIX- or Windows-based.
Myth: New Mac users and IT staff face a steep learning curve.
Fact: The Mac — it just works.
Ask them — the millions of people who use and love their Macs — why it’s become such an integral part of their lives, and most will tell you that it’s because it’s remarkably easy to use — and it just works. It lets them do what they want to do — their way. For IT staff, Mac OS X Server makes server administration astonishingly simple. An intuitive user interface, advanced security capabilities and directory-based user quotas make it easier than ever to manage and share network resources. The Mac makes system administration so easy you can expand your existing compute infrastructure without increasing your IT staff, who can in turn focus on accomplishing new things rather than spending all of their time chasing bugs.
Myth: You can’t develop cross-platform applications on a Mac.
Fact: Cross-platform development is one of the many strengths of Mac OS X.
Mac OS X is a superior development platform that includes a robust set of developer tools allowing you to develop and test cross-platform applications. With the depth and maturity of the UNIX foundation of Mac OS X and the large number of tools that are shared across many other platforms like Linux and Solaris (and even available on Windows), you have a rich toolbox for creating cross-platform applications.
Myth: Macs don’t run Microsoft Office.
Fact: Macs do run Microsoft Office and Mac Office files are fully compatible with Windows.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X gives you Word, Powerpoint and Excel — all with the same familiar interfaces. Thanks to exclusive features, the Mac versions of these applications actually improve on their Windows counterparts in several areas. Nor do you have worry about file incompatibility when you want to share your Office files with colleagues in the Windows world — all Office files are fully compatible between Mac and Windows, so you can share your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, what have you. Other Microsoft applications such as Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger are available for the Mac, as well. Mac OS X also supports many proprietary protocols, file formats and other Microsoft-specific technologies that enable Macintosh computers to be used with Active Directory and Exchange mail servers and Microsoft’s VPN server.
Fact: Macs are for serious computing and storage.
In addition to the famous iPod, Apple provides a wide range of products and services that enable scientists to do highly complex computational research and achieve quick results. With the Power Mac G5, the Intel-based iMac, and Xserve G5, Apple puts the power and performance of 64-bit, high-performance computing within reach of the bench scientist. Xserve RAID provides massive storage capacity in a rack-optimized enclosure. Xsan, Apple’s 64-bit cluster file system, lets multiple computers concurrently access terabytes of storage on Xserve RAID.
Myth: The Mac is unstable.
Fact: Macs provide a powerful, UNIX-based platform for research.
Don’t let its elegant and easy-to-use interface fool you. Beneath the surface of Mac OS X lies an industrial-strength UNIX foundation. With preemptive multitasking and protected system memory, it’s hard at work to ensure that your computing experience remains free of system crashes and compromised performance. The most widely-distributed UNIX-based operating system, Mac OS X integrates the fine-grained multithreading of the Mach 3.0 kernel and state-of-the-art FreeBSD 5 into Darwin — the open source, UNIX-based foundation of Mac OS X.
Myth: Macs are proprietary.
Fact:Mac OS X is open at the source.
Mac OS X is based on an open source variant of FreeBSD. Developed entirely with openness and interoperability in mind, it incorporates the major open standards for directory services, programming and scripting languages, interprocess communications and arithmetic libraries. Apple hardware also uses industry standard management protocols and physical connectors.
Myth: Limited applications for the Mac.
Fact: Over 12,000 applications are available for Mac OS X and the number continues to grow.
The most important and popular scientific research applications, spanning a wide range of disciplines in the life sciences and physical sciences, are available for UNIX-based Mac OS X. These include a variety of open source, commercial and custom code that give you a full range of tools to acquire, analyze and publish your research data. And the number of applications for Mac OS X keeps on growing.
Myth: Macs won’t fit into my network.
Fact: Mac OS X can talk to every major file server protocol on every major server platform on the market today.
Mac OS X includes the major networking protocols for accessing every major server platform, including Windows, Linux and UNIX. You can browse Windows networks right from the Finder, as well as easily communicate with UNIX NFS file servers. Mac OS X is the most compatible operating system available today. On the server end, whether you have Mac, Windows, UNIX or Linux clients — or any combination thereof — UNIX-based Mac OS X Server provides cross-platform support right out of the box for native file sharing, as well as Apache web server and WebDAV server, POP and IMAP mail, ftp, QuickTime Streaming Server, DNS and DHCP.
Myth: Macs are expensive.
Fact: Apple hardware and software offer tremendous value.
Here are just a few examples: Xserve cluster node delivers the industry’s best value in price per Gigaflop. Xserve RAID with a cost of just over $2 per gigabyte offers a breakthrough price/performance standard for storage deployments in Windows, Linux and Mac operating environments. Xsan delivers an advanced storage area networking (SAN) solution at a fraction of the price of competing systems. Xcode, Mac OS X’s integrated developer environment, is included with the operating system. The Apple Volume License Program offers great cost savings with unlimited client licensing on Mac OS X — you can serve thousands of users without spending additional thousands in licensing fees. And the Power Mac G5 offers dual 64-bit G5 processing power and phenomenal expandability at an extremely competitive price.
Myth: Even with a Mac, I still need a PC on my desk.
Fact: Acquire, analyze and publish data — all on a Mac.
What’s unique about the Mac is its ability to run productivity Mac applications side-by-side with your UNIX scientific applications — X11, Java and command line applications alongside Microsoft Office, your email client and browser. This means you can move your entire workflow to a single Mac system. Not to mention that the Mac is a breeze for new users to learn, while at the same time providing powerful, customizable tools for professionals. Plus, you can easily connect your Mac to any network — whether wired or wireless, Mac-, UNIX- or Windows-based.
Myth: New Mac users and IT staff face a steep learning curve.
Fact: The Mac — it just works.
Ask them — the millions of people who use and love their Macs — why it’s become such an integral part of their lives, and most will tell you that it’s because it’s remarkably easy to use — and it just works. It lets them do what they want to do — their way. For IT staff, Mac OS X Server makes server administration astonishingly simple. An intuitive user interface, advanced security capabilities and directory-based user quotas make it easier than ever to manage and share network resources. The Mac makes system administration so easy you can expand your existing compute infrastructure without increasing your IT staff, who can in turn focus on accomplishing new things rather than spending all of their time chasing bugs.
Myth: You can’t develop cross-platform applications on a Mac.
Fact: Cross-platform development is one of the many strengths of Mac OS X.
Mac OS X is a superior development platform that includes a robust set of developer tools allowing you to develop and test cross-platform applications. With the depth and maturity of the UNIX foundation of Mac OS X and the large number of tools that are shared across many other platforms like Linux and Solaris (and even available on Windows), you have a rich toolbox for creating cross-platform applications.
Myth: Macs don’t run Microsoft Office.
Fact: Macs do run Microsoft Office and Mac Office files are fully compatible with Windows.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X gives you Word, Powerpoint and Excel — all with the same familiar interfaces. Thanks to exclusive features, the Mac versions of these applications actually improve on their Windows counterparts in several areas. Nor do you have worry about file incompatibility when you want to share your Office files with colleagues in the Windows world — all Office files are fully compatible between Mac and Windows, so you can share your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, what have you. Other Microsoft applications such as Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger are available for the Mac, as well. Mac OS X also supports many proprietary protocols, file formats and other Microsoft-specific technologies that enable Macintosh computers to be used with Active Directory and Exchange mail servers and Microsoft’s VPN server.
