Re: [WinMac] MS Office differences between platforms (was: Re: [WinMac]
Jeff Johnson(jjohnson[at]wi.net)
Wed, 28 Jul 1999 09:29:58 -0400
Interesting read comparing Access to Filemaker in the March 23, 1999 on-line
version of Computer Currents:
"The Un-Microsoft Office - Is there life without Microsoft?"
http://www.currents.net/magazine/national/1706/cov51706.html
>>> MS Access just does not exist for the Mac and probably never will
>>>
>>> Or you could buy Filemaker Pro for both platforms, actually
>>> get some cross-platform functionality, and get some work done.
>>>
>>> We use FM for both platforms here. Relational if you need it
>>> and the current versions read SQL. You don't have to be
>>> a computer geek to organize sophisticated datebases and your
>>> users achieve greater independence.
>>
>> There are five reasons why that is not a viable option for me and they
>> probably apply to many other businesses as well.
>>
>> The first one is pricing. MS Access is, "free" because it comes with
>> MS Office Pro. FileMaker Pro costs money above the basic cost of our
>> office productivity standard product. Yes the basic MS Office for the PC
>> costs less than MS Office Pro, however the perception is that Access is
>> free while FileMaker costs money and the perception is the reality.
>> The second one is Microsoft. We don't trust Microsoft to test the
>> next release of Windows with any other vendor's products completely,
>> especially competitor's products. We do believe that Microsoft would
>> release a new Service Pack which breaks their competitor's products and
>> then we would be in a situation where we don't have anything that works
>> because we chose not to use Microsoft's solutions. This may or may not be
>> true, however this has been brought up as a point in formal meetings where
>> we were deciding what products to use as our standards!
>> The third one is the fact that FileMaker only reads SQL, it can't
>> write to a SQL server and we're implementing MS SQL Server in the near
>> future. That means when we install SQL Server our default database
>> application won't be able to write to the databases that we store on it.
>> The fourth reason is because FileMaker is an Apple product. Apple's
>> public relations/marketing departments have made it extremely difficult to
>> be taken seriously if you suggest an Apple solution for anything in many
>> parts of corporate America. I happen to work in one of those organizations
>> where the attitude is, "get with the times, Apple's history." Apple is
>> improving their image, but it's going to take years for them to overcome
>> that stereotype.
>> The fifth reason is because, "everyone else is using Access."
>> Everyone else knows what's best so we're following the crowd.
>>
>> As for myself, I own and use FileMaker Pro 4.1 at home and when I do
>> consulting. It's just at work where Access is the only viable choice, and
>> only one of the reasons why it isn't a viable choice is technologically
>> based.
>>
>> Tim Scoff
>> casper@nb.net
>>
>> "Trust the computer industry to shorten "Year 2000" to Y2K. It was this
>> kind of thinking that caused the problem in the first place."
>
> --
> Jeff Johnson
> Technology Coordinator
> Greendale School District
> Greendale WI 53217
* Windows-MacOS Cooperation List *
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on Wed Jul 28 1999 - 06:39:29 PDT
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