What Microsoft OS is best for business?
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So, I've been wondering, what is the Best MS OS for business use? I've dealt a lot with 8 and 8.1, and had nothing with compatibility problems and issues. Surely there must be something better... So what Microsoft Windows Based OS do you guys recommend for general business-class use on a desktop machine? I understand a lot of the merits and cons that come with using Mac OS and Linux, but it you have a good argument on using those, I'd love to hear it! And, while on the subject of Windows, what's your favorite version of Office? I've not really had much experience with anything but Excel, and I've no idea what any of the benefits of the newer versions are.
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I would wager to say that a mix is going to have to be way to go. Windows XP is expired - was a great system decently stable... Windows 7 Pro is going well for us but,.. there are some security issues. I've had people have issues with Windows 8 and 8.1. But partly due to a Touch screen on a Laptop... And that the GUI is much different the previous ones, so there is that learning curve.
My Win7Pro security issue is encryption. It's not native to this version.. so it's something else to invest in, and manage.
There are PROs to going Linux and Mac, especially with open source software. just depends on how much of a MS investment you need.
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Windows 8.1 is really the best. Doing random OSes and random hardware ins just a poor business process.
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So you would suggest prebuilt PC's from companies like HP and such with 8.1 over anything else?
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@Mike-Ralston said:
So you would suggest prebuilt PC's from companies like HP and such with 8.1 over anything else?
Yes. Always for business. White boxes are for gaming and hobby use. For business HP and Dell.
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Now what about a Hackintosh running Windows alongside MacOS?
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Windows 7. I've nothing particularly against Windows 8.1, but I don't see what if offers over 7, other than faster boot time. And pretty much everyone is familiar with the Windows 7 interface, which isn't that much different from XP. I'd rather not make users go through the learning curve of Windows 8 unless I have to. And HP PCs still come pre-installed with 7, so it's convenient to leave it as is rather than re-installing 8.1.
Office, definitely 2010. I can't stand 2013.
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So the consensus is buy 7 or 8 on a prebuilt?
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@Mike-Ralston said:
Now what about a Hackintosh running Windows alongside MacOS?
There is no license for that.
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Not officially, no.
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@Mike-Ralston said:
Not officially, no.
Licenses, by definition, are official. Pirated software is unlicensed.
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@scottalanmiller You don't need to do anything illegal, you can buy a copy of Mac OS, and a copy of Windows.
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@Mike-Ralston said:
@scottalanmiller You don't need to do anything illegal, you can buy a copy of Mac OS, and a copy of Windows.
That's pirating. Completely illegal. Buying something unlicensed isn't buying it. The Mac hardware is required for a license. No different legally than shoplifting. It's using something you didn't pay for. The media is all you are buying. The right to use is quite expensive.
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Last I knew, you could go out and buy a copy of Mac OS directly from Apple.
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@Mike-Ralston said:
Last I knew, you could go out and buy a copy of Mac OS directly from Apple.
That has never been the case. You can buy the media. The license only applies if it is installed on Mac hardware.
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Remember "buying software" means buying a license. The box at the store means nothing. The disk means nothing. Windows is a free download. The license is where the money goes.
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@Mike-Ralston said:
So the consensus is buy 7 or 8 on a prebuilt?
I am still buying 7 on my prebuilt machines "just because." I do agree 8.1 is more stable and secure...my users here live off of short cuts and not really the start menu, so going to 8.1 won't be hard if they still just want shortcuts...I really wish "Threshhold" was coming out this fall...
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I agree with Scott, for a business environment you should go with mainstream manufactured laptops/desktop specifically business models.
As for the OS, most if not all of us should be reimaging the computers as soon as they hit our floor - ditch that OEM installed crap! Moving on - I love Windows 8(.1), but if you have legitimate compatibility issues, then by all means use WIndows 7, but I have yet to find anything that won't run on Windows 8(.1) that will on Windows 7. Granted you may have to ensure you have x86 vs x64, but when you reimage you can take care of that. -
Dash is completely correct. Prebuilt, enterprise hardware with our own, standard images. That's the way to do it for business. Even pretty tiny businesses.
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@Dashrender said:
most if not all of us should be reimaging the computers as soon as they hit our floor - ditch that OEM installed crap!
I've never done that, and have never really understood the reasoning behind it. I can see that creating a custom image might save time if you're setting up dozens of PCs at a time, but like a lot of SMEs I tend to only buy PCs a handful at time, if that. I've had headaches in the past installing the correct drivers after doing a vanilla OS install, whereas the pre-installed OEM image always includes the correct drivers.
I also buy from the bottom end of HP's business PC range. I don't think these models count as enterprise hardware. The range has a much shorter lifecycle, for example, so a model purchased today might be replaced with a different model in 6 months time with different components, making it impractical to use standard images.
So, as usual, I'm probably the odd one out on ML. Well, it's worked for me
