Mac compatibility in a dealership

[Fullsend]

Hi everyone,
So i am wondering about Mac compatibility inside a dealer and wonder if anyone else is running Mac OS. I myself daily a MBP 16” M2 and use it for almost all my work since I am in marketing.

We currently are using CDK as our DMS and are swiching to PBS Q1 2024.

I wanted to update the look of our front reception and now we ordered a IMac M1. I hated the look of the cheap looking HP all in ones.

Has anyone tried CDK or PBS on Mac? Or tried to integrate Mac OS into a dealership?

 

[Dan Sayer]

Hi everyone,
So i am wondering about Mac compatibility inside a dealer and wonder if anyone else is running Mac OS. I myself daily a MBP 16” M2 and use it for almost all my work since I am in marketing.

We currently are using CDK as our DMS and are swiching to PBS Q1 2024.

I wanted to update the look of our front reception and now we ordered a IMac M1. I hated the look of the cheap looking HP all in ones.

Has anyone tried CDK or PBS on Mac? Or tried to integrate Mac OS into a dealership?

I've been running on Mac in retail since 2018 (was running on vendor-side prior) with no issues other than just some Excel limitations while on an M1 which is a known issue (works better on Intel). When we had a Sales BDC they could choose their preference, half were on MacBook Air M1's with no issues and the other half on Lenovo ThinkPad's (Tekion, VinSolutions, Volie). The PC users were the ones needing IT support on occasion. We migrated to Office 360 as an auto group a couple years ago and then squashed any more Mac users and I've since moved everyone on a Mac off. I, our CPO, and some of the IT guys are the only ones still carrying Mac with no issues. I have a '19 Pro i9 that just sits and do most everything on a base '20 Air M1 with no issues since I'm not rendering video much any more.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I switched to a Mac somewhere around 2007. Used to run Windows through a program called Parallels to access CDK (ADP then). Our IT Director at that time wasn't a Mac fan, but through other execs wanting to switch he eventually gave in. Last I heard he started using a Mac himself.

Running Windows on a Mac to access archaic and/or short-sighted technologies isn't hard at all. But do us all a favor and let those archaic and/or short-sighted technologies know how much they suck in the modern world.

 

[Fullsend]

I switched to a Mac somewhere around 2007. Used to run Windows through a program called Parallels to access CDK (ADP then). Our IT Director at that time wasn't a Mac fan, but through other execs wanting to switch he eventually gave in. Last I heard he started using a Mac himself.

Running Windows on a Mac to access archaic and/or short-sighted technologies isn't hard at all. But do us all a favor and let those archaic and/or short-sighted technologies know how much they suck in the modern world.

Well, I am happy to report that I got it working! Brand new M1 IMac. I run parallels for CDK and it works amazing. I seem to have forgotten to install one ADP software so accepting payment does not work. So I am gonna tackle that next. But the workaround is frustrating because it's dumb I even have to do it. So the service sends a PHP packet to check OS, But Windows on ARM is not part of the list of verified OS. A hard Check which means if this check does not pass do not run. All because CDK refuses to rebuild their code base like PBS. I have been on 4 calls with CDK and they blamed the Mac and the OS. All that needed to be done was to change one word. So I told them in the last call I had with them to change our server from a "Hard" requirement to a "Soft" one. The guy even said that he does not think they will do that.

Workaround for CDK on MAC
1. Use Parallels
2. Download Fiddler to intercept the packet and change one line from "Hard" to "Soft".

Thats it. No changes on the Regedit, and no additional drivers. In other words... Yes! you can install it on a M1(ARM) based chip and it will function just the same.

Sidenote
-Technically not support the latest build of Windows 11 and Windows 11 is not listed as compatible. Only Windows 10.
-It runs on .Net 1.1 so expect Zero security since 1.1 came out in 2003 and has long since lost security updates.
-Runs a version of Acrobat that is so old you can't download it from Adobe. (2008)
-Runs on IE! So basically it runs in a comablity mode.
-Must be MS-DOS based because it seems to have an emulator for MS-DOS

 

[macworks]

Has anyone else been successful with CDK on Apple Silicon?

 

[Protector]

I totally get where you're coming from with integrating Macs into a dealership. I'm in a similar boat—I use a MacBook Pro 16” M2 for all my marketing tasks. When we were revamping our reception area, I decided to go with an iMac M1 too.

 

[Carsten]

Just buy a bunch of mac minis and recycle the monitors that you already probably have.

 

[Protector]

I totally get where you're coming from with integrating Macs into a dealership. I'm in a similar boat—I use a MacBook Pro 16” M2 for all my marketing tasks. When we were revamping our reception area, I decided to go with an iMac M1 too.

The sleek design fits perfectly, and it looks way better than the HP all-in-ones we had before. As for software, we're currently using CDK as our DMS and plan to switch to PBS next year. Running CDK on my Mac has been pretty smooth via browser access. I haven't tried PBS on Mac yet, but I'm hoping it'll be just as seamless. If anyone else is navigating this transition, I'd love to hear how you're managing. By the way, if you're in need of Windows keys, there's a site that sells them cheaply **removed link** It could be handy if you need to run any Windows-specific apps in a VM. Looking forward to hearing your experiences with Macs in the dealership.

 

[ssotop]

Well, I am happy to report that I got it working! Brand new M1 IMac. I run parallels for CDK and it works amazing. I seem to have forgotten to install one ADP software so accepting payment does not work. So I am gonna tackle that next. But the workaround is frustrating because it's dumb I even have to do it. So the service sends a PHP packet to check OS, But Windows on ARM is not part of the list of verified OS. A hard Check which means if this check does not pass do not run. All because CDK refuses to rebuild their code base like PBS. I have been on 4 calls with CDK and they blamed the Mac and the OS. All that needed to be done was to change one word. So I told them in the last call I had with them to change our server from a "Hard" requirement to a "Soft" one. The guy even said that he does not think they will do that.

Workaround for CDK on MAC
1. Use Parallels
2. Download Fiddler to intercept the packet and change one line from "Hard" to "Soft".

Thats it. No changes on the Regedit, and no additional drivers. In other words... Yes! you can install it on a M1(ARM) based chip and it will function just the same.

Sidenote
-Technically not support the latest build of Windows 11 and Windows 11 is not listed as compatible. Only Windows 10.
-It runs on .Net 1.1 so expect Zero security since 1.1 came out in 2003 and has long since lost security updates.
-Runs a version of Acrobat that is so old you can't download it from Adobe. (2008)
-Runs on IE! So basically it runs in a comablity mode.
-Must be MS-DOS based because it seems to have an emulator for MS-DOS

Hey, I hope you are doing well.

Do you mind sharing with me what has to be done in Fiddler? I am completely lost there.

Thank you in advance!

 

[EdmanBinn]

The sleek design fits perfectly, and it looks way better than the HP all-in-ones we had before. As for software, we're currently using CDK as our DMS and plan to switch to PBS next year. Running CDK on my Mac has been pretty smooth via browser access. I haven't tried PBS on Mac yet, but I'm hoping it'll be just as seamless. If anyone else is navigating this transition, I'd love to hear how you're managing. By the way, if you're in need of Windows keys, there's a site that sells them cheaply **removed link** It could be handy if you need to run any Windows-specific apps in a VM. Looking forward to hearing your experiences with Macs in the dealership.



I know for sure that CDK and PBS can run on Mac through browsers such as Safari or Chrome. Switching to Imac is a great decision for you. If something doesn’t install, you can still use the web version. I had only one problem, I couldn't install a very important program. I read the forum and was advised to do a factory reset macbook, read how to do it correctly https://moonlock.com/factory-reset-macbook and did it strictly according to the instructions. The problem was immediately resolved. I don't know what the problem really was. Most likely just some kind of lag.

Everything went smoothly with my MacBook too. In fact, this is top technology. Rarely do problems happen with it or something does not start.