Making a Mac work in a dealership

[JIversDCH]

I just hope more and more things move to the web as connections get faster and faster so that I don't have to worry about what OS is running on my computer. I have used Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, etc., and they're all fine with me, though each has good and bad points, but there are still a few things that I need to do that only run on Windows.

As far as the DMS software, I have a feeling that soon you will be able to have your DMS on the web, encrypted, and not have to worry about Windows vs Mac, at least for that issue.

 

[Ghen (blog)]

Yeah yeah yeah. Mac whatever. You won't see them in my dealership though because I won't support them. If someone wants to be different I'll install Linux. Linux works exactly like a Mac except it doesn't hide everything and treat you like your grandma (your words, reformed!)

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Ha ha Ghen - spoken like a true IT Director!

I had to pull the Snyder-family card in order to get approval to use my Mac. And then I told our IT department I didn't want them to support it. So, I'm my own support.

 

[Timothy Martell]

Great article Alex. I made the switch back in August of 06. Started with our first 24" intel iMac. Today we have over 20 Mac's in the showroom. The worst IT problem we've had since that switch was the cleaning crew knocking the printer plug out of the socket and no one could understand why they couldn't print! That will teach me to go on vacation!

Alex, I think one aspect you fail to consider in the cost comparison are IT costs! We no longer need a full time in house IT professional! (Sorry Ghen) How much more expensive is a PC when you ad a $70k plus demo, plus benefits/year employee to the equation? I have an old PowerMac G5 at home set up as a server and it tasks jobs like software updates and pushes everything out over night. Rarely a need for manual maintenance. They just work! And that is the big difference. No more spyware and antivirus...it just works right every time.

Alex, I would recommend you familiarize yourself with iWork. It's a great product and once you unlearn Office, you will not want to go back. Again the seamless integration between programs is a stand out here and it is more robust with each product upgrade.

Our newest addition was a 17" Macbook Pro and a 27" Quad Core i7 - high def video is on it's way! Stay tuned!

 

[Mark]

I started using a Mac in-dealership about 4 years ago, and that has now grown to my personal machine, plus 8 iMacs in our stores for our photo process.

We shoot all of our new and used cars in photo studios in house, with lot technicians doing all of the work. The combination of Automator + Aperture to run sophisticated workflows giving us consistent results to do all of our photos in-house vs a third party vendor will save us tens of thousands of dollars. Not to mention put a hell of a lot better product out for our customers.

IT support has been a minor issue - our IT staff doesn't want to support our Macs which leaves me to do it - but I might get 1-2 support requests a month so not overwhelming by any means.

I run Windows under Parallels for our Reynolds DMS access, Reynolds CRM (IE only), and for IE web development usability & site debugging for IE's non-standards compliance.

And for Ghen - most every thing you'd ever need admin access to is available in the GUI, and a Terminal window with root access if you really need it are easily accessible.

 

[Ghen (blog)]

$70k plus demo, plus benefits/year employee

Holy crap, I'm getting screwed.. Where's my money and demo??! LOL.

 

[Evan Carroll]

With a little bit of know how and WINE (www.winehq.com) you can run most versions of EraLink fairly effectively. This might eliminate the need to run windows through a VM.

 

[Mark]

@Evan you're probably right. If EraLink is all someone needs, WINE is a good solution that only seems to be getting better. Now that DarWINE got rolled into WINE, and .dmg packages in beta (winebottler) - that should be a realistic solution for even the less technically inclined within a few months.

 

[Timothy Martell]

LOL Sorry Ghen! Cost of living is high up here in MA!

 

[John]

I like the article, but one thing that isn't touched on are the lack of administrator controls to the desktop. When you are administering Windows computer, Active Directory combined with group policies provides invaluable time saving tools, like keeping a consistent desktop background, screensaver, configuring security policies, configuring all the trusted sites, IE security settings. Apple's server product is good and getting better, but with the vast majority of DMS and manufacturer sites requiring IE, I think larger dealerships full of Macs is a bit of a pipe dream. With that said, I run a hybrid approach where 3-4 users have a Mac for specific purposes (Photoshop/Quark eXpress/iMovie/etc.). They run Parallels with XP for all their Microsoft necessities, but even them as more technically savvy users run into issues. I had one user whose HP printer was incompatible with OSX, and another who forgets to switch devices between OSX and Windows when they need to open a DVD. Multiply those support issues out to a few hundred users, and I'll pass. I think that the automotive dealership of today can get some great benefits from using Mac, but are better served with Windows for overall support and compatibility.