Longtime Mac Specialist & Learning Windows
I have been using Apple product since the mid 1980s. Been also professionally providing technical support on the Mac platform for the same time. With jobs more scare for providing tech support on Macs, I am thinking about learning the insides and outsides of Windows XP and Vista just as a backup in case my Mac tech support needs dry up locally.
That being said, I am not interested in leaving the Mac platform as I love it dearly but need to face it that for more job opportunities, I should learn Windows also. So, I have been thinking about buying a newer Intel based Mac and getting Parallels so I can still use OS X for day to day but then switch to Windows to tinker.
My question is this. Would learning how to "tech support and trouble-shoot" Windows XP and Vista on a Intel Mac using Parallels be that much different than getting say a Dell system. I would think doing this under Parallels adds more possible trouble-shooting to learn versus having a Dell that is made to run Windows instead.
I guess I am trying to figure out if I can learn to provide tech services for Windows by doing this Parallels route or would it be better to get a Dell or some other PC so it is 100% native and I don't have this extra Parallels in the way that may make it harder to learn or not give me the same experience for possible things to trouble-shoot.
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks in advance.
tj
*I also hope this is the right forum to ask this question.....
That being said, I am not interested in leaving the Mac platform as I love it dearly but need to face it that for more job opportunities, I should learn Windows also. So, I have been thinking about buying a newer Intel based Mac and getting Parallels so I can still use OS X for day to day but then switch to Windows to tinker.
My question is this. Would learning how to "tech support and trouble-shoot" Windows XP and Vista on a Intel Mac using Parallels be that much different than getting say a Dell system. I would think doing this under Parallels adds more possible trouble-shooting to learn versus having a Dell that is made to run Windows instead.
I guess I am trying to figure out if I can learn to provide tech services for Windows by doing this Parallels route or would it be better to get a Dell or some other PC so it is 100% native and I don't have this extra Parallels in the way that may make it harder to learn or not give me the same experience for possible things to trouble-shoot.
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks in advance.
tj
*I also hope this is the right forum to ask this question.....
Comments
I would start out with parallels and learn windows basics. That may be all you need but then again there are driver and hw issues to deal with on that platform. I know at my business which runs on windows machines, our biggest problems are network related. That and spyware, virus contaminations.
I'm surprised that you are finding less need for your services given that the Mac market share has steadily increased over the last few years. I guess Macs are less trouble than pcs.
I would start out with parallels and learn windows basics. That may be all you need but then again there are driver and hw issues to deal with on that platform. I know at my business which runs on windows machines, our biggest problems are network related. That and spyware, virus contaminations.
I actually run my own business. Provide Apple Mac based POS systems. I have one main customer that has a franchise so things are fine but if that business were to dry up, I would need to jump ship and do something else. Where I live not much Mac based. I am about an hour drive to Sacramento so I would guess there is some down there but still, Apple has such a small piece of the business pie that most job ads for tech services are PC I would bet. Not often I see something that says Mac specialist needed. I am sure they are out there but...
Anyway, just kind of looking to the future if I indeed need to jump ship business wise.
tj
I actually run my own business. Provide Apple Mac based POS systems. I have one main customer that has a franchise so things are fine but if that business were to dry up, I would need to jump ship and do something else. Where I live not much Mac based. I am about an hour drive to Sacramento so I would guess there is some down there but still, Apple has such a small piece of the business pie that most job ads for tech services are PC I would bet. Not often I see something that says Mac specialist needed. I am sure they are out there but...
Anyway, just kind of looking to the future if I indeed need to jump ship business wise.
tj
Well I hope things work out for you. If you do start to provide tech services for pcs you'll definitely have plenty of work.
I don't even try to trouble shoot our pcs anymore. I tell my staff to just call our tech support guy.
Faulty drivers will usually give you BSOD's, bad RAM will make the system unstable, other hardware errors can give you corrupted file warnings at start up, and dealing with a few BIOS quirks as well. Considering Macs can have have hardware faults, it wouldn't be that different for some things.
My biggest complaint aren't the PC's, but some of the people that use them.
It might also help to look into some MCSE stuff too.
Parallels (or any VM, for that matter), isn't a substitute for the real thing. Parallels has issues with printing that you wouldn't see on a PC, nor does it support real hardware, or other things that may go wrong - a bad video driver, faulty fan, failing RAM or cd-rom, etc
Faulty drivers will usually give you BSOD's, bad RAM will make the system unstable, other hardware errors can give you corrupted file warnings at start up, and dealing with a few BIOS quirks as well. Considering Macs can have have hardware faults, it wouldn't be that different for some things.
My biggest complaint aren't the PC's, but some of the people that use them.
It might also help to look into some MCSE stuff too.
What is MCSE stuff?
Thanks for the word. That was my thinking that for learning the actual tech support side for getting a down system back up or trouble-shooting issues doing the Parallels thing might not be the best route.
I wonder if they make a Windows Tech Support book for Dummies. hehehe
tj
What is MCSE stuff?
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
And I would also recommend Boot Camp