Law Technology

According to an article published yesterday by Roughly Drafted, IBM's Research Information Services division is investigating the possibility of moving a significant numbers of its employees to Macs.  I believe that this information should make a bold statement to attorneys and law firms (particularly larger ones) considering the move to Macs.  The reasons IBM gave for this move are:

• Macs are less prone to security issues.
• Macs are widely used in the academic world with which IBM Research has close ties.
• Many new company hires have said they're more comfortable with Macs and would prefer to use them than their ThinkPads.

Initially, twenty-four MacBook Pros were distributed to researchers between October 2007 and January 2008 for use as their primary notebook, with the employees' existing ThinkPads acting as backups if needed.  Check out the following (not surprising) statistics:

• 86% of pilot users requested to keep using their Macs.
• 18 of 22 users said that the Mac offered a ?better or best experience? compared to their existing computer, one rated it ?equal or good,? and three said the Mac offered a ?worse experience.?
• Seven reported having no or marginal prior knowledge of using Macs, while 15 reported having moderate or expert knowledge of the platform.

The source articles referenced below include many comments from the pilot program participants. Many of these statements are similar to the ones that are made by attorneys who have "seen the light" and made the switch themselves.  Consider the following comments:

• "I commend IBM on taking this bold step in providing an alternative to Windows.  It will definitely allow us to think different."
• "I have been a true PC stalwart for 2+ decades, but after trying Vista, I?m ready for a change."
• When presenting at customer or external meetings, I have been greeted with the 'wow factor.' 'Where's the ThinkPad, IBM uses Apples now?'"
• "This can free us from the Windows stranglehold."
• "It has been easier learning the Mac than learning Vista."
• "The ability to run Windows XP in a VM under Parallels is a great feature."

Sources:  "IBM Launches Pilot Program for Migrating to Macs" by Daniel Eran Dilger, published at Roughly Drafted Magazine; "IBM Launches Internal Pilot Program to Test Migration to Macs" by Katie Marsal, published at AppleInsider; "IBM Division Investigates Corporate Mac Migration Feasibility" by Jeff Longo, published at MacRumors.