Coordinates: Oliver Muoto, oliver@epicentric.com

A Mac-Only Shop

Can Macintoshes scale up and serve established businesses as well as startups? They certainly can, insists Harold Mann, 32, principal of Mann Consulting. He should know. His 24-person high-tech consulting firm, which has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, runs entirely on Macintoshes. And for many of Mann's clients -- which include DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox -- the Mac remains the computer of choice.

"We have a lot of clients in the entertainment and advertising industries, which have always been Mac-heavy," says Mann. "At first, Macs were the only platform that supplied the desktop-publishing tools that we needed. But now it's not just the tools that make a difference -- it's also the people who use those tools."

In other words, people who have grown accustomed to Macs want to stay with Macs; training them to work on PCs is expensive and often counterproductive. "If a neurosurgeon prefers to use a particular type of scalpel," says Mann, "you don't want to prevent her from using her tool of choice."

Mann installs the blue desktop Power Mac G3s for his design-heavy clients. Though similar in many ways to older Macs, the G3 is faster (with a processing speed of up to 400 MHz), more expandable (with three PCI slots and two USB ports), and more powerful (with 1 GB of SDRAM).

For networking Macs with PCs, Mann uses Thursby Software Systems Inc.'s utility, Dave, which enables Macs to operate on PC networks that run Microsoft NT. For Mac users who need to run business applications on cross-platform networks, Mann recommends the database software FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Server.

"With FileMaker running on one Mac server, a business can access and run all of its work-in-progress reports, take care of administrative tasks like storing files, forms, and records, and do a whole range of other back-end tasks," says Mann. "I have clients who are scrapping their large-scale, custom-programming projects in favor of FileMaker Pro."

But ultimately, it is the Web that will do the most to solve Mac users' woes. "If you can get fast Internet access on every computer in your office, you'll be poised to be extremely productive -- because all companies are moving their business models to the Web."

When that move is complete, Mac users will finally enjoy full citizenship in the world of work. In the meantime, they can still get pretty close.

Coordinates: Harold Mann, hmann@mann.com

Rebecca Lynn Eisenberg (mars@well.com) is a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and for CBS Marketwatch. She writes, speaks, and consults widely on Internet and high-tech business issues.

Action Item: Buy Macs

Lust for a Mac, but can't decide which one to buy? Check out the spectrum of Mac products at Apple's Web site (www.apple.com), and then read the reviews at Macworld Online Buyer's Guide (www.macworld.com/buyers), which doles out advice and information for professional, casual, and mobile Mac users.

Once you've decided which flavor you prefer, head to CNet Shopper.com (www.shopper.com) to buy a new machine, or to AuctionMac.com (www.auction mac.com) to bid on a used Mac. And to keep up with the latest product releases, check out VersionTracker (www.versiontracker.com), which issues reviews of both hardware and software. (You can sign up to receive email whenever updates become available.)

Sidebar: Mac Apps

A computer is only as useful as the soft-ware that runs on it. These utilities and applications will help you arm your Mac to compete in a PC world.

Microsoft Office 98: Macintosh Edition is a must-have "productivity suite" for creating files and documents that are readable by both Macs and PCs.

Coordinates: $499 (upgrade: $299). Microsoft Corp., www.microsoft.com/mac

MacLinkPlus Deluxe: features all of the conversion utilities that Microsoft left out of Office 98.

Coordinates: $99. DataViz Inc., www.dataviz.com

BBEdit: can open text files that even Microsoft Office cannot identify.

Coordinates: $119. Bare Bones Software, Inc., www.barebones.com

Dave V2.:1 allows Macintosh computers to participate as full citizens on PC networks, even if other computers are running Windows NT.

Coordinates: $149. Thursby Software Systems Inc., www.thursby.com/dave2

RAM Doubler 8: is brain food for the Mac, enabling the machine to run up to three times as many applications as it normally does.

Coordinates: $59.95. Connectix Corp., www.connectix.com