Microsoft is basically following what Apple and Google have already done and got little attention from it.
What little data-gathering that Apple has done not only pales in comparison with the massive data-suck that is going on in MS OSes now.
And Apple is very up-front about what they do (and more importantly, don't) collect, what they do with it, and most importantly, How to Turn It OFF. Completely..
Sorry, but they remain the only platform which does not (and never will) depend on software revenues (and/or the data extracted thereby). In fact, they discovered that the opposite philosophy can be a powerful selling-point.
And before you start whining about "cost", the question becomes "How much value do you place on your Privacy? The very existence of this Article (and the many other related ones on/. and other sites) says to me that, for geeks at least, Privacy is a very important consideration.
Microsoft is just helping you put into practice the (your) data wants to be free thing.
So, if that's true, why don't we all just cause crash after crash, filling up their servers and bandwidth until they are forced to rethink their mass data collection strategy?
The real irony is that only paranoid loons like Stallman actually care about the CEIP. The rest of us who are sane and intelligent don't give a shit because it's not a problem. I have no problem with Microsoft collecting data about how I use my computer because they still have no clue who I am or the full details of what I'm doing.
That's cute. Look, everybody! Someone who is actually naive enough to believe that's all Microsoft is doing!
Here's a clue from the clue-box: Do you really think they would go to all the trouble that they have, just to see if they can "Improve the Experience"?
Now... before anyone says, "yeah but stuff doesn't 'just work' on Linux either" ---- I know that. But I also know how much I paid for Linux. And if I'm good enough at it, I'm free to "fix stuff" and "make stuff work" I've done so many times. (Sure there are limits, the kernel is not so easy to fix... but still... you at least have full source access.)
Another fallacious "free" concept: "Linux is only free if your time is."
Personally, I want to work with my computer, not on my computer. I have enough of the former writing Windows Applications during the day for work. So when I come home, the very last thing I want to do is fiddle-fart around with Linux just to achieve a modicum of usability, or suffer the slings and arrows of even more Windows crap, and now New and Improved built-in Spyware! So, check my username and get a clue as to what I enjoy as an alternative to either...
with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
That's because pretty near no one used it except Apple themselves.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
I don't know either.
with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
That's because pretty near no one used it except Apple themselves.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
I don't know either.
I think I read that one of the BSD variants has adopted it. But after I have asked and asked the question about why no Linux distro has forked it, all I get is "systemd sucks" type comments, or the chirping of crickets.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that Google passed Apple as the largest single contributor (incrementally, at least, not cumulatively) somewhere in the 3.5 to 3.7 time frame. A lot of the Apple compiler team has been busy with Swift.
That's good; but I think that Apple still deserves a LOT of credit for getting LLVM off the ground. Actually, I thought they had either developed it themselves, or bought it, like they did CUPS.
I think you post proves that eventually there will be an Apple/Systemd merger, and they will rule the world. It is their destiny.
Too late. They created launchd, which preceded systemd by many years, and released it as Open Source to the world. It has been successfully running in OS X systems since OS X 10.4 (Tiger), with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
It's posts like this that have me absolutely in awe of Apple (from over here on my Fedora desktop).
The summary doesn't even mention them. I mean sure, they use LLVM, and I believe are its biggest contributors, but the story has little to do with them. Still though, one of the first comments is a broad, angry Apple rant. It's amazing. I'm not sure any other brand, in any other industry has that. If say, Ford owned a stake in a tire company, would stories about those tires get "well finally Ford will start producing cars instead of door stops?" I really doubt it.
Maybe OSX won't be such a slow piece of dog shit that finally compiles OpenMP stuff. Why does Apple assume that all people use their door stops for is DJing? I would include web development, but thanks to many broken ruby gems, etc. I don't think that is true either. At some point Apple has to do real testing eventually?
They don't seem to test usability of user interfaces, compatibility, or basic functions.
Interesting that you would claim that OS X is slow; yet then you claim that Apple assumes that their machines are used only for DJing (which they do handily own the market in, along with DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) use). Interesting, because both of those applications are "Real Time" processes, that not only require 100% reliability, but also attributes such as excellent load and interrupt handling, fluid UIs and rapid responsiveness, not only to the User, but also I/O Requests, Storage and Networking queues, memory and processor bandwidth, etc, etc. You know, all the things that Windows and Linux continually fail at.
Oh, and as far as User Interfaces, Apple literally wrote the book decades ago on GUI design and useability (Apple Human Interface Guidelines).
That's been around for years, it is MAINLY for remote support and what limited functionality it can do with software packages and changing, locking down, and management settings is very minimal. No doubt it works great in a small environment like a classroom or maybe even a small campus where support is the main goal but it is no comparison to what is available in the world for managing Windows machines.
When you are part of a team of 2 that manages (not talking about tier 1 and 2 support when users have problems) 1000 desktops and laptops around the world, let me know which methods you think are better.
Try seamlessly moving the location of their network synchronized home directory to another storage/network location for practice
I mentioned that it had been around for years; but I don't agree with one other word of your post.
It is precisely designed to admin huge numbers of Macs, as well as Windows and Linux machines, anywhere they can be reached, including over the internet. It even includes switchable AES encryption for network traffic; so even if a VPN is not available, you can safely admin remote systems. That's a far cry from your assertions.
Also, far from your claims that ARD is mainly for "remote support" (which is actually such a broad term that I cannot discern what you really mean); but assuming you mean like Citrix' "GoToAssist", which us so wonderful you can't even cut and paste between the admin and the target, and only works between one pair of endpoints per session, or something like Goverlan, which is nowhere near as capable as ARD, and is far more expensive, or Microsoft's RSAT, which is only for Servers, or DameWare, which seems about equal to ARD, at least for Windows systems; but which would be $700 for your hypothetical two-technician setup, vs. $160 for ARD for the same two licenses, I would say that, with these specs, and a price of only $79 for unlimited Client systems, ARD neatly wins, hands down.
But since a video is worth 1,000 x 30 x VideoLengthInSeconds words, here is a nice 939 second video (that's 28,170,000 words-worth) showing ARD in action.
And, finally, addressing your "challenge": Since you can setup an Account for Remote Admin, and because you can either Remotely Run the Terminal App and/or Run Command Line scripts on the Remote machine, moving someone's Home Folder should be as simple as this.
Most people who work in enterprises don't work in IT so they don't care about admin tools etc. Most people work in marketing, sales, accounting, finance, logistics or manufacturing and all the software for all those departments runs on Windows. Middle market accounting software for Mac? Does not exist. Manufacturing/inventory control software for Mac? Nope. Contractor estimating/job costing? You get the picture.
ORLY?
Twenty years ago, that was definitely the case. Not anymore. Here are but a few examples:
Manufacturing/Inventory Control/ERP (VERY Robust, been around for years. Cross-Platform, Semi-Open Source) I write ERP software for a living, and this is GOOD stuff!!!
Job Costing. XTuple does that, too; but here is but one example: A highly-rated Job Costing/Estimating package that is cross platform. Job Costing software tends to be more "vertical"; so I would have to point you to an agregator site, like this one.
Now, don't think these are the ONLY solutions in each of these categories; because they aren't. They are just ones that were easy to find, and/or that I was familiar with on some level. A bit of poking around will quickly show that there are many other alternatives in most, if not all, of these categories.
Does Windows still have the upper-hand when it comes to business Applications? Without a doubt; but that picture has seriously been changing over the past decade, and as Macs start to encroach more and more in the business world, there will certainly be more attention paid to the platform by business Application Publishers. And in another decade, your post may very well be simply a joke.
Times change; a few decades ago, CP/M was supposed to be the "business" OS but there was no "business software" available. A couple of decades ago, businesses, including Apple itself, ran primarily custom-built business software on AS/400s and the like. Who's to say what the future holds?
Unless Apple comes up with some real give away hardware deals. They will never gain much in enterprise as a whole.
Since a lot of companies now have BYOD programs, Apple doesn't have to suck corporate cock like Dell and HP do. The employees like their Apple products so much THEY pay for them out of their OWN pockets.
This is where I don't see Microsoft doing enough, but I still do not see enterprise leaving Windows for OS X or IOS in droves.
Actually, it's much more quiet than that. More like a steady drip. But just like those steady drips that you see on nature-based TV shows, when enough time goes by, you look up and that little drip has carved a thousand-foot canyon. Except in this case, the canyon is only going to take about a decade, and its well underway even as I type.
What is frustrating now, though, is while they have (probably sensibly) stopped pretending to make server grade hardware, they still won't 'bless' one of the commonly used hyper visors to run OSX for any price.
Actually, they have; they're just REALLY quiet about it.
There is ONE (and only one) version of OS X that is licensed for virtualization, and it just so happens to be OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) SERVER. In fact, they still offer a Retail version of that on DVD for $19. You just have to call Apple Support and know what to ask for; but I know someone who has ordered it as recent as a few months ago, and it is still listed with their Customer Service persons an an Active, Order-able part.
The Apple Part Number for this magic is: MC588Z/A . Call 800.692.7753 and tell them you want to order that Part. $19.99 and its all yours. And legal.
It always amuses me when I see Apple talk about the enterprise space because they have done such a shit job supporting OS-X for the enterprise for so long. You can make it work, of course, and there are plenty of 3rd party tools, many very expensive, to help but it is all your own doing. Apple themselves seem to view each device as an island, property of a single consumer to be used as a toy and thrown away when the next shiny toy comes along.
Then explain, for example, THIS and THIS (the latter having existed for well over a decade, and which can not only be used to admin however many Macs you can throw at it; but also Windows and Linux systems). Oh, and the Administraton Console for ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) costs a whopping $69. The Client-side is free. Hardly "expensive".
So, the only reason your think there isn't any "corporate" support for Apple systems/devices is because you haven't bothered to look for the two minutes it took to find them.
This press release is another meaningless Apple Tries To Wear A Suit And Tie tome.
I don't know how long, or how closely, you have been following Apple news. But to those who have been watching, this is one of the extremely rare times you will find an "Apple in business"-type story. In fact, if you wanted solid proof that Steve Jobs has left the building, this is it.
Under Jobs, Apple blatantly ignored the business-end of its business. Witness the fact that Jobs basically starved the Server version of OS X, and the hardware to run it on, until the hardware was killed-off outright, and OS X Server became just a package of utilities to be added to OS X "client".
But Apple isn't stupid. The massive influx of iOS devices (and Macs, too) in business environments has (finally!!!!) made them sit-up-and-take-notice.
Under Jobs, one of Apple's mantras was that "IBM was teh evilz!" and represented everything that Apple was not. However, as I said above, the BYOD movement in corporate America (and in other places, too) has caused many, many, many Apple products to spend at least part of their days being part of corporate networks, working in Exchange-Based email/calendaring environments, and so forth.
So, while not exactly enjoying that suit-and-tie, Apple is finding ways to make their products work, and even excel, in the business world.
Bottom line: Watch out Windows; because Apple has quietly been displacing your foothold in business, and in an increasing number of small businesses, there isn't a Windows computer to be found. Don't believe it? Watch Shark Tank, The Profit, and other "Millionaire-Maker" type shows, and just pay attention to the percentage of (usually covered-over) Apple Logos and OS X Desktop screenshots there are. It's truly amazing. And because the Logos are covered over, you can be assured that Apple isn't providing those computers as "set dressing".
So, there really is change in the air, particularly in "young" businesses. And that change is moving solidly in Apple's direction.
And BTW, I don't think I have EVER seen a Linux system on TV, other than a program that was specifically about Linux, or when they wanted to show a "Hacker" system (like on Mr. Robot). Never. And never on one of the "Millionaire-maker" shows.
When a group of 2 desktop engineers can manage 1000+ Apple computers (update and tweak trivial things, install and manage packages, patches, new software, functionality, manage encryption and removable drive access, tweaks etc) around the world from their desk, Apple will take over in the enterprise. Until then, it will be people using their Apple with Citrix or some other method to access a corporate virtual desktop or a sandboxed app delivery system remotely running.
You're in luck! That day is Today! (or actually, about a decade or so ago).
ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) is a SPECTACULAR way to manage a group of Macs. I think it actually started more as a way to monitor/manage classrooms-full of Macs (in fact, they used to have a view (maybe still do) in the ARD Management Console that shows a real-time view of however-many Macs you want at a time, and you can "zoom in" on one to do stuff/chat with its User. Think the old-skool "Language Labs", where the teacher could monitor/talk with each student directly over their headsets); but, over the years, ARD has grown into a full-fledged remote management and deployment system that the Windows and Linux admins should be so lucky as to have at their disposal.
Take a few minutes and really explore all the tabs on the above-linked Page. I think you will agree that this is a very robust and well-thought out management system. BTW, the ARD Client is free, and the Management Console is only $60, IIRC (in previous years, it was more like $299, which still isn't bad for a management system targeted at business/education).
And combined with technologies such as NetBoot, I can't see why the IT world in general is so Mac-hostile. ARD is a sysadmin's Dream!
Oh wait! It's called "Protecting the Computer Priesthood". Which is the same reason that IT guys generally LOVE Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft is basically following what Apple and Google have already done and got little attention from it.
What little data-gathering that Apple has done not only pales in comparison with the massive data-suck that is going on in MS OSes now.
.
And Apple is very up-front about what they do (and more importantly, don't) collect, what they do with it, and most importantly, How to Turn It OFF. Completely.
BIG difference!
But what's the alternative?
That's easy...
/. and other sites) says to me that, for geeks at least, Privacy is a very important consideration.
Sorry, but they remain the only platform which does not (and never will) depend on software revenues (and/or the data extracted thereby). In fact, they discovered that the opposite philosophy can be a powerful selling-point.
And before you start whining about "cost", the question becomes "How much value do you place on your Privacy? The very existence of this Article (and the many other related ones on
Think about it.
Microsoft is just helping you put into practice the (your) data wants to be free thing.
So, if that's true, why don't we all just cause crash after crash, filling up their servers and bandwidth until they are forced to rethink their mass data collection strategy?
The real irony is that only paranoid loons like Stallman actually care about the CEIP. The rest of us who are sane and intelligent don't give a shit because it's not a problem. I have no problem with Microsoft collecting data about how I use my computer because they still have no clue who I am or the full details of what I'm doing.
That's cute. Look, everybody! Someone who is actually naive enough to believe that's all Microsoft is doing!
Here's a clue from the clue-box: Do you really think they would go to all the trouble that they have, just to see if they can "Improve the Experience"?
TANSTAAFL and Qui Bono apply here.
Now ... before anyone says, "yeah but stuff doesn't 'just work' on Linux either" ---- I know that. But I also know how much I paid for Linux. And if I'm good enough at it, I'm free to "fix stuff" and "make stuff work" I've done so many times. (Sure there are limits, the kernel is not so easy to fix ... but still ... you at least have full source access.)
Another fallacious "free" concept: "Linux is only free if your time is."
Personally, I want to work with my computer, not on my computer. I have enough of the former writing Windows Applications during the day for work. So when I come home, the very last thing I want to do is fiddle-fart around with Linux just to achieve a modicum of usability, or suffer the slings and arrows of even more Windows crap, and now New and Improved built-in Spyware! So, check my username and get a clue as to what I enjoy as an alternative to either...
Stallman warned everyone that proprietary software turns on the user in the end.
I know of some that won't.
Ubuntu...
I'll see your Ubuntu, and raise you an OS X.
...Like Ebola it's the gift
That keeps on giving
Because Microsoft execs
Gotta make a living
Burma Shave
Now THAT's funny! (and sad at the same time)...
with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
That's because pretty near no one used it except Apple themselves.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
I don't know either.
with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
That's because pretty near no one used it except Apple themselves.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
I don't know either.
I think I read that one of the BSD variants has adopted it. But after I have asked and asked the question about why no Linux distro has forked it, all I get is "systemd sucks" type comments, or the chirping of crickets.
Don't get me started on Apple! I fucking hate Apple and all it's crap!
Oh, look! What a surprise! Another AC Apple-Hater.
Sign in or STFU, COWARD.
and I believe are its biggest contributors
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that Google passed Apple as the largest single contributor (incrementally, at least, not cumulatively) somewhere in the 3.5 to 3.7 time frame. A lot of the Apple compiler team has been busy with Swift.
That's good; but I think that Apple still deserves a LOT of credit for getting LLVM off the ground. Actually, I thought they had either developed it themselves, or bought it, like they did CUPS.
I think you post proves that eventually there will be an Apple/Systemd merger, and they will rule the world. It is their destiny.
Too late. They created launchd, which preceded systemd by many years, and released it as Open Source to the world. It has been successfully running in OS X systems since OS X 10.4 (Tiger), with pretty much zero gnashing of teeth, either by the Apple Development Community, nor Users.
Why Linux didn't simply adopt it instead of rolling their own inferior knockoff, is beyond me.
It's posts like this that have me absolutely in awe of Apple (from over here on my Fedora desktop).
The summary doesn't even mention them. I mean sure, they use LLVM, and I believe are its biggest contributors, but the story has little to do with them. Still though, one of the first comments is a broad, angry Apple rant. It's amazing. I'm not sure any other brand, in any other industry has that. If say, Ford owned a stake in a tire company, would stories about those tires get "well finally Ford will start producing cars instead of door stops?" I really doubt it.
You are ABSOLUTELY right!
Mods, please mod Parent UP and Insightful
Maybe OSX won't be such a slow piece of dog shit that finally compiles OpenMP stuff. Why does Apple assume that all people use their door stops for is DJing? I would include web development, but thanks to many broken ruby gems, etc. I don't think that is true either. At some point Apple has to do real testing eventually?
They don't seem to test usability of user interfaces, compatibility, or basic functions.
Interesting that you would claim that OS X is slow; yet then you claim that Apple assumes that their machines are used only for DJing (which they do handily own the market in, along with DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) use). Interesting, because both of those applications are "Real Time" processes, that not only require 100% reliability, but also attributes such as excellent load and interrupt handling, fluid UIs and rapid responsiveness, not only to the User, but also I/O Requests, Storage and Networking queues, memory and processor bandwidth, etc, etc. You know, all the things that Windows and Linux continually fail at.
Oh, and as far as User Interfaces, Apple literally wrote the book decades ago on GUI design and useability (Apple Human Interface Guidelines).
Excuse me; but did you run out of your meds, or just decide to stop taking them?
Sorry for Replying to my own Post; but here is a TWO HOUR VIDEO (!!!!!) of a Seminar on ARD given by Penn State's IT Department.
I think this will neatly belie the allegation that ARD is some sort of lightweight Remote Admin tool with "limited functionality".
That's been around for years, it is MAINLY for remote support and what limited functionality it can do with software packages and changing, locking down, and management settings is very minimal. No doubt it works great in a small environment like a classroom or maybe even a small campus where support is the main goal but it is no comparison to what is available in the world for managing Windows machines.
When you are part of a team of 2 that manages (not talking about tier 1 and 2 support when users have problems) 1000 desktops and laptops around the world, let me know which methods you think are better. Try seamlessly moving the location of their network synchronized home directory to another storage/network location for practice
I mentioned that it had been around for years; but I don't agree with one other word of your post.
It is precisely designed to admin huge numbers of Macs, as well as Windows and Linux machines, anywhere they can be reached, including over the internet. It even includes switchable AES encryption for network traffic; so even if a VPN is not available, you can safely admin remote systems. That's a far cry from your assertions.
Also, far from your claims that ARD is mainly for "remote support" (which is actually such a broad term that I cannot discern what you really mean); but assuming you mean like Citrix' "GoToAssist", which us so wonderful you can't even cut and paste between the admin and the target, and only works between one pair of endpoints per session, or something like Goverlan, which is nowhere near as capable as ARD, and is far more expensive, or Microsoft's RSAT, which is only for Servers, or DameWare, which seems about equal to ARD, at least for Windows systems; but which would be $700 for your hypothetical two-technician setup, vs. $160 for ARD for the same two licenses, I would say that, with these specs, and a price of only $79 for unlimited Client systems, ARD neatly wins, hands down.
But since a video is worth 1,000 x 30 x VideoLengthInSeconds words, here is a nice 939 second video (that's 28,170,000 words-worth) showing ARD in action.
And, finally, addressing your "challenge": Since you can setup an Account for Remote Admin, and because you can either Remotely Run the Terminal App and/or Run Command Line scripts on the Remote machine, moving someone's Home Folder should be as simple as this.
Next!
Most people who work in enterprises don't work in IT so they don't care about admin tools etc. Most people work in marketing, sales, accounting, finance, logistics or manufacturing and all the software for all those departments runs on Windows. Middle market accounting software for Mac? Does not exist. Manufacturing/inventory control software for Mac? Nope. Contractor estimating/job costing? You get the picture.
ORLY?
Twenty years ago, that was definitely the case. Not anymore. Here are but a few examples:
Productivity/Project Management BTW, this has been around for many years.
Contact Management/Planning/Marketing
Accounting (also has been around for DECADES)
Manufacturing/Inventory Control/ERP (VERY Robust, been around for years. Cross-Platform, Semi-Open Source) I write ERP software for a living, and this is GOOD stuff!!!
Job Costing. XTuple does that, too; but here is but one example: A highly-rated Job Costing/Estimating package that is cross platform. Job Costing software tends to be more "vertical"; so I would have to point you to an agregator site, like this one.
Now, don't think these are the ONLY solutions in each of these categories; because they aren't. They are just ones that were easy to find, and/or that I was familiar with on some level. A bit of poking around will quickly show that there are many other alternatives in most, if not all, of these categories.
Does Windows still have the upper-hand when it comes to business Applications? Without a doubt; but that picture has seriously been changing over the past decade, and as Macs start to encroach more and more in the business world, there will certainly be more attention paid to the platform by business Application Publishers. And in another decade, your post may very well be simply a joke.
Times change; a few decades ago, CP/M was supposed to be the "business" OS but there was no "business software" available. A couple of decades ago, businesses, including Apple itself, ran primarily custom-built business software on AS/400s and the like. Who's to say what the future holds?
Unless Apple comes up with some real give away hardware deals. They will never gain much in enterprise as a whole.
Since a lot of companies now have BYOD programs, Apple doesn't have to suck corporate cock like Dell and HP do. The employees like their Apple products so much THEY pay for them out of their OWN pockets.
This is where I don't see Microsoft doing enough, but I still do not see enterprise leaving Windows for OS X or IOS in droves.
Actually, it's much more quiet than that. More like a steady drip. But just like those steady drips that you see on nature-based TV shows, when enough time goes by, you look up and that little drip has carved a thousand-foot canyon. Except in this case, the canyon is only going to take about a decade, and its well underway even as I type.
What is frustrating now, though, is while they have (probably sensibly) stopped pretending to make server grade hardware, they still won't 'bless' one of the commonly used hyper visors to run OSX for any price.
Actually, they have; they're just REALLY quiet about it.
There is ONE (and only one) version of OS X that is licensed for virtualization, and it just so happens to be OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) SERVER. In fact, they still offer a Retail version of that on DVD for $19. You just have to call Apple Support and know what to ask for; but I know someone who has ordered it as recent as a few months ago, and it is still listed with their Customer Service persons an an Active, Order-able part.
The Apple Part Number for this magic is: MC588Z/A . Call 800.692.7753 and tell them you want to order that Part. $19.99 and its all yours. And legal.
It always amuses me when I see Apple talk about the enterprise space because they have done such a shit job supporting OS-X for the enterprise for so long. You can make it work, of course, and there are plenty of 3rd party tools, many very expensive, to help but it is all your own doing. Apple themselves seem to view each device as an island, property of a single consumer to be used as a toy and thrown away when the next shiny toy comes along.
Then explain, for example, THIS and THIS (the latter having existed for well over a decade, and which can not only be used to admin however many Macs you can throw at it; but also Windows and Linux systems). Oh, and the Administraton Console for ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) costs a whopping $69. The Client-side is free. Hardly "expensive".
So, the only reason your think there isn't any "corporate" support for Apple systems/devices is because you haven't bothered to look for the two minutes it took to find them.
This press release is another meaningless Apple Tries To Wear A Suit And Tie tome.
I don't know how long, or how closely, you have been following Apple news. But to those who have been watching, this is one of the extremely rare times you will find an "Apple in business"-type story. In fact, if you wanted solid proof that Steve Jobs has left the building, this is it.
Under Jobs, Apple blatantly ignored the business-end of its business. Witness the fact that Jobs basically starved the Server version of OS X, and the hardware to run it on, until the hardware was killed-off outright, and OS X Server became just a package of utilities to be added to OS X "client".
But Apple isn't stupid. The massive influx of iOS devices (and Macs, too) in business environments has (finally!!!!) made them sit-up-and-take-notice.
Under Jobs, one of Apple's mantras was that "IBM was teh evilz!" and represented everything that Apple was not. However, as I said above, the BYOD movement in corporate America (and in other places, too) has caused many, many, many Apple products to spend at least part of their days being part of corporate networks, working in Exchange-Based email/calendaring environments, and so forth.
So, while not exactly enjoying that suit-and-tie, Apple is finding ways to make their products work, and even excel, in the business world.
Bottom line: Watch out Windows; because Apple has quietly been displacing your foothold in business, and in an increasing number of small businesses, there isn't a Windows computer to be found. Don't believe it? Watch Shark Tank, The Profit, and other "Millionaire-Maker" type shows, and just pay attention to the percentage of (usually covered-over) Apple Logos and OS X Desktop screenshots there are. It's truly amazing. And because the Logos are covered over, you can be assured that Apple isn't providing those computers as "set dressing".
So, there really is change in the air, particularly in "young" businesses. And that change is moving solidly in Apple's direction.
And BTW, I don't think I have EVER seen a Linux system on TV, other than a program that was specifically about Linux, or when they wanted to show a "Hacker" system (like on Mr. Robot). Never. And never on one of the "Millionaire-maker" shows.
In the long run you have a totally better situation with Linux over Apple.
Until you want support. Then its RHEL or ???
And RHEL sort of defeats the whole idea of Linux as a F/OSS OS, doesn't it?
but why should anyone have to pay more extra for Apple products?
Because there is actually a real difference between price and value. Something that is sadly misunderstood among some of the Slashdot crowd.
When a group of 2 desktop engineers can manage 1000+ Apple computers (update and tweak trivial things, install and manage packages, patches, new software, functionality, manage encryption and removable drive access, tweaks etc) around the world from their desk, Apple will take over in the enterprise. Until then, it will be people using their Apple with Citrix or some other method to access a corporate virtual desktop or a sandboxed app delivery system remotely running.
You're in luck! That day is Today! (or actually, about a decade or so ago).
ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) is a SPECTACULAR way to manage a group of Macs. I think it actually started more as a way to monitor/manage classrooms-full of Macs (in fact, they used to have a view (maybe still do) in the ARD Management Console that shows a real-time view of however-many Macs you want at a time, and you can "zoom in" on one to do stuff/chat with its User. Think the old-skool "Language Labs", where the teacher could monitor/talk with each student directly over their headsets); but, over the years, ARD has grown into a full-fledged remote management and deployment system that the Windows and Linux admins should be so lucky as to have at their disposal.
Take a few minutes and really explore all the tabs on the above-linked Page. I think you will agree that this is a very robust and well-thought out management system. BTW, the ARD Client is free, and the Management Console is only $60, IIRC (in previous years, it was more like $299, which still isn't bad for a management system targeted at business/education).
And combined with technologies such as NetBoot, I can't see why the IT world in general is so Mac-hostile. ARD is a sysadmin's Dream!
Oh wait! It's called "Protecting the Computer Priesthood". Which is the same reason that IT guys generally LOVE Linux.