(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)
Simple Building Systems, a Southern California company founded by Tony Ruiz is focused on a building technology he developed over 30 years ago. Where most construction companies use PCs because of AutoCad and/or the Lemming-effect, they’re Mac-only. Why Macs?
“Macs are faster, more powerful, easier to use, rarely break down or freeze up, and Microsoft Office suites are multi-platformed, and therefore enable me to share most work with my poor, misunderstood PC based business partners,” Ruiz told MacCentral. “The other work we do such as with our $5,000 ArchiCAD program also shares both platforms, but works better, looks better and is faster to learn on the Mac. After all, Windows 98 = Mac ’94. And while we install plenty of them, we do not do windows.”
Using Macs gives the folks at Simple Building Systems a good conversation starter when talking to building officials, architects, engineers and builders, he added. While most of them use PCs and for all intents and purposes think of a Mac as a hamburger for kids, they have no idea what they’re all about, Ruiz said.
“If we can get their attention long enough and they are intelligent enough, we may actually be able to get them to open up, and we can successfully evangelize to them about Macs and other things,” he said.
Simple Building Systems use the G3 and G4 line of desktop and PowerBook equipment, as well as standard (for their business) equipment like 21-inch monitors scanners, printers and modems, And on occasion they use “assorted and some less sophisticated pieces of equipment like 1.4 GHz PCs — the Macs eat them for lunch,” Ruiz said.
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