Questions with macbook pro and "windows server compatibility"

Question

I know this is prob not the area to be posting this but i need a quick answer. I am trying to get a mac book for work and the office techs are very anti mac. They say the only reason that i am not allowed a mac is because its "not compatible with the network". all that i uses is Microsoft Outlook for mail. Is there a way i can still access my email with Safari? If anyone could give me a detailed answer with the limited info i have provided it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

Your techs at work are simply unknowledgable. "Incompatible with the network" is a ludicrous response to your request. A more responsible reply would be that they have limited expertise and that they would provide what help they can but cannot commit to anything other than basic support. That seems reasonable to me.
With regard to Outlook. They may or may not support Outlook Web Access. If they do, you can easily use it though it looks a little different on the Mac than PC it operates the same.
If they do not use OWA, you can still get a copy of Entourage for Mac OS X. It's Microsoft's "Outlook" for the Mac and is included in Microsoft Office for Mac (a new version due out later this year).
Then again, you could run Windows in a VM when needed for specific items until they implement an accomodation for you.
That said, it's not uncommon for a shop with dedicated Microsoft personnel to entirely eschew compatibility and standards in favor of just-Microsoft solutions. You might find yourself in situations where they implement various web-based tools or utilities that you can't use. They also may have in place protocols for backing up files and such that presume a Windows client. The staff may have some valid concerns that your support demands will incur extra work (if nothing else, extra thought) on them without any substantial return (to them) on that investment of time and effort.