Apple Developer Connection Spotlights Mac OS X Success

Most of the articles published by Apple at the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) are how-tos and instructional articles relating to developing for Mac OS X, but Tuesdayis ADC article spotlights Salon Transcripts, and the ways in which the company has achieved success by exploiting the Mac platform. Salon Transcripts went from being a Mac and Windows company that provided salon and spa management software, to a Mac-only company that harnesses several features in Mac OS X such as Automator, Dashboard, and even Fast User Switching in its software in its lead product, STX.

"The ease with which the customer can set up a Macintosh network, the ease with which a Macintosh computer can find and connect to hardware on the network," Salon Transcripts Chief Technology Officer Aaron Conti said in the article, "those aspects are critical to customers in the beauty industry. Most salon owners donit have an IT staff, and with the Mac and STX, they donit need one.”

STX uses Dashboard to deliver snapshot information for areas such as scheduling, and to offer an "executive dashboard view" the business side of a Salon. The company also uses Fast User Switching to make it easier for salons with multiple locations to manage booking clients at those other locations.

The article discusses these issues at depth, and looks at such things as why Salon Transcripts felt that the aesthetics of Apple hardware is an important aspect of delivering the right experience to salon customers.

Keep in mind that the article was written for Apple and published by the ADC, but it offers an interesting look at how one company has dived into the Mac platform.