It is not often that we read news concerning both Apple and IBM. The last time we mentioned the two together was when Duke University folks and the University of Waterloo conducted this study to see which of the two companies' logos had a stronger impact on people. Recently, IBM launched an internal pilot program to support staff members who embrace the Mac, in what looks like an attempt to break the (Windows) habit.

Roughly Drafted is reporting that IBM's pilot program, which ran from October last year to this year's January saw 24 MacBook Pros being distributed to researchers at different IBM Research sites. Out of the 24 new MacBook Pro users, 18 stated that the Mac OS, along with the hardware, offered a "better or best experience" compared to their Windows platforms. What's even better is that 19 of the "surveyed" employees actually asked to keep their Macs after the program had expired.

Hmmm. So 18 out of 24 employees said the Mac offered a "better", "best" experience, which means that the six remaining staffers weren't too impressed, or at least didn't like their MacBook Pros better than Windows. 19 staffers, however, (that's more than 18 by one bloke) asked to keep their newly received Mac laptops. Think someone's $2,000 richer this time around at IBM...?

Kidding of course, I'm sure IBM is taking good care of its employees.

A summary of the pilot program, Roughly Drafted points out, detailed in an IBM document, shows that IBM is "actively working to move away from its dependence upon Microsoft Windows and toward a heterogeneous cross-platform future," the publication notes. The document reads: "In line with IBM's external strategy of offering a true 'Open Client' that may be Windows, Linux or a Mac. Research IS is focusing on providing an IBM application stack on multiple Operating Systems, rather than be confined to one or the other."

Allegedly, IBM is prepping to up the pilot program to 50 users during this year's first half. The International Business Machines Corporation is also planning to improve Mac software offerings introducing changes to its infrastructure, thus ensuring that Macs are perceived the way they should.