Remember yesterday, when we discussed the dreaded "single-platform" edict that signals the death of all Macs at many a Windows-duped company? That kind of attitude is symptomatic of a much larger problem: Macs get absolutely zero respect in the enterprise world. In the realm of white collars and cubicles, it's all about "standards" (which is another word for "Microsoft") and Macs are viewed as far too frivolous and nonstandard to fit into such a serious environment. ("Well, except for maybe those goofs in the Marketing department; let 'em have their toys. The rest of us have real work to do.")

Now, Apple's done little to break into the enterprise market in recent years, choosing instead to go after consumers, schools, and creative professionals. And to a certain extent, why should they bother courting the beige-liking, same-thinking business world? As far as we can tell, there's at least one really good reason: so Mac people won't have to endure Windows Hell for eight hours a day. But until the Suits get some respect for the platform, that's not likely to happen, and until the platform gets some more business-type applications, you can forget about the respect.

That's why we were startled and gratified to read over at InfoWorld that Inprise/Borland has announced support for Mac OS X in an upcoming release of its JBuilder development tool. Granted, a development package like JBuilder isn't exactly an enterprise title. Okay, so it's not an enterprise title at all. But Inprise/Borland is definitely a business-oriented company with a host of enterprise software on its product list, so a show of respect from them may carry a little weight with the Suits. Looks like Mac OS X, with its industrial-strength undercarriage, may well signal the Mac's introduction to serious enterprise attention. Or, at least, tolerance. And the surprising fact that Borland's announcement met with a "rousing reception" from the "typically Windows crowd" is a great sign as well; even Windows programmers are excited about writing software for Mac OS X. Who knows? In another couple of years, there may be a lot more translucent plastic in the average business cubicle. Meanwhile, those of you who are stuck staring at a Task Bar and Start button five days a week, hang in there-- we feel for you.