Should Our Schools (or Anybody Else) Have Macs or PCs?

hulkaros

hulkaros

The Incredible...
A Mac versus PC study (115+ web pages!)

Browse here:
http://macvspc.info/

I want to add to the whole subject the Linux case too so this could really be:
A Mac OS (versus Mac Linux) versus PC Windows (versus PC Linux)

Hey, read the whole think as it really offers soooo much! Read, read, read...


HINT:
--------
Read some more

:D

Oh and a hint for moderators:
---------------------------------------
Don't remove this for a few days, pretty please ;) and thank you in advance :D
 
i'll admit i didn't read it very thoroughly, but what i did read seemed incredibally biased to the point of just using statistics that backed up his claims. while i'm not doubting that there is some truth in there, it is just as easy to prove the opposite about some of his points.
 
Didn't read everything, but I totally lost interest when he brought out the Mercedes vs Escort example. It is waaaay off and as such, causes him to lose all credibility in my eyes. I get what he's trying to say, he should have come up with a significantly better example though. The problem is that if he loses someone like me (typically pro Mac), then he'll completely lose anyone who is pro-WinTel, and that would be a shame since that would be the point of the entire website and their entire efforts.
 
Originally posted by hulkaros
A Mac versus PC study (115+ web pages!)

Browse here:
http://macvspc.info/

I want to add to the whole subject the Linux case too so this could really be:
A Mac OS (versus Mac Linux) versus PC Windows (versus PC Linux)

Hey, read the whole think as it really offers soooo much! Read, read, read...


HINT:
--------
Read some more

:D

Oh and a hint for moderators:
---------------------------------------
Don't remove this for a few days, pretty please ;) and thank you in advance :D
Click to expand...
Flash! The Japanese have surrendered. World War II has come to an end!

In other words, this site has been around for several years. It makes the simple point that your local school board may be wasting scarse resources to provide employment to the new IT staff required to facilitate a switch from Macs to Wintel. The site provides important information, but this is the wrong audience for it.
 
Originally posted by MisterMe
Flash! The Japanese have surrendered. World War II has come to an end!

In other words, this site has been around for several years. It makes the simple point that your local school board may be wasting scarse resources to provide employment to the new IT staff required to facilitate a switch from Macs to Wintel. The site provides important information, but this is the wrong audience for it.
Click to expand...

Who cares if the site has been around for a couple years? Personally, I've never heard of the site, until I read it here, just now.

There are A LOT of interesting articles in there, some from Oct. 2002 - so, if the site is a couple years old, atleast its not filled with out of date material.
 
My faculty uses macs. We have 17" iMacs all-round and some PowerBooks and iBooks. Many students & staff bought macs for home use due to this setup (me included).
 
I wish my school would use mac's... This year there were a few eMacs one of the computer labs but all the other computers are 5+ years old cheap windows boxes running windows 98...
Except for the digital tech. teacher, shes got about 30 g4 towers with os x. Her classes are heaven!
 
...he may be biased but the Wintels guys aren't?

Also, as I said I would like him to include Linux as it has so many to offer, especially in education and it could be awesome combined with old systems be it Wintels or Macs! ;)

However, at least he is giving some serious thought into this matter and he tries to stay fresh unlike the Wintel guys who just insist that PCs are WAY better for EVERYTHING while they don't even know what the Macs can offer to them... Hell, in the past year I read and hear of Wintel guys telling around how much better the OS X skin/theme (loaded on Windows XP) looks on Wintels than Macs!!! :eek:
 
my department uses redhat lunix on their wintels and it's a great alternative to windows. At least they don't crash and loose everything you're working on.
 
I was anti-Mac for years, and it all started back in the days of DOS. I always appreciated that copmarison between operating systems and airport terminals (Mac Airlines just guided you down a corridor, not telling you where you were going, or why, while MS had an elaborate series of corridors that you could only navigate if you were used to being the terminal).

Then, Windows tossed DOS, and became what MacOS used to be: uncontrollable.

I switched to Linux, loving the Unix control, scalability, and configurability.

Then I heard about OSX - which combines rock-solid Unix with Mac ease of use. It was an interesting option, but I was skeptical. Then I saw that Office was available for OSX. That makes OSX more feasible.

Last week, my girlfriend was considering her options for buying her daughter a new computer. She wanted to get her an iMac (they're cute, yadda yadda), but I hesitated. "Let's check out the availability of educational programs, and such, first..."

Bam! There are tons. There is absolutely no shortage of educational applications (and games) for youngsters. In fact, about the only arena that OSX is lagging is MMPOGs - and that's changing, thanks to EQ.

The result: a very cute, efficient, rock-solid, all-encompassing platform that works beautifully for schools.

All of that having been said, let's talk economics. Windows machines are cheaper than Apples, as a total package. You can get a smokin Windows machine for $1000, no sweat. Apples aren't in that range. But, they're more stable, and simpler to use.

But what about Linux? Linux can be loaded on a quick machine for $500 or less; but it's far more complicated to configure/maintain than either Windows or Mac.

So it comes down to the priorities of our school systems: quality and usability, or cost effectiveness? To be honest, I'm not sure most schools are at a point where they've got the option to choose; any computers will be better than what they've got going now.

I suspect this entire post has absolutely zero conclusions, and I don't know that I could provide any. But, those are the issues and considerations, as I see 'em.
 
Originally posted by Turnip
You can get a smokin Windows machine for $1000, no sweat.
Click to expand...

The eMac sells for $999. All-in-one (fewer cables/parts; lower power consumption). Perfect for school labs.

One must also consider the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). If I have to hire one (or more) FT people ot manage my "cheaper" PC machines, are they really cheaper? This doesn't include constantly being "Microsoft-ed" from a license fee perspective.
 
Originally posted by ccuilla
The eMac sells for $999. All-in-one (fewer cables/parts; lower power consumption). Perfect for school labs.
Click to expand...


I realize that Apple offers machines under $1000, but those machines would hardly be considered "smoking," as I mentioned earlier.

I myself have an eMac, and to get close to state of the art, the out-the-door cost was much closer to $2k, than $1k.

As far as licensing is concerned, I agree with you. With the exception of the following things: 1.) Linux licensing is a hell of a lot less costly than both MS and Apple, and 2.) Though licensing may be cheaper with Apple, acquisition of third party applications is comparatively much more expensive for Apple.

Lastly, I believe Compaq (HP) offers an all-in-one design like the eMac - and there quite possibly could be others. So unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm sold on the justification for Mac over PC in the classroom (even though I'd definitely prefer it :)).
 
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