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How schools are tricked into using PCs--when Macs are better
Zdnet ^ | 2/11/02 | Bob Shier

Posted on 02/12/2002 4:51:44 AM PST by Vermonter

Editor's note: AnchorDesk is pleased to present guest columnist Bob Shier. A public school educator for more than 30 years, Shier lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area.

As an instructor of computer literacy in an all-Windows environment, I'm sometimes asked "would I ever consider using a Mac?" My answer: in a heartbeat!

So why am I teaching on Windows machines? Two reasons: peer pressure (we all accept that adolescents are slavishly conformist, but don't always recognize that the herd instinct is still present among adults), and false economies.

OFTEN, "fiscal responsibility" is cited as the reason to choose Windows over Macs. I suggest that there are two kinds of economy involved here: an out-of-the-box economy, and a down-the-road economy.

Of course, schools buy the cheapest boxes they can find--we're taxpayer funded, after all. Windows machines can be purchased for a somewhat lower initial investment.

Almost at once, however, the down-the-road aspect of the platform decision comes into play.

Here's my historical perspective.

FOR TEN YEARS, our school had an all-Mac lab. After a couple of years, they weren't as flashy as the new PCs in other district labs. But they kept chugging along year after year, doing exactly what we asked.

I did all hardware and software support as well as maintenance on the Macs, which amounted to cleaning the mice a couple of times a year and wiping off a monitor screen now and then.

Now that we have an all-Windows environment, I'm lucky to ever have more than 28 out of 30 machines functioning at any one time. Often less. I've started secretly hoping that some students will be sick from school during each class, just so nobody has to do without.

Regardless of how often technical-support people come, or how many things they fix, more problems show up as soon as they leave. If it's not bad memory, it's bad power supplies. If it's not bad motherboards, then it's bad hard drives. And when it's none of those, it's a software glitch that nobody has a clue how to fix.

For the tech support people, the time lag between my reporting a problem and its resolution may seem a minor matter. However, the phrase "mission critical" takes on new meaning as each new crop of impatient, exuberant, and hormonally enhanced adolescents enters my room each period.

THE TOTAL AMOUNT of staff time required just to keep these machines functional is an order of magnitude higher than what we experienced with the Macs. It almost defies belief.

Worse, the false economy of PCs is mostly buried under a ton of paper somewhere in the yearly budget document. In our case, personnel costs come from an entirely different piece of the budget pie than computer hardware.

Along with the false economy with Windows, I also can't find any real academic reason to go with the platform.

Over the past dozen or so years, PCs blanketed businesses everywhere and adults became more technologically comfortable. And parents started telling me to replace my Macs with PCs.

Their admonitions and opinions were not based upon any analysis of the efficiency and efficacy of computers in an educational environment. Rather, it was simply whatever they were using at work and whatever machine their friends had.

THE PARENTAL DEMAND that we teach kids to use "what's out there" is well-meant. It's based upon an understandable desire that children should become employable--that they should be able to conform to the prevalent platform of the workplace. The fact that the "prevalent platform" is in a constant state of flux is another matter entirely.

I'll add that just because you learn to drive in a Ford does not preclude you from eventually driving a Chevy. Same difference with standard productivity applications, such as Microsoft Office, which is available across platforms. But then, any general operation in a Mac application will be much the same in comparable Windows software, even if the exact machinations necessary to effect a result are slightly different.

For simple elegance of design, ease of use, and economy of operation, there's simply no comparison between the two platforms. If you want to work for the machine, go with Windows. If you want the machine to work for you, go with the Mac.

And that's what I really want for my students.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: macuserlist
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I've always suspected this, but now I've seen it in print.

I've watched as our small town elementary school went from 0 computers to having a computer lab and at least 1 computer in every classroom. Along with those PC's we now have TWO full time technology assistants to keep them running. Part of this can be attributed to old teachers not wanting to learn new tricks, but a good bit of it is due to the problems of keeping PC's running versus keeping Macs running.

1 posted on 02/12/2002 4:51:45 AM PST by Vermonter
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To: Vermonter
Whatever "seeing it in print" is worth. The brutal reality is that, back when it could have gone either way, Microsoft and the WinTel combo won the business market while Apple's sales force was concentrating on the school market. The sales skills for success in the business world weren't valued at an Apple that concentrated on the government education market. Apple lost, and now serves a fringe market of some educators, graphics professionals, and self-styled digerati.
2 posted on 02/12/2002 4:57:03 AM PST by FreedomPoster
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To: Vermonter
Geez, talk about yer flame-bait thread.

I'm too tired to bite, this morning.

3 posted on 02/12/2002 4:57:04 AM PST by Ratatoskr
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To: Vermonter
Another is Apple's refusal to license their software to a third party manufacturer. Their market share would double or triple or quadruple if they did that.
4 posted on 02/12/2002 4:57:16 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants
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To: Vermonter
BUMP!!
5 posted on 02/12/2002 4:58:11 AM PST by George Frm Br00klyn Park
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To: Vermonter
I have a friend who uses Mac's and she has had lot's of hardware problems. I use Windows boxes and also have had hardware problems. On my (admittedly small) sample, I would rate the two systems as comparably trouble prone. But when Mac's break, it is almost always more expensive to set things right.
6 posted on 02/12/2002 4:58:20 AM PST by Stirner
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To: Vermonter
Part of this can be attributed to old teachers not wanting to learn new tricks, but a good bit of it is due to the problems of keeping PC's running versus keeping Macs running.

Really? I've never had problems keeping PCs running. Maybe they need computer staff with talent -- oh, wait, all those people end up in the private sector.

7 posted on 02/12/2002 4:59:37 AM PST by RogueIsland
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To: Vermonter
... And that's what I really want for my students ...
I just want my students to turn off their pagers and cell phones.

As for Macs, they're robust little machines except for the Imacs. Our Imac labs at CMU are a bleeding nightmare of quirks and tics and constant meltdowns. Not a terribly network friendly device. Our design students swear by them though.
8 posted on 02/12/2002 4:59:58 AM PST by Asclepius
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To: Vermonter
I consider PC's better fit for education since these are what the vast majority of students will use in the real world. The few industries that use macs are graphic artistry and publishing. If a student wants to learn how to operate a mac, fine, but if he wants to prepare to use a computer in his vocation, focus on the PC.
9 posted on 02/12/2002 5:00:31 AM PST by Tree of Liberty
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To: Stirner
But when Mac's break, it is almost always more expensive to set things right.

Never had a Mac break on me. I've owned every model since the 1984 original. Wore out the keyboards on a couple of them - but never had a Mac break - strange. I heard of stories years ago of people putting in their own memory and breaking things (in the old days Apple made it difficult for the do-it-yourselfer to increase memory, etc. that's not the case, now. Do it all the time.) Got 10 Macs right now humming like a champ.

10 posted on 02/12/2002 5:03:21 AM PST by Utopia
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To: Vermonter
I have simply never understood this "Mac's don't break, or go to blue screen, etc." argument. In college, my girlfriend, now wife, was typing a 25 page essay on her Mac. She routinley saved it to the hard drive. Right at the end, the computer gave some error message, and the paper was gone. Two different Mac experts could not retrieve it. That's never happend to me on a PC.

Look, Mac lovers are welcome to buy Mac's, but those of us who buy Wintel do so for a reason, not because we are sheep. Stop whining and trying to convert us. You are like a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses, only not as polite.

11 posted on 02/12/2002 5:04:10 AM PST by Rodney King
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To: Vermonter
State of Maine just signed a $48Million contract with Apple to provide Macs in Maine schools.
12 posted on 02/12/2002 5:04:15 AM PST by Utopia
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To: Stirner
"when Macs break"--there's nobody to help, this is true...although you can drive across the state to find a CompUsa IF you bought it there.

I've just endured losing a lot to the second iMac crash in two years. I'm no longer a Mac thumbsucker.

The operating system of the Mac is the smoothest, most intuitive and pleasant, but when it breaks I have to be able to find some help, and it can't be found anywhere close to home.

13 posted on 02/12/2002 5:05:09 AM PST by Mamzelle
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Comment #14 Removed by Moderator

To: Rodney King
Look, Mac lovers are welcome to buy Mac's, but those of us who buy Wintel do so for a reason, not because we are sheep. Stop whining and trying to convert us. You are like a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses, only not as polite.

Why on earth would I want to convert you? If you're happy with what you got and its the tool you need, good for you. A Mac is a machine after all. One that's made in America. For my needs, Wintel architecture just doesn't cut it.

15 posted on 02/12/2002 5:06:43 AM PST by Utopia
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To: Utopia
My experience is like yours. I've owned about a dozen different Macs since 84 and only had a hardware (disk drive) failure on one. Apple replaced that during the warrantee period.
16 posted on 02/12/2002 5:07:29 AM PST by Vermonter
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To: Vermonter
If you want the machine to work for you, buy a Mac

Noooooo, If you want the machine to WORK, by an IBM.

They screw you for the brand name, But I've had mine for 8, years, and have never had a single mechanical (or software...Win 95) problem,The only reason I will be getting a new machine is because it is now smaller, slower, and most newer software is unsupported in the Win95 environment.

So the Boys will get it after it's stripped down and reloaded.

17 posted on 02/12/2002 5:09:27 AM PST by hobbes1
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: Utopia
Why on earth would I want to convert you?

Well, maybe you don't, but almost every day there is a "Mac's are sooo much better and Wintel's suck, you idiots" thread.

19 posted on 02/12/2002 5:10:50 AM PST by Rodney King
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To: Vermonter;bush2000
"Along with the false economy with Windows, I also can't find any real academic reason to go with the platform."

There isn't any "real academic reason". I mean, there isn't any greater "academic reason" than there is to avoid majoring in "Gay Studies" or some other outré "field".

Careers are so boring, after all...

20 posted on 02/12/2002 5:12:35 AM PST by Don Joe
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