[Vermonter]

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.

[FreedomPoster]

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.

[Ratatoskr]

Geez, talk about yer flame-bait thread.

I'm too tired to bite, this morning.

[Blood of Tyrants]

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.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

BUMP!!

[Stirner]

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.

[RogueIsland]

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.

[Asclepius]

... 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.

[Tree of Liberty]

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.

[Rodney King]

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.

[Utopia]

State of Maine just signed a $48Million contract with Apple to provide Macs in Maine schools.

[hobbes1]

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.

[Don Joe]

"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...

[Daus]

What a shock, the guy in charge of maintenance and upkeep is inexperienced in maintaining PC's and, oh by the way, obviously hostile due to the loss of his beloved Apples, and somehow there is an 'uptime' problem?

Shocking! :)

[gorush]

I'm probably in the minority, but I don't feel that PC's are necessary equipment for primary education.

They increase costs, require expensive upgrades and repair, and the average score for kids has been dropping since their introduction.

I'd consider an introduction to computers in high school for technical education...but use the years up to that point to teach the kids how to THINK, not input...

[wheezer]

I use a Mac and love it, but think that students (except those planning on graphic careers), are better prepared for the future by learning on, and working on PCs.

[gilor]

You got to be kidding. Macs are by far more problematic than PCs (been managing both for years) I'd take win 3.11 over a mac any day!

[Cicero]

In the real world, most of the computers are PCs, and most of the programs are written for PCs.

I have used every operating system since DOS 3.0, and CP/M before that. If your computers run Win98 or Win2000 they will give you no trouble unless you abuse them.

Macs have a secret appeal for hippies, because they still have a "maverick" image. People who use them have a warm fuzzy feeling because they are defying "the system." But there's no point in training kids to use an operating system that has less than 10% of the market.

And, by the way, the real problem is that you can't easily teach kids to use computers in school, where the teachers probably know less about them than your kids do. They learn much more fooling around with them at home.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

when Macs are better

BUMP!!

[lawdude]

"...when Macs are better

I some opinion. A friend who is employed by a major university in computer networking systems will disagree wholeheartedly and opt for PC every time! He loves to show maint. logs to prove the error of the above statement!

[babyface00]

I've been in business computer support, both in-house and as a consultant for the better part of a decade. I've worked with and supported just about every flavor of PC, as well as Macs and Unix boxes.

I won't argue that Macs aren't elegant machines. I have nothing against them. That said, there's no way in heck I'd ever recommend a business spend the enormous amount of money to change from the Wintel platform over to all Macintosh. Until that happens, the vast majority of businesses will continue to use Wintel and thus it makes sense for schools to teach on this platform.

Would anyone suggest using an Amiga in schools? Its a great machine, but no one uses it. Same arguement holds true for the Mac. It's sad, but that's reality.

Oh, and as for support, believe me Macs are certainly not immune from defects, and they are usually big bucks to fix. From my experience, as long as you're buying well-designed, business-quality equipment (IBM, HP, Compaq) you'll see as good reliability as Mac.