Dan Knight
- 2001.08.06
From the
Carteret News Times, August 1, 2001. Because the Carteret News
Times reuses URLs, this link already points to a different article. We
are reproducing the article so we may comment on it.
Mac, PC debate rages
By Cheryl Burke, Staff Writer
BEAUFORT - The debate of whether the county school system should use
Macintosh computers or PCs took up two hours of a school board workshop
Tuesday.
A group of citizens, most pro-Macintosh, has protested the county
school system's choice to replace aging Macs with Dell PCs. They've
questioned the cost and efficiency of such a move.
Thomas Colven, a citizen who spoke on behalf of Mac users, said his
concerns boiled down to four main issues: that Macs are more user
friendly; Macs have fewer problems; Macs aren't as susceptible to
computer viruses; and they cost less.
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According to Macintosh
vs. PCs (Jannette Pippin, Jacksonville Daily News, 2001.08.02),
"...bad timing changed things in 1997 as the school system made
upgrades in the operating network to accommodate the large investment
in computers, and Apple introduced the iMac, said Joe Poletti, the
school system's director for technology and media." Curiously, the iMac
was not announced until May 1998 and not available for purchase
until August 1998, so we don't understand how it could impact Mr.
Poletti's decision in 1997.
I am also at a loss how Apple's introduction of the iMac could lead
to a RAM shortage for the school system. RAM for the iMac itself was
industry standard and readily available.
As for his comment, "Should a $20 Ethernet card go bad, we're
talking $500 for a whole new motherboard," there is no separate
Ethernet card in the iMac.
However, we concur that adding RAM to the original iMac was a real
bear. And if Apple is only offering schools a 90-day warranty, shame on
them.
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But Joe Poletti, director of technology for the county school system,
said he and a technology committee decided to move toward PCs for
several reasons. First, when Apple switched to iMacs in 1998 it caused
several problems for the school system, including: a RAM shortage;
problems with a unified shell design; lack of a floppy drive; and base
price warranty was 90-days, with box and drop service.
"To add RAM, tech time to install it, floppy drive, USB to serial
adapter, and warranty upgrade would add about $400 to a machine that
shipped for $1,300. Should a $20 Ethernet card go bad, we're talking
$500 for a whole new motherboard. With all that, we would still have a
machine that would have limited function on Novell and no function with
CCC (Computer Curriculum Corporation)," said Mr. Poletti.
Mr. Poletti said the iMac episode began "a new leg of the journey
for us. Apple was given every chance to remedy the problems that we
still have to live with. We have ample documentation of this
process."
He summarized what factors went into his final decision as: "What
can we get for the most amount of money. Is it doing the job. And can
teachers teach."
Mr. Poletti went on to document the many school systems that are
also moving away from Macs and toward PCs.
But Francis Shepherd, a system engineer with Apple who has worked
with the county school system in the past, said he was unaware of some
of the problems that Mr. Poletti listed. He added that he and other
Apple representatives had offered solutions that were never acted
upon.
Mr. Shepherd said the Apple had been excluded from the bidding
process for the last two years, and it was difficult to offer solutions
if the lines of communication weren't open.
"You can make specifications to exclude people. But if you exclude
the people, you can't have an open dialogue," Mr. Shepherd said.
After a lengthy debate on technical issues of whether PCs or Macs
were more cost effective, school board member Mike Hodges said, "It was
a committee of 16 people that came up with the recommendation. There
were not only educators and technical people, but business people on
that committee.
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Both Hodges and Poletti both use the "but others are doing it"
argument, which every parent should see through. Schools should be
teaching our children to think, not simply regurgitate facts on
standardized tests, reflect their teachers' biases, and follow the
crowd in using Windows. We're supposed to be shaping individuals, not
lemmings.
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"I think it's important to point out that this is the recommendation
for this time. We're not saying that we're abandoning Apple and won't
use them in the future. But other school systems are moving the same
direction. I'm satisfied that for now it's the right move to make. It's
like going to the doctor. You can get a second and third opinion, but
at some point you've got to move forward."
Community members attending the meeting were allowed to make
comments during the discussion. David Bell said he had a hard time
understanding how it could be cost effective to replace Macs with PCs
when there were so many Apple computers in the school system.
Mr. Poletti said they looked at replacement time, how the computers
perform with the existing infrastructure, time in maintenance, and
other factors when determining cost.
Currently the county school system has 3,518 computers: 2,371 are
Macs; and 1,147 are PCs.
Excerpts from MacIntosh
vs. PC's: Carteret school officials debate computer systems
(Jannette Pippin, Jacksonville Daily News, 2001.08.02):
BEAUFORT - There seems to be no definitive end to a computer debate
that has had the Carteret County school system talking Mac vs. PC.
But school officials stressed that a move toward PC use doesn't mean
a strike against Apple, it's primary computer vendor since 1995. With
today's changing technology, it's important to keep that relationship
open, school officials said.
The Carteret County school system currently has a technology
inventory that includes a total of 3,518 computers; with 2,371 of them
being Macs.
The school system made a large investment in technology improvements
in 1995 with the passage of a $29 million bond referendum that
dedicated $6.25 million for computers and technology. It was also at
that time that the school system decided to put Macs in the
classrooms.
But bad timing changed things in 1997 as the school system made
upgrades in the operating network to accommodate the large investment
in computers, and Apple introduced the iMac, said Joe Poletti, the
school system's director for technology and media.
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We question the wisdom of the the school system ever installing a
server system "not totally compatible" with two-thirds of their
installed computers. Had they installed Apple servers instead, they
would be able to support both Mac and PC users using AppleShare IP or
Mac OS X Server. Further, had they invested in iMacs, they would find
that with Mac OS X 10.1, which will be available around the start of
the school year, the Mac is a very good network player with several
network operating systems.
Mr. Poletti, you can move forward with Macs, even G3 models from
1997. I'm not sure you can say the same for 1997 vintage Wintel
machines.
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A primary factor in the decision to transition to PC's was the finding
that Apple servers would have to be installed to support a large Apple
inventory, servers that would not be totally compatible with the Novell
network operating system that the school system has invested in,
Poletti said.
While the existing Macs work well with the network and will continue
to be used during their life span, the new Apple computers won't
provide for future needs under the school system's existing network,
Poletti said.
"There is no problem with the Macs we have. We just can't move
forward with them," Poletti said.
"We are keeping the door open for Apple - Compaq, too," Poletti
said. "We will continue to support the Macs we have, although we appear
to be boxed in and cannot move forward. I'm optimistic about Apple's
future and am intrigued by the concept of portable computing, and thus
the iBook. But it has to work within the parameters of our
infrastructure, and that has to be proven before we dive in."
A concern over the expense that could be associated with a switch to
PC's is part of what prompted a citizens group to begin questioning the
school system decision. The group, which includes many Mac users, has
researched the topic and developed a web site that displays studies
supporting the belief that the Mac is better than PCs in the
classroom.
The group has argued that the total cost of ownership, which
includes factors such as initial purchase price, maintenance costs, and
the life span of a computer, is less for the Mac. It is also said the
Mac is preferred by teachers, and that students are more productive
using it.
The group has continued to ask for an independent evaluation of
whether the Mac or PC is best to meet the school system's needs.
Poletti noted in his presentation that there was repeated dialog
with Apple to correct problems that continue to exist.
Shepherd responded, saying Apple has made recommendations for
helping with some of these problems, but they were never
implemented.
School officials indicated after the workshop that a meeting with an
independent expert that has been recommended by the citizens group will
be held within the next several weeks. The plans are to have Victor
Marks of Raleigh, an IBM engineer who is a Windows/PC expert and former
teacher and works with a Mac at home, meet with Poletti to assess the
situation.
Stonewalling is the bureaucrat's favorite tactic. "We asked for
help, but..." The techs may get the hardware they deserve, but the
teachers and kids should have the easiest to use computers with the
most robust operating system, something Windows has never been noted
for.
This reminds me of the cartoon from 1996
where the child complained to his teacher, "Ever since we switched from
Macs to Wintel machines, we spend all of our time troubleshooting and
can't get any work done."
"Well, you kids said you wanted to know what it's like to work in
the real world."
It will be interesting to see how things develop in Carteret County.
Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we faced a similar disaster back in the
summer of 1998 - the new school tech guru wanted to invest in machines
running Windows 3.1 and NT, neither of which were Y2K ready. He
apparently got his way, but when teachers were given a choice for their
own personal use this summer, the vast majority chose Macs over Windows
PCs.
