[Discussion] Mac's in dorm labs?

[Andomis]

I run a series of university campus computers- from dorm computer labs to classrooms. Of the roughly 35 labs I run, only two are Mac based. I was confronted by fellow peers (in the sense that I am still a student atm) asking to have Mac's added to all of the dorm labs, side by side with their PC brothers. I personally do not see a need to add them as most students only use these particular labs to do:
-Email
-MS Word
-MS Excel
-Facebook

~and the current Windows based pc's can handle these tasks without question. I asked them for reasons as to why there would be a need (perferably 20%+ of all users would have a need for) to use Mac based pc's. While I wait for their responses, I was curious of our own communities (HTS's) input or thought on this matter.

To clarify, they want to remove 1/3 (roughly) of the machines from our dorm labs and add Mac based pc's in their place.

Please have constructive thoughts not just "MaCs RULE!". Thank you.

[DenyTheTruth]

Here are the reasons I would replace Windows PCs with Macs.

1. My department has a fixed budget that we have to use or we lose it.

2. We are concerned about security and wish to get something that is attacked less often.

Here are the reasons I would not.

1. Waste of money.

2. Waste of resources (those old PCs have to go somewhere and the new Macs required metal and plastic to create).

3. Waste of time. The learning curve to use a Mac successfully for most users is not worth it for basic need usage. Email and word processing are easily accomplished on existing computers.

Sounds to me like you have some Mac fanboys in your midst.

[The_Computer_Wizard]

in my oppinion i wouldnt do it

personally i dont like them (and i dont want to get into why because i dont want to turn this into a mac vs pc debate)

anyway, a lot of the students probably just want them because they're "pretty"
i find most people that want a mac for legitamate reasons actually OWN them, thus dont need them in a computer lab
unless they're telling you they're running mac based art programs, and need a high powered one to render say 3d products there is no use for you to waste the money on getting them

If you were starting a new lab, and money wasnt that much of an issue id say go for it, but to pretty much have about 1/3 of your pc's sitting around doing nothing, while you pay a whole ton for a mac is stupid. With mac theres no competition, if you like a dell thats out and $600 you can see what compaq, alienware, asus, or any number of brands is offering for the same price. Mac knows they're mac, and thus charge a ton just because they can

anyway thats my point of view

[Andomis]

Excellent replies, thank you guys- Keep em coming.

(and yes.. they are a group of elitests basically - but I still need to take their idea's under consideration... well I don't have to.. but I am going to.)

More info in regards to your statements.
-Fixed amounts are given per lab, and all lab hardware is upgraded depending upon usage (we have monitoring programs to see who logins, and does what). So average upgrade time is 2 to 3 years per lab.

-I agree with the pretty part in what they are thinking, so I even mentioned that, but they said they have other reasons- ...still waiting for them..

Alive,
Andomis

[DenyTheTruth]

All that's left to say is this:

"Name one thing a PC can do that a Mac can't."

"Right-click."

[Andomis]

If only that was still true, for our gaming convention- we had some Macs- they are the new ones with the right click built in. Apples getting smarter. Haha, very funny though- that has always bugged me over the years... damn ctrl+clicking gets old...........very fast.

[The_Computer_Wizard]

lol i have always found that funny too
apple has gotten smarter
they have gone to intel processors, making their systems much more compatible with things, and thus allowing windows to actually be installed on it
they also like you said, have support for 2 button mouses

however, im curious as to see how they'll do with steve jobs and his hormone thing
he helped build the company, and they went south until he returned. He basically rebuilt the company single handidly and with him possibly out of the picture who knows what might happen
if he didnt rebuild apple to be able to function just as well without him, and they dont find someone else just as intelligent with what consumers will buy, mac might be heading into hard times

[tinkerC]

All that's left to say is this:

"Name one thing a PC can do that a Mac can't."

"Right-click."

Actually, if you press the Control key on a Mac while clicking, that is a right click.



I want to get one thing straight. I love Macs. But I think that, unless they need power, they should not go for a Mac. It is a bad idea. But if they need a lot of power, Macs can handle the power better. If the computers get started up often, go for a Mac as they run faster. But just for MS Word ( Ugh ) and MS Exel ( okay ), than keep with a PC. PCs are good for low-power computers. Macs are expensive, but useful. Ensure that these kids ( I am only 13 myself ), are not grabbed by the Ads, then reconsider.

[AtlasDark]

The right-click argument died a long time ago - those who don't have a remote idea of how to operate OSX will often allude to components of a Windows system in comparison to those of OSX. MacBook trackpad? Press with two fingers. Or use a USB mouse and, gasp, right click.

So far as efficiency or versatility, though, no OS has any particular in advantage, though Apple's pricing is notoriously high for their systems, which would affect a decision to replace machines in accordance to a fixed budget. In spite of this, OSX is a wonderful system to work with, and the excuse "MS Office is better used on a Windows system, obviously" is nonsense, as there's OpenOffice/Google's own line. Open-source/free alternatives FTW!

Security-wise, most Unix systems aren't the targets of too many variants of malware, as a large percentage of users simply accept the OEM machine's OS, which is often Windows in lieu of mass-marketing (Microsoft's clear advantage is the distribution of its OS's), though I myself opt for Unix systems as the infrastructure will not be affected by Windows-viruses (heheh, no C:/ drive so to speak), the target of less abuse.

No system is perfect, though.

[Charlieace]

you should mess with them and get rid of the remaining macs

no but consider it: its a waste of money and the majority wouldn't care. a few kids want macs and your considering going through the long process of chucking or selling some good ol' pc's and buying new macs. then there are the pc lovers, who are pissed you got rid of the pc's for macs. its best just to leave it alone...or chuck the macs...