Mac or PC?

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on July 10, 2008 at 6:35pm

What kinds of issues were these? Were they caused by the PCs not being setup properly (software issues) or by hardware issues (perhaps a vendor issue).

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Cains on July 7, 2008 at 1:29pm

The Great Mac vs PC Debate - Love it!

Just a few quick things:

Firstly, let's dismiss the "Macs have less issues with viruses" arguement. If your Microsoft Windows environment has an enterprise software solution for dealing with these nasties, it isn't an issue on PCs either. Virus/Trojan writers don't target Apple Macs simply because they only have <10% market share!

Spec for spec, hardware for hardware (yes, the guts of a Apple Mac is mostly same as a PC nowdays), you are paying more for the integrated, designer solution of a Mac.

I saw someone mention "quadrupled support costs" for PCs. Poorly-managed network environments, or networks with poor infrastructure have higher downtime and greater support costs. Get your network in check first, before spending heaps on ten's of computers!

An advantage in buying a Apple Mac at present is that you can have 'the best of both worlds' and run Windows XP or Vista on your Mac using Boot Camp.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Anderson on July 7, 2008 at 5:46pm

I couldn't agree with you more! One of the problems I do see with using a Mac to run Windows, is the added support and software costs associated with it. If you have MS Office, if you want to use it on your Mac and Windows, you will need two licenses (and it goes on and on). I know a lot of "Mac Users" that boot up their Mac and then start Windows and stay in Windows all day, every day! While I do agree that it is not the majority of Mac users, there are those that "need" a Mac, only to use it as a Windows Front End. What a waste of money. If they need a Mac, then they should get a Mac, and if they need a Windows Machine, then they should get a Windows Machine! Both platforms are completely capable of doing the same things! Contrary to what some people think, you don't need a Mac do to Movies, Podcasts, Desktop Publishing or any other common (or uncommon) tasks, Windows does have the capability, you may need some additional hardware and software, but the OS is fully capable. When you add the extras onto a Mac to make it a Windows machine, for a couple of hundred dollars more you could have a Mac and a PC and two students would be using computers instead of only one!
Personally I think Indiana has a better answer than either the Mac or PC debate. http://www.doe.in.gov/inaccess/ if you are interested! We need to find affordable, sustainable and reliable resources and I think both Mac and Windows do not fit into these three categories! (thats not saying that there shouldn't be any of these computers, its just that neither of these are the solution to educations need for technology!). We need to look at ourselves and try to seperate "needs" from "wants" or "gotta have", and only when we change, will the answers be obvious.
Have a great summer!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Cains on July 8, 2008 at 12:58am

Both operating systems can co-exist in the school environment. For the "day-to-day stuff" our computers are Windows, mostly because of a Volume Licensing Agreement between the NZ Ministry of Education and Microsoft. However, Apple Mac is the preferred platform for our Music, Art/Design/Graphics and Media Studies departments. And if you're on a tight budget, check out the various Open Source solutions: Ubuntu, OpenOffice, The GIMP etc. :)

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Permalink Reply by Scott Walker on July 10, 2008 at 7:32pm

Do you teach in Indiana? I just posted a brief article covering the idea of using Linux in the classroom and love to hear how it is going over there.

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Permalink Reply by Hans Feldmeier on July 8, 2008 at 1:40am

Hi Lisa, okay in private I like to work on wirth Macs.
But in the classroom I have to use PCs.
Anyway - now we focus on Web 2.0 apps - thus there is less difference!
Cheers
Hans

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Fahler on July 8, 2008 at 8:07pm

These cost discussions are exactly why I'd like to see Linux distros like Edubuntu, Ubuntu, and Xubuntu (for older machines) have more support (and be taken more seriously) by educators.

Because Mac is UNIX-based, it manages memory in a way that allows it to be used all day. On the other hand, the vertical integration Steve Jobs has unfortunately (intelligently?) introduced to Apple keeps prices high. With Linux, we can inexpensively run decent programs on an operating system that can afford to be "abused" by students, staff, and faculty.

But... this is just an ideal world, I suppose. My short answer? From a teacher's point of view, I'd lean toward the Mac. From an administrator's point of view - probably toward Windows.

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Permalink Reply by gui on July 9, 2008 at 10:00pm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3065/is_n9_v18/ai_7876835

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Fahler on July 10, 2008 at 6:40am

The fascinating thing about this article is how relevant it is in spite of its ancient age (1989(!!!)). I noticed that the same issues/problems with both operating systems (though DOS has been replaced by Windows XP and Vista) are still applicable.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Staton on July 10, 2008 at 12:04am

what are you looking for. pcs are great if you want to game, replace parts, and stay budget. macs are good for everything else.

be more specific. i was a happy pc user when i just wanted a powerful machine and i didn't do too much. now that i am all over everything (i program, design, and publish) i like the mac way way way better.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Staton on July 10, 2008 at 12:06am

oh yeah, like Josh said, pcs are way way way easier to admin across large networks.

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on July 10, 2008 at 7:21pm

My base response:

Macs are more expensive and despite claims of the OSes superiority and the computers being engineered for the software they still have issues due to bugs. OS X was also the first OS to fall in the pwn2own contest at Can-Sec West this year so while it suffers from less viruses it is still vulnerable to exploits. OS X also suffers from 'enterprise level' management woes due to a lack of features in OD (Open Directory). Apple computers, not OS X, has one set of killer-apps right now in the iLife Suite. You just have to remember that your first 'dose' is free, but when you want to upgrade to a newer version on your older Macs you will have to pay for it.

Windows PCs are, by default, less secure than a Mac but with a good system administrator it will actually more secure, if you use Netware or Active Directory, due to the ease of enterprise level administration. Windows PCs are less expensive even when you buy them from a quality vendor. For laptops I would choose Lenovo or HP (HP is the market leader) and for desktops I would choose HP. Windows has no answer to the iLife suite, but for most other applications it wins hands down.

My background:
I am a System Administrator who started using Apple computers in K-12 and in college, but due to cost switched to PCs after I graduated from college. I have run Netware and Active Directory Directory Services managing 1600+ windows PCs. I am currently assisting my Apple system administrator in integrating his Macs with OD and testing the ability to authenticate users with AD. The Apple environment supports 1200+ machines. The experience I have gained with Macs over the last six months has allowed me to see some of their strengths and weaknesses. OD is where Microsoft was back in the NT 4 days and is not sufficient for managing an enterprise quantity of Macs. Apple's response to a recent issue we have with our wireless environment was less than impressive and ended with them suggesting we purchase an upgrade to 10.5 to fix the problem.

My personal recommendation would be to use Macs in Music/Art labs and PCs in the remainder. In some cases I also think Linux or thin clients would work in place of a Windows PC.

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