US University Dumps Windows to go All Mac

MacKeyser passed us a link to a MacWorld article about a University doing things a little differently. Instead of sticking with their inefficient mix of Apple and PC systems, the college is doing a 'total technology refresh', and adopting an all-Mac policy on the campus. Previously, a class at Wilkes University would be outfitted with something like 20 Macs and 20 PCs, to allow for individual preferences in software and OS use. With Boot Camp students at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college will be able to switch between Windows and OSX, choosing which applications and OS to use at any given time. "[Scott Byers, vice president for finance and the head of campus IT said] 'We think it will save $150,000 directly, in buying fewer units - even though the Macs cost more per unit than PCs.' The school, which enrolls about 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students, will reduce its inventory from nearly 1,700 computers to around 1,450 after the change over. Other costs savings, however, will be harder to measure. 'By standardizing, the IT department should be more productive,' Byers said."

Re:Mac?

[Ino]

> At my university, we have half Windows and half Linux. And in one lab, we have 1 Mac. I have never saw anybody to use it more than 10 minutes.

That's because they're so efficient on it, their work is done in 10 minutes. Duh... PC!

Ino!~

Re:Good for them!

[h2g2bob]

Well, art does have a well known liberal bias.

Re:Good for them!

[that this is not und]

The 'Altivec meme' has been cancelled. It is no longer to be used as an explanation of why Apple products are 'superior.' Similarly, all 'Pentium' jokes have now been rescinded, and any records regarding said jokes in the past are being wiped.

Didn't you get the fax?

Re:Because that's what they've always used

[Anonymous Coward]

"many people don't like change, thus they stick with Macs because that's what they've always used.

Well, that, and they probably like the fact that you don't need to run crappy software like Symantec or McAfee. Or Maybe they don't want to participate in the ritual suicide of computer users known as "upgrading to Windows Vista".

Re:Because that's what they've always used

[gb506]

Only on /. (and digg, i suppose) would someone say Apple/OSX "might be a dead end platform before long" while commenting on a post about a university going 100% Mac. With Vista getting panned all over the place along side growing share in the Mac base, you have to either be on serious dope or suffer from mild retardation to put that statement in writing.