I was saddened to read this quote from our district’s new provisioning plan:
"All computer systems deployed through the provisioning plans will be based on the Microsoft Windows platform. Documents created with certain Mac OS applications may require conversion to be readable and/or usable with the new platform. Users are encouraged to work with OIT if conversion of a large number of files is necessary."
While it’s thoughtful of them to help folks get converted, I’m just so disappointed at the lack of Mac love we’re showing. I love my Mac, but I also acknowledge that some people may prefer Windows. To me, it’s a matter of what people can use most effectively to get their jobs done.
Now I’m not knocking the hard-working people in OIT – I know the kinds of support questions they must get asked on a daily basis. And I also understand that part of the reason for de-Mac-ing the district is so that there is only one platform to support, but for some reason it still makes me think that we’re depriving folks of the opportunity to work on both platforms. Since the switch to Intel processors, Macs are gaining – not losing – traction among users, and while I know they’re not a common "business" platform, they certainly have much to offer in terms of offering our students opportunities to create content in a variety of media.
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We were changed to a PC district a number of years ago, but I’ve been noticing the same thing–more and more students have been coming in with Mac files or Mac laptops, and it seems like we are doing a disservice to those students by not being able to support their work.
(Not to mention that doing things like recording videoblogs is a lot easier on a mac!)
I switched our school to PCs when I started six years ago because I was Mac-phobic and Apple wasn’t doing too well. It has been easier to update with remanufactured systems and a zero budget, but given the choice and the budget, I would switch to Macs now in a second. The user-friendliness and multimedia capabilities paired with the user-centered improvements of Apple are incredible. Regardless of platform, I find it hard to believe any IT department will rid all support of either platform. Now that Mac is Intel-based, I rarely see file conversion as an issue.
When I became the technology coordinator at a high school back in 2002, I was a die-hard Windows fanatic. I thought Macs were toys and were the exclusive domain of artsy types who didn’t want to learn how to use an actual computer. Of course, I was right out of the private sector…
Then I got my hands on a PowerBook running the second iteration of OS X and I was in heaven. When we purchased machines for our new campus, I did a 50/50 split of Macs and PCs and everyone was happy. I managed a Windows 2003 Server right from my Powerbook using the Windows Remote Desktop client for Mac.
If I was in the same position again, I’d probably buy Macbooks (or Macbook Pros!) for everyone and run either Boot Camp or Parallels for those folks who only want Windows. That’s actually pretty similar to what the school is doing today — I keep in touch regularly with former colleagues there as they are much more on the “technology forefront” than my current school and it’s nice to stay up-to-date on these things.