I remember reading a long time ago, about a school that was in NC I believe, that had the same predicament as yours. They looked at the total cost of ownership over the long term, not just short term. They discovered that the TCO or total cost of ownership was far less using Macs than it was with Windows based machines. You can go through several OS upgrades before having to actually replace a Mac. Also, if you go to _www.XvsXP.com_ (http://www.XvsXP.com) you will find a comparison between OS X.4 and XP as well as being directed to their new web site of _http://www.macvswindows.com_ (http://www.macvswindows.com) which you will also find interesting as well. A senior lead programmer from Microsoft said a few years ago, the best computer for running Windows XP is an Intel based Mac. Recently it has been found the best laptop for running Vista is a Macbook Pro. There are less hardware issues when you plug something in and you have multiple external booting options with a new Mac, as you can boot from an external firewire or an external USB drive without any problems at all. With a Mac, you can read and write to an external Windows drive as I do it all the time. For the most part, upgrading the hardware on a newer Mac requires just about the same hardware that you would find in a Windows based machine. All Macs are PC's but not all PC's are Macs. A PC aka a personal computer is a box of hardware that runs an operating system that then runs programs. There are some programs you can only find for Mac, such as Final Cut Pro. Microsoft usually has a version of their Windows based programs for Mac so they can't say they can't use Microsoft programs. Just my two cents worth. Also, you don't have to worry about viruses with Macs like you do with Windows as the security vulnerabilities aren't there like they are with Windows. The Mac OS X was built from the ground up and is certified as a Unix version and has been around a lot longer than Microsoft has been around. It also sounds like your IT guy needs to be drinking Zavita which will help get rid of his brain fog. In a message dated 9/22/2008 11:06:59 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I was just reading the iMac Purchase thread and though the membership would like to hear this. I am a Teacher and have been doing IT work at our School for many years.I started with an LC 475 and have owned and operated just about everything Mac-Made since then. Five years ago our School Board amalgamated with another large School Board and subsequently came up with something called the T.M.P. or Tech Master Plan whereas every school will receive new equipment every five years. We have just finished our 1st five years and so will be replacing about 100 computers plus peripherals. There is a specific formula which we must adhere to that states what we can buy.The last five years were spent with mostly IBM Think Centers and Thinkpads although we had some iBooks and eMacs as well. This time around I am going to push iMacs.Due to the Capacitor problems with some of the emacs I talked them into an "advance" on the TMP and we have been using our new iMacs since last June (17 total).These are in the Art Dept. and Media. Studies. I have developed a fairly convincing argument for an all iMac purchase i.e. iMacs are cutting edge MultiMedia and kids just LOVE them.If they REALLY have to have Windows then fine we can accommodate that for minimal cost (boot camp or aftermarket).Lastly it is VERY well known that Macs are considerably less expensive to operate. I like to get right to the point.If anyone has further comments or contributions FIRE AWAY. P.S. We are on a School LAN connected to a Board WAN. The majority of the administrators are not particularly clued-in but the main IT Manager is a Pc guy. **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Low End Mac's iMac List, a group for those using G3, G4, G5, and Intel Core iMacs as well as Apple eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
