Apple Help

[Grommit]

Hi

We are a PC School with 600 PC's and 9 Windows 2003 Servers..

My Boss likes the RM One and Viglen Omnipro Style PC and we have a few of those areund the site..

But now my Boss is being corrupted to the darkside and has been around to some Apple lovers home and likes the all in one style of the I-Mac..

And now with the Dual Boot I can't say that or programs won't run on it...

We have invested in Ranger and use it for the security of the network...

And have no Apples onsite..

Can Members please give me constructive arguements on why we shouldn't want Apples.. as I really do not need Apples in my life

[Geoff]

There's nothing wrong with Macs per say. However you can make constructive arguments for refusing them in school based on added support costs and lack of skills.

Do be aware that you can lock them down (if you purchase Mac OSX server) and they are a worthwhile addition to a school IMHO. There's nothing wrong with a bit of diversity.

[tech_guy]

Hi

We are a PC School with 600 PC's and 9 Windows 2003 Servers..

My Boss likes the RM One and Viglen Omnipro Style PC and we have a few of those areund the site..

But now my Boss is being corrupted to the darkside and has been around to some Apple lovers home and likes the all in one style of the I-Mac..

And now with the Dual Boot I can't say that or programs won't run on it...

We have invested in Ranger and use it for the security of the network...

And have no Apples onsite..

Can Members please give me constructive arguements on why we shouldn't want Apples.. as I really do not need Apples in my life

Unless your institution is doing multimedia/graphic design courses then I don't see the point in having them. I'd go outside and slit your wrists now if I were you ;-)

[Domino]

I'm a huge mac fan, and for design/video/sound production they're amazing, but like tech_guy said, unless you're doing that kind of thing they're probably not worth the aggro.

You'll need an osx server to get the best from them - and replacing drives, etc in an iMac is a total pain.

As Geoff has said - if you can get a machine with osx server on it and have them running locked down they're not a network issue - but it needs proper research and implementation

[webman]

Initial purchase cost, too - you can usually get double the amount of PCs for the same price you get macs.

Also is there a valid reason for the macs other than "they're pretty"?

[j17sparky]

My arguement would be thats its effectively (nearly) doubling your workload and cost;

Double the software deployment methods/and cost
Double the OS deployment/and cost
Double the backup device costs and setup/use
Etc

Not to mention, as has already been said, the initial cost will be crippling compared to what you could get PC wise.

Plus with the dual boot arguement you've just doubled your OS and software costs per machine.



If your network is already ALL macs then yeah macs are fine, otherwise im yet to hear a good arguement for them.

[gaz350]

If you have ZERO investment in mac kit then the double costs argument would be the right angle.

One of the great advantages of having a multi platform network is it gives kids the skills to use a computer and not a GCSE in XP + Office 2003.

[webman]

You can have a multi-platform network at no cost if you use Linux or BSD. You don't need to overdose on apples to provide tranferable skills.

[Dos_Box]

Webman. You broke the site. Hang you head in shame for your glib posts and satanic sig.

*we are basing this assumption on the fact that you were the last one to post before it died.

[kingswood]

My arguement would be thats its effectively (nearly) doubling your workload and cost;

Double the software deployment methods/and cost
Double the OS deployment/and cost
Double the backup device costs and setup/use
Etc

Not to mention, as has already been said, the initial cost will be crippling compared to what you could get PC wise.

Plus with the dual boot arguement you've just doubled your OS and software costs per machine.



If your network is already ALL macs then yeah macs are fine, otherwise im yet to hear a good arguement for them.

I'm sorry but most of that simply isn't true.

Whilst the argument still prevails from techies (usually because they don't understand Mac OS X) that it is "only for design shops" or "not for the enterprise" or even "more expensive and harder to support" alternatives to Windows will not gain ground. And that's the same for Linux too. It simply isn't true. The only basis for an argument you really have is that to dual boot your licensing costs will go up. Storage is not an issue if you invest in some kind of NAS device, and the point about doubling software deployment methods/costs is really a mute one. How many times have you had to jump through tiny hoops to get software running on your Windows network?

I haven't had to worry about software deployment on OS X since getting ARD. Period. And if I want to I can create MetaPackages and get them out or I can put them into an image. Same as I would using Prism and Ghost together.

And how long does it take you to set up a backup device???



:?

[webman]

Wasn't me. Someone stole my password. I have allabys!! :P ops:

[_Bat_]

Wasn't me. Someone stole my password. I have allabys!! :P ops:

Lol, come on Craig, we all know you are a l33t h4x0r by night, innocent techie by day

[webman]

That's as maybe but I would never intentionally hurt the beloved EduGeek

[GrumbleDook]

We mustn't hurt the precious .... gollum, gollum

[Ric_]

I would have to disagree with those that are saying hardware costs are higher with Apple.

If you compare an iMac with the cheapest 'guy-down-the-road' computer then there is a big difference in cost but comparing them with a PC of similarly high build quality from a tier-one supplier such as HP, there is simply not the massive price difference you elude to. If you factor in software comparable to iLife you are unlikely to beat the price too!

I admit that Apple computers do seem to develop random problems which don't have common sense fixes and you will also have to learn a new skillset but IMHO this should not prevent you from buying them if they are the most suitable choice for a job - music and multimedia being the obvious choices.