--- Forwarded Message from John de Szendeffy <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 13:07:41 -0400
>From: John de Szendeffy <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>Organization: Boston University
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #4845.5 Any labs using iMacs? (!)
>References: <[log in to unmask]>
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I, and others I'm sure, thank Charles Wolff for his thoughtful elaboration on his initial post. I agree that we should not pursue the PC v. Mac debate here, but that wasn't really the point. Many members on this list depend on others for technical and purchasing advice, and therefore I think we have a responsibility to them to offer only carefully considered and reasoned advice supported by other evidence.
> As a tech with more than 20 years of experience in academic and corporate settings, I will agree that floppies are nearly useless for the end-user these days. But they sure do make support an awful lot easier. One of those things you never miss until you need it. If I use one even once a year to get a machine back on its feet, its paid for itself.
I respect this amount of experience. I would not argue that a floppy has no use, but in the "real world" that Charles talks about, everything is, in fact, a trade off. What you spend on 50 floppy drives that might be indispensable "even once a year" would be more effectively spent elsewhere, such as a more viable portable media, like the Zip, that you could use every day. An internal Zip option on the G3 I just ordered was $90 (educ.)--less than an add-on USB floppy drive.
The argument that a one-piece unit fails in its entirety when one component fails is, on the surface, true. In practice, however, when a cpu or monitor fails on a component system, then you're still down one computer unless you have a spare complementary component hanging out in a closet, which is not a cost-effective strategy. It's also not cost-effective to build redundant systems when the probability of failure is far lower than the cost of such a failure. The monitors Apple puts in these one-piece units fail so rarely that, according to a senior technician at our university supplier, neither Apple nor their supplier even bothers stocking them. In three years of using 34 one-piece 5260s, I've had no monitor failure.
>
> >G3 instead of iMacs? Sure, great idea--if you have the option of spending twice as much and have the room for them.
>
> Now this is the real debate, here. With an iMac coming in at around $1,200 it is hard to beat. But a 300 MHz G3 is currently $1,600 at MacWarehouse. Hardly twice as much! Add the availability of educational discounts and clearances, etc., and a G3 looks better and better. Of course, if you have to make major modifications to your facility to accomodate them, well, a G3 is simply not an option as the savings fades away. So why do you ask?
>
Okay, I'm busted. The G3 isn't quite twice as much. Let's go to the Apple Store for Education online and build these systems. This is what we'll find:
G3/300 w/ monitor and nothing else: $1,888
iMac/266: $1,099
iMac/233 (original): $999
Now multiply this difference by the number of lab stations and we have a savings that is not inconsiderable ($14,202 or $16,002 for our proposed 18-seat lab), especially if, as Charles says, it will need to be replaced in three years in any case.
I think these debates, disagreements and differing perspectives and all, are useful for the list members that depend on them for their decision making. I respond to Charles in this spirit, thank him for his elaboration, and look forward to future debates (though not necessarily on this topic as this thread may be getting tattered).
Cheers,
-John
__________________________________________
John de Szendeffy <[log in to unmask]>
Multimedia Language Lab
Center for English Language and Orientation Programs
Boston University
ph (617) 353-7957 fx (617) 353-6195
Lab: http://www.bu.edu/celop/MLL
CTG: http://www.bu.edu/celop/CTG
Personal: http://www.bu.edu/johndesz/
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