COLUMN: Exclusively Macintosh campus does not make any sense

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by Christof Spieler

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TEN YEARS ago, Rice chose an untested and unsupported computer for student computer labs. That computer was the Apple Macintosh.

At that time, many questioned the decision. They were right then, and they would still be right today. History has shown the university wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Macs are horrible machines. It's just that PCs are, on the whole, better.

I'm sure a band of Mac fanatics will attack me on this point. They will trot out a well-worn list of arguments. That list, a mantra almost, will sound something like this:

* "Macs are easier to use." Not anymore. Fact is, the Windows 95 interface is markedly better than Mac System 7.5.whatever. Even a MacWeek columnist has admitted that. Right-clicking, quickview and the taskbar have no Mac equivalent, and the Apple Menu is a poor subsitute for Windows' Start Menu.

Yes, the Mac system software is due for a major update in mid-1997, according to Apple. There'll be another upgrade of Windows by then.

* "We were there first." True, in many cases. But that's irrelevant. It's who's better that counts.

* "Macs are more stable." Yeah, right. For a while, the Thresher was keeping a log of each time our Macs crashed. We were averaging over a half dozen per machine per day.

Since I installed Windows 95 in October, my computer hasn't crashed once. True, applications have crashed, but they didn't take the whole system with them, as they probably would have on a Mac.

* "Macs are better for the Internet." I have no idea why anyone believes this. Have you heard of Java, the new programming language that's going to revolutionize the Internet? Right now Netscape supports Java only on Windows 95/NT and UNIX platforms. Got a Mac? Sorry.

Oh, and have you visited the Apple WWW site recently? It's hellishly slow. I was going to read their "50 reasons why the Mac is better than Windows 95," but after waiting 30 seconds for each one to load, I gave up. The Microsoft site, based on Windows NT, is a lot faster (and it's one of the busiest sites on the Web).

* "Mac applications are better." Fact is, every major Mac application is available for Windows (Even in graphics design, traditionally a Mac stronghold). These days, in fact, they're usually available for Windows first. Many applications aren't available for the Mac at all.

If you want a Windows spreadsheet, you've got three to chose from. For the Mac, there's two, and one of them hasn't been upgraded in ages. When it comes to many specialized applications, you have no Mac choices at all.

* "Macs network better." These days, it's a tie. Windows 95 has built-in networking support, just like the Mac. It also has TCP/IP built in (that's what you need to connect to Owlnet over the campus Ethernet network. On the Mac, you have to add it in.)

* "Macs are more popular for education." True, maybe, but that's only because other universities made the same mistake Rice did.

In the real world, Macs have less than 10 percent market share, and that's shrinking. When Rice students get a job, they'll most likely be using Windows. Why should we be using Macintosh here?

Still, Rice sticks stubbornly to the Macintosh.

If I had a Mac, I could transfer this file directly to the Thresher computers; Mudd Lab has configured the campus network to enable Mac file sharing.

They could do the same for Windows. And if I want to print to a laser printer, I have to walk across campus to find the only public PCs on campus, not just downstairs to my college's Mac lab.

I have a better computer and a better operating system, but when it comes to computing on campus, I'm a second-class citizen. Somehow, it doesn't make sense. Or could it be that the Mac people are jealous?

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the February 2, 1996 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
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