Re: Computers

[Lowell Herr <herr@catseq.catlin.edu>]

This debate between Macs and 'Wintel' computers reminds me of when I was 
a small boy and my cousins would argue with friends as to which brand 
tractor was best - Farmall or John Deere.  As I recall, both would pull a 
plow. <g> 

I use Mac and PC's both at the house and at school and I find 
advantages to each.  What drives me to one machine or the other is not 
the computer but the software.  There are programs 
I frequently use that are only available on one machine.  More 
frequently than not, this is the PC and as a result I use them more 
frequently than the Macs.  I do find Macs easier to network than 
PC's.  Nevertheless, I purchase PC's to Macs in a ratio of 5 to 2 
due in large part to cost and availability & diversity of 
software.  Because we have both in the lab, my students move back 
and forth between the machines with a lot of ease although they will 
tend to analyze data on the computer they have at home - very 
understandable.  The PC world needs the competition provided by Apple and 
that is why I am rooting for the company.  Unfortunately, Apple has done a 
lousy job of marketing their product for a long time and major companies 
are no longer purchasing Macs.  With market share declining there is less 
drive to develop software for the machines and this brings me back to my 
main point.  Buy the computer that will run the software you need.

Lowell Herr
Project PHYSLab
The Catlin Gabel School
Portland, OR 97225
On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Tish Richey wrote:

> I have a PC lab in my room at school and a Mac at home.  We constantly have
> problems with our PC network at school.  To the point that most students
> have never touched a keyboard except to move it out of the way.  It may the
> brand of PC's, it may be the cabling, it may be stray voltage problem that
> went undetected in the room for the first two years of the labs life, it
> may be....?
>
> Recently, while working at home I had a system error, probably because I
> was emailing, word processing, surfing and working on some layout at the
> same time.  He said it was because of the type of computer I was using.  I
> laughed and relayed atleast I could open all of those at once,  something
> we are unable to do at school.
>
> I also have a PC at home , it is in the bottom of a closet.  Anyone want to
> buy it?
>
> Tish Richey
> prichey@venus.net
> 500 South Gardner Street
> Scottsburg High School
> PHONE (812) 752-8927
> FAX (812) 752-6207
> Scottsburg, Indiana 47170