A Macintosh School 98-99
Destiny is a wonderful thing,especially when it involves a big change of life. Two months ago I threw caution to the wind, giving up a near perfect teaching position in my home town and moved my family 1,400 miles to Portland. At the time I knew I was being called, but the specific reason remained unclear. On September 20th, I believe I found out why. My new school had been bequeathed a large donation to the technology fund. God had wanted me to be in the setup of a technologically modern school. Life doesn’t get much better than this!
As the words rolled off the principal’s lips, my mind immediately began racing through the possible equipment choices from Apple. Then just as soon it had started the vision was stopped dead in its tracks. A fellow teacher had innocently asked what type of computers were to be purchased. Being new I paused rather then pipe up. The principal chirped, “Well, the school has both Windows and Macs. Mark, any solutions?” “Really, there is one way to keep everyone happy and not give up on any software. There are two programs (SoftWindows 95 or Virtual PC) that allow Macs to act like a Windows machine. That way whatever type of machine you or the students have at home, the same files or software can be used.” That gave me some breathing room. My fellow teachers nodded in agreement. The principal added that the computers and accessories would be purchased over the course of two years with the upper grades getting them first. A fine executive decision since the school is K-8 and I’m a 6-8 teacher.
My first thought was the iMac exclusively. A fine idea, keeping to a single model. Fewer idiosyncrasies to deal with means less headaches for me when troubleshooting. With the IMATION SuperDisk attached to one machine (I’m thinking three to four iMacs per room), files from home are no problem. However, one issue comes up that can’t be solved: the iMac has no video-out capability. I know that being able to put on a TV screen what appears on the computer is an incredibly valuable learning tool. So, I changed focus to the G3 all-in-one desktop. With the bells and whistles of Ethernet and video-out each machine hovers around $1900. Not good, when trying to get the most bang for the buck. After spending the better part of a weekend trying to find a workable solution common sense arrives. What’s wrong with a G3 primarily for the teacher and iMacs for the students. All will include a software emulator and 64 megs of RAM. Since the school will be networked, it seems like the best fit.
The October 1st Technology Committee meeting was the next stop. There are a total of five on the group: the principal, three parents, and myself. What I didn’t realize was that two of the three parents work at Intel (Portland is a major Intel office/production center). When I first saw their badges I thought my plan was gone to the deepest recesses of my dreams. The principal seeing my bewilderment took control of the meeting. He first mentioned the brochures from Compaq and Gateway, but little interest was shown. I decided to start slow, “Whatever we get has to have at least 64 megs of RAM.” Everyone agreed. Good first move; build bridges, I thought. Next we went over the inventory, one Mac 5200, three 580s, two HP 233MHz, one generic 233MHz, bunches of 386 and 486s, a few with CD-ROMs, and several IIe’s. All the 386 and 486 machines had been donated, and in truth I mentioned only the five 486s with CDs were of any significant use. One of the Intel ladies piped up, “We need to get machines that will last.” My opening had occurred. “Let me tell you about my experiences. At my last school we had over 75 Macs, and in the four years I was there our total repair bill was less than $500. Our school does not have the funding to repair problem machines.” The principal added, “There is no repair budget to speak of.” At that point the meeting changed from getting the most machines possible to getting the best machines.
The other Intel parent pointed out that two public school districts had in the past few years gone all Windows. True, but they also ended up having to hire a full-time technology troubleshooter for each school, and we don’t have that kind of money, I countered. That’s when the third parent, an employee of Nike, stepped into the discussion and the tables began to turn. “In my area we are running both Windows and Macs, and the Mac people seem to have a religion about their machines.” I asked hoping for a positive statement, “How many machines of each are there?” “Oh, I would say, about 200 Windows and 150 Macs.” “How many technicians to keep each platform up?” I asked. “Approximately five to seven Windows guys, but just one Mac techy,” he replied. The two Intel ladies eyes widened. “Are you sure?” one questioned. “Yes. From having worked with both, the Macintosh Operating System is just more intuitive, even with its flaws I see people being able to do more.” BINGO! A nonsolicited answer. Now, I moved in for the kill. “Do you know that the Mac can run Windows?” They shook their heads. “There are two programs out on the market that through software can make a Mac think it is a Windows machine and run either Windows 95 or 98. The key is that we can be a dual-platform school without having to hire a troubleshooter. I have a Gateway 486 in my room which was down for three weeks and took nearly ten hours of my time to get up and going again. If a bug in the emulation software causes problems all I have to do, if all else fails, is to reload the software. That’s a heck of a lot easier than what I had to do with the Gateway.” Both women were speechless for awhile. Then, the second one spoke up, “Does this software really work?” I told them of my own machine at home running SoftWindows 95 v.4 because my wife works in a Windows environment. They both nodded in agreement.
Having won them over, they began to ask about what type of Macs to purchase. I clued them in on my vision, re-emphasizing the Mac’s dual-platform capability with students being able to start or finish work at home. I also told them of the ease of networking with the built-in Ethernet capability of both machines. The meeting adjourned under the agreement that my classroom would be the demonstration model and that the necessary peripherals would be purchased to insure a successful classroom for the students.
What a rush!!!!!!!
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling
Chiat/Day continues to pump out quality commercials. The first set of iMac ads set a great tone. The camera panning around a Wintel box, wires going everyone. Confusing sounds of chaos. Then the switch to the iMac; smooth lines, only two wires, the deafening quiet. My favorite part is that the viewer actually gets a chance to see the iMac in one image rather than quick flashes (my pet peeve about TV advertising; car ads are the worst).
In just the last few days the second set of ads with Jeff Goldblum have begun to appear. In one he talks about people at a party discussing email and “you” being left out because you don’t have a computer with email capability. This ad is ok, but I only wish they would have shown him hooking up the machine. Maybe in the next set. In the other, Mr. Goldblum discusses the lack of character, boringness, and originality in the typical beige box. Then he gleefully announces the uniqueness of the iMac. This ad has more zing to it, illuminating the “Think Different” theme.
Getting Respect
Since Apple is putting celebrities in front of the camera now, here’s my idea and celebrity choice.
Plain white background
Rodney Dangerfield is shown lifting an iMac out of the box. “Hey, a handle for us average people.” Next, Rodney is shown at a white table reading the manual, “Plugged into the wall, check. And plug this guy in right there. That’s it, it can’t be. There’s got to be more, here it is, push this button.” The startup chime sounds. “Respect, respect. They finally designed one with respect…” The camera changes to a view from behind the iMac. Rodney Dangerfield is wiping tears of joy from his eyes. In the background is a collection of Wintel machines in a pile. The iMac logo on the top of the machine appears and the words “Think Different.”
Homework
Ok, readers, I need your help. If any of you are running SoftWindows or Virtual PC on a network, please email me and let me know how it’s working.
Mark Marcantonio
markm@mymac.com
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