SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (09/03/87)
I concur with what John Buono and Bruce Halpern had to say about the choice between Mac vs PC at a University. What I'd add about my experience with the blindly, slavishly following IBM like a puppy dog place I work for is the choice may also depend on field of study. Our business and engineering schools don't like to admit that there is any kind of desktop computer that doesn't run MS-DOS. Our school of education (no surprise) and our physics and chemistry departments are Apple II prone (the school of ed has some Mac's too). Lab sciences like Apple II's because (at least to begin with) boards exist that allow Apple's to interface with lab devices. Such boards now exist for PC's and Mac's as well BUT Apple II's still are cheaper (lab scientists are likely to look for used Apple II+'s because they don't really need the full keyboard and other features of //e's and IIgs's plus rebuilt II+'s sell for as little as $350). If it appears that a PC or clone is the choice ask LOTS of questions about disk format (5.25 vs 3.5). IBM isn't shipping ANY machines with 5.25 drives any more (much to the chagrin of our Computer Center which has backed the IBM nameplate <clones need not apply> on the grounds of a standard <needless to say no one ordered any 3.5 software, not even DOS, to go with the PS/2 Model 30's that are being delivered to puzzled local users>). --------------------- ARPA: sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@wiscvm.wisc.edu Murphy A. Sewall BITNET: SEWALL@UCONNVM School of Business Admin. UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL University of Connecticut