Apple Launches $1099 21.5-Inch iMac With 3.3 GHz Dual-Core i3 Processor for Educational Institutions

[skippymac]

Except that it is not necessarily the school's responsibility to ensure that every student leaves being well versed in how to operate a computer. ICT is there to serve as a platform to pick up 21st century skills. If learning how to operate a PC is the biggest stumbling block, then one of the solutions would clearly be to either use a simpler OS, or even a more intuitive device like the ipad, where anybody can just pick it up and start using it within 5 minutes.

This is arguable. I hate to keep revisiting the same argument but this could be perceived as saying it's not the schools responsibility to teach a child to read. You can't just teach someone using children's books until they are 18 and then send them into a world which they then can't deal with.

I think it all depends on where you draw the line on what you want schools to teach children.

One slightly different point I'd like to make is that there is a danger when you use simpler and simpler OSes to teach, as there will be a shortage of young people with the skills or interest to go into software development, a problem that hopefully will be addressed by the Raspberry Pi foundation and similar projects!

 

[Bubba Satori]

Someone must have run a speed test on one by now.

Image

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That looks like about a 20% performance difference. Please pardon me for posting factual data.

Rocketman

Thanks for bringing to our attention that you left out the factual data
that a 40% less expensive $700 AIO with an i5 is so much faster
than a ridiculously expensive iMac with 3 year old performing i3.

Performance/value factual data is ever so helpful.
School districts around the country should voice their gratitude to you.

 

[chirpie]

That's extreme. If I was running a school, it would have nothing better than 2006 iMacs (G3s if they didn't use so much power). What the heck do you need a 3.3GHz dual core processor for in a school?

If public schools end up buying these, I will lose all remaining respect for any politician requesting extra school funding.

I don't understand this post. If you want to buy Macs for your school, it's not like Apple still sells the computer from 2006 to save the extra money.

Are schools expected to hunt down legacy hardware AND be able to buy them in bulk AND have reliable components with actual warranties?

I don't see that happening.

 

[fxtech]

"Don't know why budget-conscious schools don't buy PCs. PCs are far better than Mac even though I'm a Mac, iPhone, and iPad user."

When you consider that Macs will run Windows, OSX and Linux, virtualized or through bootcamp... Does the monetary difference trump that capability?

Cheaper windows machines can do the same thing.

 

[rovex]

You'll only ever see private schools with macs which acts as an addtional selling point otherwise public institutions and uni's will stick with windows.

 

[sseaton1971]

I suppose both arguments have some merit. I learnt the really basic stuff like what a monitor is called, how to turn on and off a computer either from parents or from doing badges at beavers. I can remember my dad sitting me down and teaching me how to use a web browser.

I'm sure things are slightly different now as even in my short lifetime computers are hugely more commonplace in homes and kids are using them earlier and earlier, but the fact remains that they do have to learn to use a computer somehow.

Yes, when doing IT at school we used software in the context of a project, but the project itself was largely irrelevant and was used to teach how to use basic software such as an office suite. In my opinion there's something wrong with the way IT is taught, at least in my experience as these classes were either far too simple for people, or didn't help them understand how to use a computer at all.

At college I did A level computing which was much more programming based, and arguably more platform independent due to the concepts often being very transferrable.

In our school district, in many grade levels, our students use Photoshop and other CS apps, iMovie, Garageband, and other iLife apps, Autodesk Inventor, Graphing Calculators (Apple's and a third party's), iStopMotion for animated projects, OpenOffice/Office/iWork apps, Comic Life for digital story telling, Google Apps, Logger Pro for science probes, and the list goes on and on. Our students experience so much more than basic word processing and spreadsheet activities, although we do those things, too, if they align with the desired educational outcomes. In the process of using these tools that are directly related to the various content areas, our students learn what they need to know about computers.

 

[arcite]

these systems will be just fine even for consumers. I wish they would offer them to the public...then maybe I would buy one (once they hit the refurb store)

Ask an 'educator' in a nice tone to buy one for you!

 

[MacMilligan]

PC's are nerdy. Mac's are cool. If you want to engage the general population of kids, you need to be cool.

And what Macnerd93 said...too!

I think you forget that nerdy is cool right now

 

[Dr Charter]

I wonder which dumb school will use that.

A lot of schools will and it is not dumb to do so. A line of these in a library computer lab will look really good and be more than powerful enough to handle the web research, word processing, and social networking that students use them for.

All three universities where I've worked have expanded their libraries into "learning centers" or "information commons." These are open spaces designed for student collaboration and interaction. It's become a major part oft their marketing and a highlight on any campus tour. For the aesthetics alone, these units are attractive for universities trying to attract new students.

 

[G51989]

Microsoft discontinued mainstream support of Windows XP on April 14th 2009. Extended support will end next year on April 8th 2014. They stopped selling XP at retail on June 30, 2008 and preinstalled on October 22, 2010.

Indeed, XP is still being supported until 2014, 13 years of great support.

April 8, 2014 is going to be the new Y2K. Microsoft will stop issuing updates to plug holes in XP at that time. As new exploits are found all these machines are going to get whacked.

That won't matter by 2014, the masses are going to Windows 7, the best selling software title of all time, it exceeds Windows 8 sales and OSX sales by massive margins, people want Windows 7. Microsoft still makes huge profits off Windows 7.

If you had to run an unsupported OS, which would you rather have XP or some Mac OS X variant?

Neither, its why the vast majority of business's and home users are going to 7/8.

And neither, an unsupported OS is something you dont want, weather it Be Microsoft or Apple. An unsupported version of Snow Leopard is no better off than an Windows XP Machine.

Though I love my Macs, I gotta say. Windows XP has stood the test of time 10 times better than any OS.

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Why don't the schools buy Mac Minis? The baselines ones are only $599, and the $799 models with Core i7 quad totally destroys this computer. All the school needs to add to these are $100 20 inch monitors + $10 Dell-made mouse and keyboard.

This is what I'm talking about.

If schools want Macs, get a Mini and a 100 dollar Dell Monitor.

 

[fxtech]

A lot of schools will and it is not dumb to do so. A line of these in a library computer lab will look really good and be more than powerful enough to handle the web research, word processing, and social networking that students use them for.

Stuff that could be done on practically *any* computing device.

So what you're saying is, if you're going to be caught using the Interwebs or the Twitterz, you better look good doing it with a shiny, overpriced status symbol.

 

[MrDc2]

Who calls an OS vendor for support?
That's why you have an IT dept.
Configure PC, image and deploy via PXE server.
It's also easy to create a single image that can be deployed to various PC hardware/types/manufactures
OS setup/maintenance is trivial and so is PC security if you know what your doing.

Maintaining PC's isn't rocket science or require excessive frequent manipulation/corrections like some here believe.

Uhm. Plenty of people. I get a call every 2 minutes for 8 hours a day from people asking for Mac OS X support.

 

[bawbac]

uhm. Plenty of people. I get a call every 2 minutes for 8 hours a day from people asking for mac os x support.

exactly !

 

[Abazigal]

If a school were to simply buy the low end iMac Consumer for $200 more it would lower the total cost of ownership, because they could resell them in 3-4 years for a significant fraction of what they paid. Then get the current low end all-in-one.

You can't say that about a WinTel PC lab. In fact some schools buy Macs for their Windows labs for this reason.

Rocketman

I keep hearing about this high resale value, but just who will be willing to buy gimped iMacs 4-5 years down the road, much less fork out a decent price for it? I personally wouldn't even consider getting a 2010 Mac from a 3rd party, simply because I won't know what had been done to it.

 

[macnerd93]

You realize that it sounds like you're providing evidence to support his point?

think you need to read my argument again. The Macs on my campus required far less intervention for them to work properly and their initial running costs where much lower than the windows based PC's on campus. IT techs had to be called most often when people wanted to logon on a windows machine they failed so often.

I even remember one of the IT techs saying to me once after I asked why they disliked macs and there response was

"if the everyone used Macs we'd be pretty much out of a job"

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How long ago were you at your old college? Please don't compare 10 to 15 year old Windows systems against today's Apple OSX.




Do you have stats on that "last longer" bit - it seems that Apple's moved to the mode of planned obsolescence forcing frequent upgrades.




This is a ludicrous claim, considering that XP from 2001 is still the most popular OS. Is any Apple stuff from 2001 still useful?




Today?




+1




+1

And, in case anyone still believes that Apple OSX and Apple computers are better long-term, my desktop gadget today is saying:

Image​

So, XP - which was released before Apple OSX 10.1 "Cheetah" for 600 MHz PPC G3 systems - is still supported.

How does Apple compare to that?

Umm well i wasn't at college 10 or 15 years ago. I only left in May 2011 The machines where all New HP systems running Vista and Windows 7. I'm now at University and Macs are a pretty common site everywhere, most students seem to have them.

 

[gnasher729]

There are hundreds of millions of kids who use computers. Almost none of them can tell you the difference between big endian and little endian.

I knew when I was six. Thanks to Jonathan Swift and Gulliver's travels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver's_Travels

 

[Fatalbert]

I don't understand this post. If you want to buy Macs for your school, it's not like Apple still sells the computer from 2006 to save the extra money.

Are schools expected to hunt down legacy hardware AND be able to buy them in bulk AND have reliable components with actual warranties?

I don't see that happening.

Yeah, that's what they do with non-Mac PCs right now. All random old Dells and HPs running XP, sometimes with a WGA crack so it stays "genuine".

Refurbished hardware is also an option.

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Love the eMac at school but you must be insane to pay that price unless your school (Private) has deep pockets!

The eMac, factoring in electricity costs over a few years, must have been more expensive. I don't think either of these computers are worth buying for a school new.

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There are hundreds of millions of kids who use computers. Almost none of them can tell you the difference between big endian and little endian.

Were kids in the 80s besides those few in computer science classes able to tell the difference?

Besides, you might as well say that chemists know the most about computers because they know all the properties of the chemicals that computers are built from. It's just not important.

 

[Rocketman]

I keep hearing about this high resale value, but just who will be willing to buy gimped iMacs 4-5 years down the road, much less fork out a decent price for it? I personally wouldn't even consider getting a 2010 Mac from a 3rd party, simply because I won't know what had been done to it.

I have bought about a dozen "old" Macs from powermax.com (no sales tax) to run software that is compatible with older OS's. They also buy them as does numerous other resellers. They seem to get a lot of bulk buys of many of the same unit.

Rocketman

 

[hackerwayne]

Lol..

Half the HDD space (1TB vs 500GB) Non user upgradable or risk voiding warranty
Half the RAM (4GB vs 8GB) Non user upgradable or risk voiding warranty.
Rubbish graphics (GT640 vs HD 4000) Soldered, so not upgradable.

for $200 less? You gotta be kidding me XD

 

[brand]

It's so easy to toss off an insult as opposed to telling us why you think he doesn't have a clue. Put up or shut up smart ass. I'll be waiting. What do you know about BSD Unix Vs. Microsoft. If you're talking about Linux you're on more solid ground, but Unix and Linux are both very solid. OS X at this point in time is more user friendly and more practical for the average user than Linux. Go ahead...Tell me why I don't have a clue. I'm waiting.

What does my knowledge and years of experience as a systems administrator have to do with the poster I replied to not having a clue? Go have an eDick measuring contest somewhere else. He was clearly wrong when he said following statement. The fact that you got offended by him being wrong lends me to believe that you also do not have a clue.

Kids know even less about computers now than they did in the 80s.

 

[Dr Charter]

Stuff that could be done on practically *any* computing device.

So what you're saying is, if you're going to be caught using the Interwebs or the Twitterz, you better look good doing it with a shiny, overpriced status symbol.

I didn't say anything about them being a status symbol. Most of the people on this board have Macs. Do we all buy them because they are status symbols?

I'm saying one reason that schools feature these machines in their labs because they look good for marketing purposes. It's the same reason they have leather couches, plants and nice tables. I also think all-in-ones make sense because they save space and I would imagine they draw less power. However, I've never worked at or been to a university that buys Macs exclusively. They usually have lease agreements with Dell and/or HP too from what I've seen.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

What does my knowledge and years of experience as a systems administrator have to do with the poster I replied to not having a clue? Go have an eDick measuring contest somewhere else. He was clearly wrong when he said following statement. The fact that you got offended by him being wrong lends me to believe that you also do not have a clue.

It's hilarious that you even thought you had to bring it up - as well as a non sequitur. You're obviously not one of the kids of today and simultaneously a systems administrator with "years of experience", Doogie Howser.

 

[oopodoo]

Do you not see the hypocrisy in your statement? You openly say that students will be using these for spreadsheets , etc, then try to justify the price of a $1099 computer. The fact that you call me clueless then implying "dGPUs=only for gaming performance!" shows that you know nothing. How about software packages for technical drawings, e.g. AutoCad?

Also you openly accept that theres literally a $400 apple tax here. How can you possibly justify paying ~45% more, for absolutely no reason other than "appulz!"

What do people get out of rubbing what they see as the ignorance/stupidity of other people in those peoples' faces over choices like which brand of computer they buy? It comes across as nothing so much as a religious/anti-religious fervor, but I can't fathom what purpose it serves, or how it benefits anyone.

 

[MacDav]

What does my knowledge and years of experience as a systems administrator have to do with the poster I replied to not having a clue? Go have an eDick measuring contest somewhere else. He was clearly wrong when he said following statement. The fact that you got offended by him being wrong lends me to believe that you also do not have a clue.

Typical...You ignored the whole point of my post. The point is that you offer zero data regarding the truth or falsehood of his statement. The statement that "kids today know less about computers than they did in the 80's" is definitely debatable. Instead of offering your take on it you simply insulted him. Now instead of offering your opinion and backing it up with facts you use the same mindless insult on me. I find you're lack of any real substance pathetic, but go ahead and insult me again so you can prove my point beyond any doubt.

 

[star-affinity]

Not to long ago I had to get by with less. Had to bring out an old rig that is chipset limited to 3.5 GB on a Pentium D. It still runs Photoshop, lightroom, LoL, diablo 3, swtor, wow, ect (8800gt) while not fast I' was for sure never been memory limited except a little depending on what I'm doing in PS. Again most schools aren't doing this. They're not using memory intensive programs and most the time anything for 4 is overkill for them.

Well, I also managed with 4 GB not that long ago. But OS X and it's applications eats a lot of RAM in the later versions. 4 GB of RAM on that iMac with OS X 10.8.x will get used up quite quickly, even fir school stuff. Just bring up a bunch of taps in Safari and browse around and it will not take too long to approach 1 GB of usage only for that.