OK, OK, I meant the MacBook. I'm getting old school, so that is where my head was this A.M.
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Apple Launches $999 iMac for Educational Institutions
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OK, OK, I meant the MacBook. I'm getting old school, so that is where my head was this A.M.
If a library buys 100-200 of these machines for simple database browsing, they don't need to be powerhouses. But they sure will look pretty!
Hopefully apple can bite a little into the Windows based education system (almost every school I have been to uses only Windows)
Schools, even universities normally utilize the following (in no particular order):
1) Interent
2) Word Processing
3) Spreadsheets
4) Powerpoint Presentations
5) Email
None of the above are power intensive and can all be easily handled by the iMac for Education.
The only graphics-intensive application a high school or university might use is for engineering / architectural courses when utilizing AutoCAD, CAM, or some other GPU-intensive programs. For those students, the schools tend to buy a small amount of computers which are able to handle the computing workload.
1) Interent
2) Word Processing
3) Spreadsheets
4) Powerpoint Presentations
5) Email
None of the above are power intensive and can all be easily handled by the iMac for Education.
The only graphics-intensive application a high school or university might use is for engineering / architectural courses when utilizing AutoCAD, CAM, or some other GPU-intensive programs. For those students, the schools tend to buy a small amount of computers which are able to handle the computing workload.
I'm 20 years old now. Back in elementary school, we used those colorful iMacs. Using those machines played a huge part in me switching to Macs after graduation high school.
A couple of years ago almost the entire campus i was at converted to mid-range iMacs. the only machines that werent using them were the music machines and the linux dedicated ones for some programming courses.
Even the machines that were predominantly used for 3DSMax and games design were dual booting iMacs. the advantages of being able to run anything on an all in one make the mac prices worth it for institutions with computer labs that cater to many different disciplines.
Even the machines that were predominantly used for 3DSMax and games design were dual booting iMacs. the advantages of being able to run anything on an all in one make the mac prices worth it for institutions with computer labs that cater to many different disciplines.
My wife was upgrading two labs where she works and got the I5 IMAC's down to $50.00 more than this I3.
I rather have the I5 models myself
I rather have the I5 models myself
LOL
Well the high school where my wife works uses BLENDER, PS5, dream weaver, Solid works, Autocad, master cam, painter pro 12, maya, adobe premiere 9,bryce, protools for the new recording studio they just built. I know there is more but can't remember them all.
Well the high school where my wife works uses BLENDER, PS5, dream weaver, Solid works, Autocad, master cam, painter pro 12, maya, adobe premiere 9,bryce, protools for the new recording studio they just built. I know there is more but can't remember them all.
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1) Internet
2) Word Processing
3) Spreadsheets
4) Powerpoint Presentations
5) Email
I think this is what the iPad is designed for!
Also Apple have always had a cheap "off radar" model for schools to purchase.
- invariably not visible on the ed store. Tech geeks on here are so wrapped up in bench marking the minutia - the specs will be fine for most lab deployment.
2) Word Processing
3) Spreadsheets
4) Powerpoint Presentations
5) Email
I think this is what the iPad is designed for!
Also Apple have always had a cheap "off radar" model for schools to purchase.
- invariably not visible on the ed store. Tech geeks on here are so wrapped up in bench marking the minutia - the specs will be fine for most lab deployment.
My whole school has Macs too (even dual bootable in XP).
- HDD not an issue since my school wipes them clean everyday (tells us not to save anything
- RAM not an issue. The computers are so locked down anyways that all you can really do is open Safari and Word.
- Graphics: overkill IMO since schools lock down computers so much, theres hardly any games that can harness the power. You can't even play flash based games on my school's network.
-
- HDD not an issue since my school wipes them clean everyday (tells us not to save anything
- RAM not an issue. The computers are so locked down anyways that all you can really do is open Safari and Word.
- Graphics: overkill IMO since schools lock down computers so much, theres hardly any games that can harness the power. You can't even play flash based games on my school's network.
-
I have been to many schools and they are never locked down because of lack of knowledge and hiring friends.
Nice to see another school run properly.
You should see the Teachers complain because their computers are locked down LOL.
Can you say Union Grievance?
Nice to see another school run properly.
You should see the Teachers complain because their computers are locked down LOL.
Can you say Union Grievance?
Towards the end of my Elementary School years iMac just came out. Up until then we used Mac Classic B&W and I always picked the Macs over the PCs.. Not sure why but I guess it's because I wanted to try something different as I had a 486 back home.
Probably that and because for some strange reason they had installed Tomb Raider on ALL of the new iMacs in the computer lab and the teachers really didn't seem to give a crap
When I got to Grade 12 though my high school was strangely plagued with eMacs, G4s and iBooks for student use while the teachers got Black Books.
These edu-iMacs are actually perfect for schools.
Probably that and because for some strange reason they had installed Tomb Raider on ALL of the new iMacs in the computer lab and the teachers really didn't seem to give a crap
When I got to Grade 12 though my high school was strangely plagued with eMacs, G4s and iBooks for student use while the teachers got Black Books.
These edu-iMacs are actually perfect for schools.
This is kind of amazing because here in Ak, our entire education system runs off of Mac infastructure. As far as I can remember, in elementary 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade we had the old Macintosh's, than in 4th, 5th and 6th grade we had newer Macintosh's. but they could get online, I can't remember now that I think of it. I do remember the first time I ever used the internet, NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR! they had us go to whitehouse.gov, Teacher always had the Quadra... We used to sneak on Museum Madness, Numbers Munchers and Oregon Trail.
In middle school we had the gumdrop iMacs, and the computer lab had a bunch of G3's. In high shool we still had the Gumdrops for some time, and they upgraded to the iMac G4's. I remember we used to sneak onto these lan tank games, I never got into it too much.
I also remember when some genius (well he seemed like one at the time) learned how to send messages to mac's around the school. We all had file system for all the kids in the school to keep their work on, but we filled them up with junk games from download.com and the administration told everyone to save their work to cd's because they were gonna wipe the server, lmao. What a job it must have been to be school IT.
As far as I know today, they now have the 20 and 24 inch intels which the borough will probobly run off of for the next half decade.
We had a few dedicated windows machines in the schools, the only time I remember having to use them was when we took a graphics design class and I learned how to use photoshop, and flash.
In middle school we had the gumdrop iMacs, and the computer lab had a bunch of G3's. In high shool we still had the Gumdrops for some time, and they upgraded to the iMac G4's. I remember we used to sneak onto these lan tank games, I never got into it too much.
I also remember when some genius (well he seemed like one at the time) learned how to send messages to mac's around the school. We all had file system for all the kids in the school to keep their work on, but we filled them up with junk games from download.com and the administration told everyone to save their work to cd's because they were gonna wipe the server, lmao. What a job it must have been to be school IT.
As far as I know today, they now have the 20 and 24 inch intels which the borough will probobly run off of for the next half decade.
We had a few dedicated windows machines in the schools, the only time I remember having to use them was when we took a graphics design class and I learned how to use photoshop, and flash.
What i find equally funny, is I worked with Mac's my entire life, or at least my entire school career. I was always a windows user until I turned 23, now I love Mac's. Hm, weird.
+School users typically run a small number of concurrent threads so most of the time a 3.1GHz dual core will be just as fast as a 2.5GHz quad core.
+Schools like all-in-one units with easy to clean glass screens.
+Graphics capabilities are solid for school use.
- 2GB of RAM?!? What decade is this? Total dick head move that probably saved Apple less than $8 per unit.
= School labs don't require much storage capacity, but where on earth did Apple find such ancient drives? Maybe when WD acquired Hitachi's drive business they found a warehouse full of those dinosaurs and offered Apple a deal they couldn't refuse.
Schools typically want their computers to have as few I/O capabilities as possible so they would see no value in Thunderbolt.
Small drives make sense for schools, as schools usually just have a big ol' server for the students to save all their work on, and I believe now a-days they wipe all the computers after they shut off anyway. Didn't used to be like that, you used to be able to save files on a computer, but, kids are a lot smarter now a days.
The iMac for education will handle the needs of most students, but these days even elementary school children are learning to use software that will make use of every bit of CPU and GPU power you throw at it.
My nephew's 6th grade class was introduced to 3D animation in Blender last year.
seriously people...some people need to take off their "i need the best technology" hat and think about this.
im currently in university so i know this from first hand experience.
for most students, and by most i mean 95% of students use the computer for
1. Facebook/Twitter/Social Media/Forums/Surfing
2. Microsoft Office/Word/PowerPoint/Excel
3. Stats Programs
At this point, you do NOT need anything more than 2 GB of ram.
for the remaining 5% in design or video editing, the specific faculties/programs will have specialized machines that are higher end.
250GB hard drive...well no one ever saves onto the disk drive...because all students have network drive access. So why put something in that NEVER gets used.
im a design student and the computers we use are the old C2D with 2GB ram and they run CS5 well.
In my library and the business school, there are still the White G5s...why you may ask..because they still function for word processing and surfing.
oh and one part of my school still have the old EMACs! Not everyone...let me rephrase that...nobody outside design and video editing students need the best of the best.
people please...think about this logically
im currently in university so i know this from first hand experience.
for most students, and by most i mean 95% of students use the computer for
1. Facebook/Twitter/Social Media/Forums/Surfing
2. Microsoft Office/Word/PowerPoint/Excel
3. Stats Programs
At this point, you do NOT need anything more than 2 GB of ram.
for the remaining 5% in design or video editing, the specific faculties/programs will have specialized machines that are higher end.
250GB hard drive...well no one ever saves onto the disk drive...because all students have network drive access. So why put something in that NEVER gets used.
im a design student and the computers we use are the old C2D with 2GB ram and they run CS5 well.
In my library and the business school, there are still the White G5s...why you may ask..because they still function for word processing and surfing.
oh and one part of my school still have the old EMACs! Not everyone...let me rephrase that...nobody outside design and video editing students need the best of the best.
people please...think about this logically
Nice to see an $999 Apple All-In-One.... a crucial part of Apple's history:
http://youtu.be/nOKE0SiDcjI
http://youtu.be/nOKE0SiDcjI
I've skimmed over a few of these comments, and as someone who works for a big college, I believe I can add some insight.
Macs are a lot more common in higher education than you'd think. IT and digital media courses use Macs extensively. We have many labs full of iMacs used by photography, graphic design, arts, and video editing students.
We do indeed expect our machines to last a long time. Typically we buy quite powerful Macs every two years or so. The new machines end up in the video editing labs (where processing power is important), and over the years they're cascaded down.
After two years, the Macs will be moved from the video editing labs to the photography labs. After four years, they'll move to the library, where they're used for general web browsing and word processing. This way, the video labs always get the best machines, and everyone else still gets decent machines.
Educational machines come without Bluetooth (and now Thunderbolt) because they're not used. We really don't want students to be able to transfer things from their phone to our Macs. And we certainly don't want wireless keyboards and mice: they'd go missing very quickly. In fact, a lot of places cable tie all the cables together to prevent people moving / removing / tampering with things. I've even seen education institutions that pour epoxy in the USB ports to permanently disable them and stop students from plugging anything in.
The Mac I currently have is an early 2006, 20-inch Core Duo with 2GB RAM. It's about due for replacement. I'm trying to get one of the 'standard' quad-core 21 inch models rather than this new cut-down dual core. I will have to fight to justify the extra cost. This dual-core might be a decent machine for the next three years, but the quad-core will probably do me for 5 years. Therefore, spending the extra £100 for the quad-core represents tremendous value for money.
Macs are a lot more common in higher education than you'd think. IT and digital media courses use Macs extensively. We have many labs full of iMacs used by photography, graphic design, arts, and video editing students.
We do indeed expect our machines to last a long time. Typically we buy quite powerful Macs every two years or so. The new machines end up in the video editing labs (where processing power is important), and over the years they're cascaded down.
After two years, the Macs will be moved from the video editing labs to the photography labs. After four years, they'll move to the library, where they're used for general web browsing and word processing. This way, the video labs always get the best machines, and everyone else still gets decent machines.
Educational machines come without Bluetooth (and now Thunderbolt) because they're not used. We really don't want students to be able to transfer things from their phone to our Macs. And we certainly don't want wireless keyboards and mice: they'd go missing very quickly. In fact, a lot of places cable tie all the cables together to prevent people moving / removing / tampering with things. I've even seen education institutions that pour epoxy in the USB ports to permanently disable them and stop students from plugging anything in.
The Mac I currently have is an early 2006, 20-inch Core Duo with 2GB RAM. It's about due for replacement. I'm trying to get one of the 'standard' quad-core 21 inch models rather than this new cut-down dual core. I will have to fight to justify the extra cost. This dual-core might be a decent machine for the next three years, but the quad-core will probably do me for 5 years. Therefore, spending the extra £100 for the quad-core represents tremendous value for money.
Or they could save even more by buying the refurb imac for $929 with better specs.
$70 savings(plus tax savings) for a 1,000 machines is $70,000 a nice chunk of change!
Apple seems to be getting more like the Grinch with education nowadays. Use to have more off on macbooks....use to give away ipods(now just a $100 off at the appstore.
It can be hard to get a large quantity of refurbished machines with identical specs. When they're posted online, they're first come, first served. You might be able to get a dozen at once, but you'd never be able to buy enough to kit out three or four labs.
Our macs are protected by Deep Freeze, which is the same software Apple use for their demo machines on display. When they're rebooted, any customisations are wiped and they're restored back to the way we set them up. Students save all their data to their network drive, or to their own USB sticks. Also, we use Microsoft's Live@Edu, so students have a 5GB Skydrive to save files to.
This is one of the least constructive comments in this thread. We get a lot of discount. Remember, the price you see in the education store includes VAT. Colleges don't pay VAT.
A lot of courses teach software on Macs. For example, photography, video editing and design. Why? Because that's what students will use when they go out into The Real World. Not teaching these students to use Photoshop or Premiere on a Mac would put them at a huge disadvantage.
What do you suggest? We don't buy Macs? You'd be complaining a lot more if you showed up to Uni and had ancient computers, or no computers at all. I suppose buying new equipment for physics and chemistry labs is also a waste? How about replacing damage caused by vandalism (toilets, lifts etc) - this is quite a serious thing in colleges and universities. Glasgow University has a seven-figure electricity bill every year. Maybe we should just go without electricity to save money?
Apple seems to be getting more like the Grinch with education nowadays. Use to have more off on macbooks....use to give away ipods(now just a $100 off at the appstore.
They often used this as a way to get rid of old iPods before new models were released in September.
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