Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shinbun, reports that Tokyo University will be replacing 1,150 Windows computers on campus with Apple iMacs running Mac OS X in March 2004. Roughly translated fro Japanese, the University explains that the advantages of swithcing to Macitnosh include various Macintosh software packages that are easier-to-use than Windows, easier troubleshooting with Macs, and the ability of users on Macs to correct their own computer problems without external help.
The full article is here (in Japanese).
[Attribution: MacNN]
sweet!
They will be glad they did.
People of Japan…I salute you.
Or put differently, “I’m turning Japanese, oh yes, I’m turning Japanese…I really think (different) so.”
You can (roughly) read it yourself by…
Go to http://www.worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html
Enter the URL http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0925/004.html
Select “Subject: Computers/IT” <–Important
Select “Source Language: Japanese”
Select “Target Language: English”
The way I read the article, most of the shared computers are donated Linux computers that you can also run Windows as an option. These will be replaced by iMacs, starting in March of next year and continue over a 5 year period. 1,150 computers will be swapped for iMacs and 200 will remain Windows/Linux.
The biggest boats and the longest trains start out very slowly, but continue to gain velocity. Is it possible that we are seeing an end to the 10 year decline in the Mac market share, and OS X becoming one of the elements of a less Windows dominated world? We can only hope.
Micro$oftopoly has set mid August 2005 as the release date for Longhorn, which is going to be as big a change over for the Windows world as OS X was for the Mac world. My understanding is that FAT 32 and prior systems WILL NOT BE SUPPORTED and only NTFS and newer.
What does that mean? All those Windows 95/98/Me users out there, still a very large base, are going to have to upgrade or be left behind. A lot of these users are schools, and other educational institutions. Further, MS is going to use DRM to try to “lock-in” it’s XP user base, making it almost impossibly expensive to switch platforms.
What this means is that Mac OS X has about 24 months to make it’s move in some VERY large markets such as education. At the introduction of Longhorn, or whatever it’s called by then, Apple needs to have all of it’s house in order (64-bit conversion,etc). Then, Apple can pitch a powerful, stable OS with a big library of high-quality apps against a new, untested OS. With Longhorn, a huge percentage of Windows programs will have to be ported or relegated to orphan platform status. This is going to be the best chance for anybody to “break out” of niche status into the mainstream. If it’s missed, M$ will be dominant for a long time to come…
I agree that Apple has a great opportunity, but despite its creativity and innovation, its general management leaves much to be desired. You can’t have great products in combination with bad distribution, manufacturing out of synch with marketing, advertising without substance (Dell puts out one heck of a lot of newspaper advertising, and Apple sells sizzle, not substance, mainly in tv ads). The bottom line is the organization never seems to achieve balance, where its various parts are functioning simultaneously and effectively.
For example, while releasing iPods and the Apple music store for Macs, the market has more time to catch up while the Windows software is on its way. Surely it would not have been difficult to create the Windows software up front, since the last thing Apple needs is for competitors to steal its ideas before it achieves implementation of its own ideas.
You Got It. If Apple wants to “break out” of it’s niche position in the wider IT world, the “Perfect Storm” of events is going to converge over the next 18-24 months. What I’m looking at is that OS X should finally be ready for prime time (large scale IT) with 10.3, the G5 is has closed the speed gap (real or imagined) with Intel/AMD, and Apple FINALLY seems serious about laying the groundwork necessary to go after enterprise and large government/institutional contracts.
Going foreward, these things need to be done:
1) Timely development of a 64-bit native version of OS X.
2) Setup of a serious office centered on government IT contracts.
3) Coordination with companies that set up turnkey computer systems.
and this wouldn’t hurt:
Investing some of the multi-billion cash hoard in some of the top Universities by endowing chairs for Mac OS X/UNIX computing. This way the next generation of IT people coming out of the best schools will have experience with OS X and it’s UNIX base first hand. The best way to fight FUD in the marketplace is to educate the next generation of developers/system integrators with experience and knowledge. Throw some endowment cash, some Mac Servers and Desktops, and a special discount to faculty and students. Seeding 10-20 top schools this way will return dividends down the line many times the investment.
This is their chance.
Actually top schools and academic institution is not the problem. Read already Filemaker announcement?
Problem is educating John Doh. He buys Windows rather then a Mac *SO he can chat with his friends”
Apple Japan has announced that the Japan Association of University Co-op will market a single iMac model for $1,345 (�178,000) through its 216 member institutions.
According to the story, about 30 percent of teaching staff and students own computers use Macs. The association told AsiaBizTech that it decided to add iMacs to its catalog because of an onslaught of requests from professors and students.
you don’t have to be the first, just make sure you’re not the last
-a local gynecologist