“Most of [Baltimore County] school system’s computers are PCs running Microsoft Windows software, but not in the labs for the graphic and multimedia programs, until now. School system leaders say the move makes sense because it will make it easier to provide technical support and because graphic design software is available for both platforms,” Liz F. Kay reports for The Baltimore Sun. “…the Apple logo has given way to the waving Windows icon in Baltimore County schools’ graphic design and multimedia computer labs…”
Kay reports, “Still, some say future graphic artists should learn using Macs. ‘If people are specifically interested in a career in graphic arts, to not be exposed at all to the Mac is probably a disadvantage,’ said Kevin Keane, president of IAPHC, an international graphic professionals’ network.”
“The Baltimore County Public Schools . . . has embarked on a quality journey, a journey that will take us to our goal of becoming one of the premier school systems in the nation.” – quote from the website of Dr. Joe A. Hairston, Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools.
“Students and staff can share information efficiently if everyone uses compatible equipment. ‘All of this can happen only if we’re all on the same operating platform,’ said schools spokeswoman Kara Calder,” Kay reports.
“The debate over Macs versus Windows reaches levels of almost religious fervor, with bloggers and Web sites monitoring every statement made for or against either operating system. Most agree that graphics firms chiefly use Macs because their software was originally designed for that operating system,” Kay reports. “Until recently, up to 90 percent of most printing plants used Macs, said Keane, the president of the graphic professionals’ network. It’s now easier to work in either platform, but he estimated about three-quarters of businesses still use Macs.”
“Jill Schuchart, a student in Eastern Technical High School’s multimedia communications program, said she and other classmates were disappointed when they heard the news. They remembered how the PCs always crashed at the multimedia program at Parkville Middle,” Kay reports. “She recalls thinking, ‘Oh, great. It’s going to be like in eighth grade again, when we couldn’t work on our projects.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, Baltimore County Public Schools’ initial plan — to substitute lead paint chips for sliced turkey in school lunches — was deemed less effective than the above scheme in achieving their ultimate goal of impairing their children’s mental abilities. Someone ought to tell these geniuses in Maryland that Macs can run Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows natively, before they flush any more of the taxpayers’ money down the toilet. It’s not a religious argument; it’s an argument about providing the best you can for your students or shackling them to cheap, limited, mediocre Windows-only PCs due to budgetary concerns or, even worse, due to the type of plain old ignorance evidenced in Baltimore County.
What’s better for education, Mac or PC? Info: http://www.macvspc.info/
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It’s sad to see big profile schools like Baltimore continue to make uninformed and often poor decisions like this. This has NOTHING to do with Photoshop on Windows vs. Mac. This has everything to do with Apple’s inability and in some cases, ignorance, to continue to go after the old retired IBM guy that becomes a school IT director by default. I’ve seen this in public schools as well as universities.
Here are the facts. Education, science, research, film, television, music, publishing and photography are just a few of the industries where Apple has a strong dominance. This continued ignorant and unfounded argument that there are no Macs in the “real world” is pointless. Because Wal-Mart and your local bank have Dells is also the “real world” – but where this argument falls apart is when you ingore the multi billiion dollar industries I listed above.
Nobody who has worked in IT in a mixed platform area can say that Windows boxes are less work and cost to support. Cheap is cheap – you can always find a cheap Dell or Gateway – I would hope student’s education is worth more than cheap! This is a bad lesson that causes major concern over our public schools and the direction they take.
I’ve left schools WITH tenure that tried to force a platform on their faculty because of cheaper boxes (with awful experience). I enjoy my current job because our adminstration and IT department recognizes the importance of COMPUTERS and TECHNOLOGY in education. They have long adandoned the Mac vs. PC war. You teach on the platform that is dominant in your field – not what costs a hundred bucks less on day one. VERY VERY sad.
Jobs…
You’re pretty selective about what you consider important areas of innovation.
A computer is useless without apps but so are apps or no value without an adequate means to use them.
Even Visicalc was designed for and used on the first usable/viable (not hobbiest) personal computer, the Apple II.
You conveniently ignore some of the biggest “innovations” (that have made usable, or influenced, computers to this day)…
WYSIWYG (and colour) – actually works on the Mac, still inconsistent on Windows
Plug & Play – ditto
Applescript – coding for the masses and a boon to efficient (automated) workflows
Quicktime (changed media distribution and presentation for the unwashed masses);
“Apple User guidelines” (consistency across applications, copied (usually) in Windows apps)
Desktop publishing – changed print publishing forever (Apple/Mac – built around graphics, Adobe – Postscript and consumer affordable laser printer)
Consumer friendly apps – ie, whole iLife suite brought “digital power” to the average home user (as I stated, iMovie copied with MovieMaker; MS iDVD & Garageband to be included in Vista)
Leading industrial design (maintenance & ergonomics) – Apple is dissed for “pretty boxes and no substance” (universities, high end media production (graphic, film, video, audio), science/biotech/genetics/research, etc communities may tend to disagree) yet often widely copied.
Even “obscure” technologies like MS’s Cleartype has a basis in video imagery used by Apple in the late ’70s (Apple II – sub-pixel font rendering)… claimed by MS as some big “innovative” breakthrough for micro-type yet decades old.
(probably more and/or better “innovations” but I don’t have the time or inclination (your Job or obsession?) to delve further… I’ll add if memory permits)
The refrain from the Wintel camp is usually “well anyone could have done that” or “that was inevitable” but it’s often Apple that does it first.
With Wintel, it’s usually a Homer Simpson “D’oh!” moment (many “D’oh!” moments actually).
Just admit the fact that Apple could create a computer that spit gold bars and you’d still find fault (“hey, it’s only 99.9999999999% pure” or “we coulda done that too if we wanted to…”).
Check out what Business Week has to say about Macs and education:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060614_650605.htm?sub=techmaven
Wow, this transition has to finish, and Leopard has to get released-soon! These battles are heating up.