Macs or PCs?

Yale's Dilemma

KOI ANUNTA/YH

It was the summer of 1997. Unsuspecting Macintosh users in the class of 2001 spent their carefree pre-college summer confident that they were going to a Mac-friendly campus where AppleTalk once reigned. Then, like a thunderbolt from the PC gods, they were hit with: The Letter.

Written by Daniel Updegrove, director of Informatioun Technologies Services (ITS), the letter recommended that incoming freshmen buy Windows PC computers over Apple Macintoshes. The most controversial paragraph:

"Currently both Windows PC and Apple Macintosh computers are supported at Yale. If you plan to purchase a new computer, however, you are strongly encouraged to select a Windows PC, which was the choice of over 75% of first year student computer owners in 1996-97. Owing to uncertainties about availability of software for Apple operating systems, the University cannot guarantee support for Macintoshes beyond June 2000."

A wave of protest from Mac aficionados followed, but ITS soon backed away from Updegrove's extremist stance. Thus, the controversy died down quickly and quietly, within a few months. However, the shift in balance between PCs and Macs continues. At present, though Yale maintains its "platform neutral" policy, the numbers show that Yale currently has more PC users. Through online registration of computers, ACS keeps track of how many Mac and PC owners there are in the undergraduate community: so far, out of the 2,850 undergraduates who have registered their computers this year, about 17% are Macintosh users, while the other 83% own PCs.

So, more that one year after the letter, some questions still remain. Has Yale quietly followed Updegrove's initial stance? Or is Yale as Mac-friendly as ever?

The current situation

The Mac users from the class of 2001, when they saw The Letter, were initially very disappointed, and feared that Yale would stop giving Mac users any sort of support. Josh Chafetz, BK '01 and a Mac user, said that, "I was peeved to see...the PC recommendation." David Slifka, JE '01, a Computer assistant (CA) and life-long Mac user, added, "it was disheartening to see the recommendation." Faculty also questioned the appropriateness of the letter. Jon Morrow, a Medical School Professor said that "there was a sense that the proper relationship of ITS [support services] to the faculty and students [whom they are to serve] had been inverted."

Now, with an even greater number of Yale students using PCs, are Mac users still receiving an equal amount of technical support? Hank Tu, BK '99, a CA who specializes in Macs, said, "I think [Mac] support is excellent here, or better than most corporate settings at least." According to Slifka, within JE, three out of four CAs are Mac users. Although not all colleges have a CA who is comfortable with Mac specific problems, referrals can always be made to those CAs whom ITS has designated as Mac specialists. According to Slifka, there are three such specialists.

In addition, Mac users seem to require less technical support or help. According to Slifka and Chafetz, Mac users usually require less technical support. Thus, it is difficult to gauge how much support Mac users get, as opposed to PC users. Chafetz said that he, "never really sought the help of the Mac support structure," choosing instead to solve his own problems. Slifka expressed similar sentiments, stating "I've never gotten that much interaction with support." Now that he is a CA, Slifka finds that solving PC problems is a more involved process and requires a greater number of steps. Slifka attributes the Mac's famous ease of use as a factor in the lack of support needed by Mac users.

"If you look at the [Networking] Manual, much of it is for PC, the Mac section is much shorter, and simpler," Slifka said.

Ironically, support for the Macintosh may have increased as a result of the debacle, with ITS publishing webpage that offer "Support for the Apple Macintosh at Yale" and "ITS Support for Macintoshes." The Yale Medical School's ITS, hich never agreed with the letter sent by Updegrove, hired a new full-time Macintosh consultant and published a page specifically to "state our commitment to supporting our Macintosh users."

Apple's resurgence in the computer could also be a factor in the Mac's steady position on campus. When Updegrove initially wrote the letter in 1997, the Apple Corporation was on precarious ground. The head of the Yale Macintosh Users Group, William Sacco, said that "in Apple's dark days last year, Yale ITS and MCSC management genuinely doubted the Mac's future viability." Further concerns were raised because of Yale's commitment to Project X, a software package by Oracle that will solve the year 2000 problem and handle Yale's administrative needs. At present, however, the Apple Corporation is staging somewhat of a comeback. With Apple's new IMacs doing well in the market, the doubts of Apple's "future viability," which Updegrove referred to in The Letter, have slightly abated.

The background of the controversy

The controversy that surrounded The Letter was a complicated web of accusations, and impulsive first reactions. Now that the controversy has died down, many people are still confused about what exactly happened. In response to the June release of the letter, the Yale Macintosh Users Group published a page entirely devoted to "Yale University and the Mac," and set up a public forum to discuss the statement. Business Week Online wrote a short article entitled, "Yale to Freshmen: Don't Pack a Mac," Wired Magazine followed with "Ivy Leaguer Disses the Mac," and the YDN published an article entitled "Apple era may be over for the University: PCs, Windows will replace Macs." David Pogue, '85 and a Calhoun associate fellow wrote an email to the YDN denouncing the "inflammatory, scare-tactic advice to incoming freshmen concerning Macintosh computers at Yale."

Whether it was due to the initial outcry or pressure from internal forces within ITS, Updegrove issued another statement in September 1997, avowing that "there was no intention to cast Apple or its products in a negative light," and a committee was formed to put together an official computer-platform policy. The new policy, which came out in December, emphasized that Yale is "platform neutral" and that it would equally support IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Apple PCs sold through Yale's MicroComputer Support Center (MCSC).

In the meantime, many Mac users seem to be complacent with the state of affairs. Though the campus is becoming more PC-oriented, Chafetz feels that "as long as they are not recommending one platform over the other...it's OK." While thee prospects for a Yale campus devoid of Macs seemed plausible after Updegrove's letter, Mac users are not worried that the worst-case scenario will come to pass. However, Apple has been fighting an uphill battle against the Windows-Intel-PC conglomerate, and Yale's own Mac controversy may have been a response to those external factors. Whatever the case may be, Macs and PC at Yale seem to have reached a sort of equilibrium.

Ayon Nandi contributed to the article

What do you think? Respond in Speak your Mind.

Back to Online Features...