An employee of Cal
State informed me that the final decision has been made:
the California State University (Cal State, CSU)
Chancellor's Office has put a freeze on future Macintosh
purchases and will begin buying Dell PCs over the
summer.
The plan is to phase out Macs over a three year period,
part of CSU's Integrated Technology Strategy. (Remember,
it's easier to integrate when everything's the same.)
This decision was apparently made in a closed door
meeting between the Vice Chancellor and the Director of
Finance. Tech support was not involved in the decision.
Although the original case was that Macs were more
expensive than PCs, in the final analysis, these Windows NT
systems are costing $2,000 to $3,000 each - and PC support
costs are significantly higher than Mac support costs.
But this goes beyond the Chancellor's Office. As a
February article noted, "The
Chancellor's Office will be the first to switch, and it's
supposed to be the example for the rest of the system."
In short, the entire university will be going to Windows
at the expense of not only Macintosh, but also Suns, SGIs,
and any other platform. This is not only an expensive move
in terms of initial purchase and support, but also one that
restricts choice.
California students and taxpayers, I urge you to contact
the Chancellor (Charles B. Reed), Vice Chancellor (Richard
West) and the Director of Business and Finance (Lenor
Rozner) to voice your concerns about the direction CSU is
taking.
In searching the CSU web site, the only published email
address seems to be for the webmaster. However, there is an
online
feedback form, which can be used to communicate with the
Chancellor's Office.
This is not a call to flame. Angering people puts them in
a defensive mode, which is the last thing we need if we are
to convince these individuals that the Macintosh remains a
viable platform in terms of purchase price, ease of use, and
long-term support costs.
Update, June 10
My source notes that this move does not have
support ofAcademic Senate or Trustees, most of whom use
Macs.
About 40% of staff want to spend year-end funds on
Macs.
These email addresses should work: Charles B. Reed, Chancellor, creed@calstate.edu Richard West, Vice Chancellor, rwest@calstate.edu Lenor Rozner, Dir. of Bus. & Fin.,
lrozner@calstate.edu
As of Wednesday afternoon, the CSU web server
forwarded over 8,000 messages on this issue - thanks to
all who have already written.
Gone fishing for the summer, 6/13/00.
"Even on the Macintosh, where things are generally considered to be
easier, Murphy's Law seems to work overtime."
Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work
for all. Computers are like that. Please report errors to
Dan Knight
.
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