Mac vs PC: A Few Thoughts

One of the questions I have had is how schools choose between the Macintosh or IBM compatible PC computers.  When I first started using computers on a regular basis my college used the Mac’s as they were very user friendly.  However, now that I have returned to graduate school all the computers are Windows based PCs.  So why the change?

I would assume the main reason has to be money for any school or university.  Which company, Apple or IBM, can give them the best deal?  But let’s look at some specifics as to why some schools choose one over the other. 

• There are many websites that I have come across that seem to support both arguments.  I have seen that Macs are more easily fixable when there is a problem, however, on the flip-side I have read MAC parts are hard to locate. 
• Another issue on the education front is that it is believed that most schools purchase PCs because the business world uses them more often.  However, it is proven that Mac’s can very easily run similar applications that PCs do.
• Originally it was thought that PCs were much cheaper, however, over the past several years Mac’s are becoming very comparable in price.
• Macs are seen to be a more stable system with better security.  Mac created the OS X operating system and since its creation the computers run without much of a problem.  Unlike the PC version Mac’s programs run independently from each other eliminating the whole computer having to shut down when one application goes awry.
• Computer games and software work better on the PCs as Macs have issues with the software compatibility and efficiency.