NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/bit/listserv/cdromlan/1937

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-21 | 6.1 KB

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Subject: RE: Macs vs IBM
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Date: 18 Dec 92 12:22:12 GMT
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If the gods of the LISTSERV allow this through, I swear it'll be my
last statement on the matter!! :)

James Nauer of Case Western Reserve answered my message in the
ongoing discussion of Mac vs IBM (a subject that will undoubtedly be
fought over for many years!).

>>Macs have certain advantages over PCs.  However, Macophiles, PCs do
have a number of advantages over Macs:

>[This first point has nothing to do with CD-ROMs]

Yes, peripherally it does.  The thread started when list members
asked about which platforms to use in setting up a networked CD-ROM
system, their advantages, long term prospects, etc.  Trying to decide
on a platform means balancing the advantages and disadvantages of
multiple standards.  My letter was simply an answer to those who
wrote that "Mac is better, but we are stuck with IBM because ..."

I agree with Howard Pasternak that trying to determine whether Macs
are "better" than IBMs or vice versa is a little pointless.  My
points of discussion (closely paralleling a few other members'
comments) indicated that there are positives to the PC side as well
as the Mac and that one is not settling for second best simply
because there are more CD-ROM products and solutions, currently, for
the PC than Mac.

However, I do stand beside my arguments on the durability of the PCs
over the Macs.  We have a lab situation here that I would invite
others to see.  We have the heaviest used lab on campus.  It is open
'round the clock and we have waiting lines to use the equipment well
after midnight at peak times of the year.  The equipment in the
lab runs all the time.  We have two HP LaserJet IIIsi printers, one
for Mac, one for PCs.  The PC printer has been in service just a few
months and already has well over 600,000 pages on it.  We just
retired an Apple LaserWriter II that had over 1.5 million pages on it
[very respectable performance from what was, in essence, a light duty
office printer].  However, from a very early point with that printer,
we had to have regular outside service, and by the end, the printer
had about been completely rebuilt at least twice.  It simply was not
built to be used heavily, 24 hours a day.  With the exception of our
200,000 copy tune-ups, we've had nary a burp from our HPs.

My comment on heavy duty printing was based on the lack of high-
speed, heavy duty dot-matrix printing for Macs.  Do you really want
to dump reams of output from, say ERIC on CD-ROM to your LaserWriter
II (in our lab situation, that could have added 50% again to that
600,000 pages already printed)?

Our lab is also VERY dusty since it opens directly to an outside
archway which acts as a giant vaccuum cleaner nozzle.  We have an
annual invasion of crickets which seem to like to crawl into our
machines and die.  My Mac technician pulls gobs of dirt, and
interestingly, human hair (usually blonde, by the way) out of our
Mac keyboards.  These he has to fully disassemble fairly often.  We
simply do not have the same problem with our PC keyboards.  In these
circumstances, with 20 of each type of machine, we find that our Mac
equipment malfunctions more often than the PC equipment.

In terms of parts variations, I stand beside that point as well.  We
have two types of Macs, currently, SEs and LCs (don't snicker!), and
most parts are not interchangeable.  In a campus setting, where there
will be a WIDE variety of Mac types, this means having a real parts
inventory problem.  Also the expense of repairs is ridiculous.  We
have occasional problems with our diskette drives.  We have the
option of replacing them at a huge sum, or having them rebuilt or
repaired at just a large sum.  Our PC drives fail less often and cost
a fraction of the price of the Mac floppies (or about half of the
cost of REPAIR for a Mac floppy drive).

Note that if you buy your PCs carefully, disk drives are compatible
between everything from XTs to '486s, standard AT form factor power
supplies can be used for '286s to '486s, SIMM RAM can be used on
multiple classes of machines, and so on.

The whole point of this is that when setting up a microcomputer-based
information system, you must take many factors into mind.  There are
definite advantages and disadvantages on both sides.  As a
manager, I particularly like my IBMs, but I am not hostile toward
Macs.  On the contrary, I am introducing them for uses to which they
are best suited.  My main concern was that people needed to realize
that the IBM side was not merely a second-class compromise.  There
are advantages to that platform.  There are also some disadvantages.

When setting up that new CD-ROM LAN (especially where little
existing equipment is already in place), you will need to face
the question of which platform to emphasize.  You will need to
weigh many factors.  Besides end-user concerns, it is important to
weigh management concerns.  You will have to try to forecast future
trends as well (a big guess at this point).  However, try to keep
emotional attachments out of it.  I use PCs and Macs in my system.
I'm bringing both Macs and PCs into our Media Library for Multi-media
setups.  In terms of CD-ROM networking we currently use IBMs
exclusively, but will be experimenting with some novel ways to
attempt to provide Mac access as well.

Soooo, which is better?  Who knows?  Who cares?  It will depend on
your situation and uses and the relative importance of many of the
independent factors discussed above.


Arne J. Almquist
Assistant to the Director of Libraries for
Networking and Microcomputer Resources
University of N. Texas--Libraries
P.O. Box 5188
Denton, TX  76203-0188

ph. 817/565-3278
Bitnet: FB23@UNTVAX