The Kiewit Computation Center will offer incoming freshmen the lowest-priced computer package it has recommended to students in recent years -- nearly $400 less than those of last year.
The new iMac, manufactured by Apple Computers, is being offered as part of this year's package for $1,264. Last year's recommended model, the Apple Performa 6400, was offered at $1,646.
"It's the lowest we've seen for many years with the freshman packages ... even adjusting for inflation," Bill Brawley, the director of user communications, computing services, said.
With a hard drive twice the size of the Performa, the iMac features a 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32MB of RAM and Ethernet, as well as a built-in modem and a 24x CD-ROM drive.
"It's one of the most solid Macs Apple has produced," Kiewit Student Consultant James Berry said. "It fits Dartmouth students' needs exactly."
An all-in-one computer, the iMac has both the monitor and the central processing unit (CPU) in one component, and it is designed to be a "network friendly" home and education computer.
The iMac, however, does not feature a floppy disk drive.
Instead, the iMac takes advantage of new technology by including two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. These will allow 128 different devices, including keyboards, mice and floppy drives, to be connected through the ports, Berry said.
Although the USB floppy drive
connector will not be included in the freshman package, Brawley said students will be able to purchase it for under $50 dollars.
Both Berry and Brawley said the lack of a floppy drive should not cause problems for Dartmouth students, particularly since most students currently transfer files through BlitzMail.
Students who live in off-campus apartments without BlitzMail connections can always bring files on disk to any of the public cluster machines, Brawley said.
The letter describing the recommended freshman computer package was sent out last Wednesday, and Kiewit has not yet received much feedback on the choice from parents. Nearly all Kiewit employees, however, approve of the iMac, Berry said.
Incoming freshmen can also choose one of several other Apple or IBM-compatible computers instead of the iMac.
