Dartmouth has often marched to the beat of its own drummer when it comes to computers. The word "e-mail" has never been quite good enough for us -- instead we defy the rest of the English-speaking world and call it "BlitzMail."
But even more significant -- although perhaps less bizarre than our use of "BlitzMail" jargon -- has been the College's long-standing preference of Apple computers over personal computers. While PCs dominate much of the business and home-computer world, Dartmouth has stood fast by Apple products for almost two decades.
Lately, however, the College has taken some steps toward the world of PCs, and it may not turn back.
With about 60 percent of freshman having chosen PCs over Macs, the Class of 2004 became the first class in Dartmouth history with a majority of students using a Windows machine rather than a Macintosh in their dorm rooms.
The change in proportions may be due to last year's change in the College's official recommendation. Starting last year, computing services stopped recommending the Apple Macintosh package to incoming students -- a recommendation made to members of previous incoming classes.
That was quite a step for the College, considering that its collaboration with Apple dates back to 1983 -- practically ancient times in the world of computers.
According to the Director of Academic Computing Malcolm Brown, Dartmouth's computer services initially operated on a time-sharing system, in which people rented out time to use computers. But in 1983, three computer companies -- Deck Rainbow, IBM PC Junior and Macintosh -- introduced a new breed of computers known as "PCs."
The College Council, a committee of computer experts, dismissed the idea of investing in the IBM PC Junior, because it considered the IBM machine to be too expensive and poor in quality.
"The council decided to go with Apple because of its revolutionary interfacing system," Brown said. "Macintosh was the first to introduce a mouse and desktop icons as part of its computing system, which the council found quite appealing."
Brown added that the interfacing system appealed to council members because "everyone [could] use the same system at the same time to facilitate an exchange of information." This new interfacing system allowed students to develop common computer skills -- another important factor in the exchange of information.
In 1989, Apple sealed its relationship with Dartmouth by giving the College a $1 million grant to develop a campus-wide information system. This system is known as the Dartmouth Computing Information Systems, or DCIS. The establishment of DCIS made Dartmouth one of the leading schools in both the promotion and use of Apple products on a college campus.
Times change
But Apple has experienced problems over the past few years, ranging from internal management issues to poorly developed products.
"In 1997, Apple produced a series of mediocre products," Director of Communications Bill Brawley said. "There were a large number of management turn-overs occurring within the company at this time, and as a result, Apple was producing mediocre products."
As strife within Apple developed, members of the Dartmouth Computing Council began to consider other options for campus computing.
Brown said council members "welcomed the idea of using PCs instead of Macs, but at the same time, they had to consider the costs and benefits of switching systems."
"If council members agreed to switch from Macs to PCs, this would require enormous amounts of monetary funding to first reform the current system to accommodate PCs and then hire new and train old staff how to use and repair PCs," Brown said.
The council agreed to maintain its relationship with Apple, with the hopes that the company would solve its problems -- but at the same time it slowly introduced the use of PCs on the College campus.
Comeback or deterioration?
In that same year, Steve Jobs, one of Apple's co-founders and now Apple's chief executive officer, returned to the company with a new, modern operating system, helping initiate an Apple comeback effort.
Jobs introduced a new look for Apple computers, with the iMac and the iBook. These new computers come in different styles and colors and are offered at a lower price than other Apple computer models.
But Apple continues to struggle in its attempt to increase its sales and popularity -- especially among students.
Recent sales have been lower than the company predicted, and as recently as Friday, the company announced that its fourth-quarter earning would fall far below expectations due to weak sales. The warning prompted Wall Street to slam Apple's shares down 52 percent.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple's lower-than-expected September sales could be attributed particularly to a lack of strong interest at schools and universities.
Fallout
Despite Jobs' attempt to win public support from adults and college students for Apple computers, Brown argues that Apple's absence in elementary and secondary schools explains why Macs are not very popular with incoming students.
"Apple lost the K-12 arena. If you look at most of the elementary, junior and high schools around the country, you'll notice that an overwhelming majority of these schools are using Windows instead of Apple," Brown said. "As a result, most incoming students are used to using Windows instead of Macs."
In addition, most students who have computers at home use Windows software, which inclines them to purchase a Windows PC when they enter college. According to Brown, of the 125 students in the Class of 2004 who brought computers from home with them, only two of them brought Macs.
Kent Johnson '04, said he brought his PC from home because he "was used to using Windows all of my life," he said. "Therefore, I had a better understanding of how to use its programs. Plus, PCs are more popular, and I am not familiar with Macs."
Heidi Abreu '04 also expressed preference for PCs. "PC software is much easier to use than Macs," she said. "I do not like iMacs, because I hate the keyboards, and I am not pleased with the design. IMacs do not have floppy disk drives, which is a major error."
Vanessa Wereko '01, complained that her Macintosh -- the College's recommended package for the Class of 2001 -- "crashes too many times even when you run the simplest programs. My Mac is too slow and cannot run two programs at the same time."
Many faculty members are also starting to choose PCs instead Macs -- especially those professors who work in Thayer School of Engineering.
"Those faculty members who teach hard science courses like engineering oftentimes use PCs instead of Macs, because the software they need is mostly available in Windows form than in Mac form," Bill Brawley said. "So, it's a definite advantage for them to have a PC instead of a Mac."
But Macs still have their supporters.
"My high school used Macs, so I like them better, and they're generally simpler," Graham Roth '04 said. He considers himself a "Mac person."
Brawley noted that one drawback of the increasing popularity of PCs on campus has to do with support for those computers. "PCs are more expensive to support on a unit basis than Macs," he said, adding that Dartmouth is "more prepared" to help students who experience problems with Macs than those with PCs.
Nevertheless, Brawley said, "Faculty, staff and students have a diversity of needs, which is why the Computing Center is becoming more and more accommodating to those who choose to use personal computers and Macs."
Both Brown and Brawley said they did not know which type of computer would become the dominant one of choice for future students. Apple may not be dwindling away so quickly, Brawley said, "because Apple is coming out with better products all the time."
