As wireless technology improves and laptops become less expensive, more Dartmouth students are choosing to bring laptops to school.
This year, 89 percent of the Class of 2006 who bought computers from the College chose laptops, while last year the figure was just 70 percent.
The number of students who chose Windows PCs over Apple Macintosh systems remained unchanged from last year, at 80 percent.
The most important factor leading to the increase in laptop sales was the introduction of a wireless computer network last year, said Bill Brawley, the director of communications for Computing Services. Although laptop sales were increasing even before wireless was introduced, Brawley said the gap between laptops and desktops bought has continued to widen.
Statistics indicate that the letter Computer Sales and Services sends to rising freshmen along with a list of available computers has affected such choices. Since Dartmouth stopped recommending Macs over PCs three years ago, more students have chosen PCs. And for the last two years, Computer Sales and Services has emphasized the benefits of a wireless computer system.
"In the material we sent to the incoming students, we talked up the fact that we had a campus-wide wireless network," Brawley said. "I think it was a pretty big incentive to buy laptops."
Matt Slaine '06 agreed. "I wanted to bring my computer outside to the Green or study in the library," he said.
A recent surge in PC popularity, however, appears to have stabilized.
While the Class of 2006 continued the recent trend of buying significantly more PCs than Macs, the percentage has not increased since last year. This was not something Brawley had expected, since the percentage of incoming freshmen choosing PCs over Macs increased from 60 percent in 2000 to 80 percent in 2001.
Brawley attributed the unchanged figures to Apple's new technology and slick ad strategy.
"There has been a buzz and excitement about the Apple products that there hasn't been in a few years," he said. "The iBook and iPod are innovative product designs in both hardware and software."
Brawley cited Mac's new operating system, Mac OS X, as the major development that has appealed to people buying computers.
Many freshmen surveyed said that in addition to software, a system's price was a major factor when choosing what computer to buy. This year, Computer Sales and Services offered eight different options to students, including basic and high-end laptops and desktops.
For each type of computer there was both a Mac and a PC version offered. Under normal conditions the PC version is slightly more expensive, but a surcharge added by Computer Sales and Services equalized the costs.
Brawley did not say decisively whether or not Computer Sales and Services fixed the prices of the computers in order to favor PC users. His explanation for a nominal added cost to Apple computers was a three-year warranty that is not normally included with the systems.
According to Brawley, this year is the first in a three-year plan to standardize all of Dartmouth's administrative offices on a Windows platform -- a striking change for a school that offered no significant support for PCs as recently as 1997.
Brawley said that the standardization of administrative computers should have no effect on students and faculty.
"They will still have the ability to make their own decisions and be supported either way," he said.
Students, however, have been choosing PCs in strong numbers. Of the eight options offered to students by Computer Sales and Services this year, the high-end Dell Latitude C840 proved the most popular by far, representing 47 percent of all computer purchases.
