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 THE STAT 26Percentage of wireless customers who use their cell phones to take picturesMore Vitals
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NOVEMBER 4, 2003
A Classroom Comeback for Apple? [Page 2 of 2] HEALTHY FAMILIARITY. Apple's adoption of a Unix-based operating system, the basic software that runs a PC, is also starting to help Jobs & Co. in school. Developers say they can more easily create software for OS X than for previous Apple operating systems, saving money and manpower. "We no longer need two fully staffed development teams," says Kevin Custer, director of sales and marketing at Vancouver (Wash.) educational software concern Hosts Learning. "We have one development team for both [OS X and Windows] platforms." OS X has also answered another complaint against Macs by making them easy to integrate on networks that also include PCs. At the same time, the switch to Unix has allowed schools to use Unix specialists to support networks with Macs attached -- an impossibility with Apple's previous operating systems, which bore little resemblance to either Windows or Unix. That's particularly important in higher education, where Unix is the lingua franca in many tech groups. "Universities have been familiar with Unix for years," says Greg Joswiak, vice-president for hardware product marketing at Apple. "It makes them more comfortable recommending and supporting Macs." MUSICAL LURE. In higher education, Apple appears poised to gain ground, thanks to its new G5 desktops. Techies love their ability to run Microsoft Office and Unix on the same platform. And Apple scored a coup with Virginia Tech in October, when the university purchased 1,100 Apple G5s and linked them together into what VT officials claim to be the third-fastest supercomputer on the planet (see BW Online, 9/10/03, "A Mac-Style Supercomputer"). At the same time, Apple's strength in digital music and its popular iPod player have helped nudge incoming college students towards Macs. Last summer, Apple offered a $200 discount on iPods to Mac buyers. Though it won't reveal numbers, Apple claims the promotion proved extremely successful, particularly in tandem with direct mailings sent to both graduating seniors and incoming freshmen. And in Europe, where Mac is stronger in higher education than in K-12, some think an incipient Windows backlash could help Apple grab market share. LOTS OF LITTE DEALS. None of this is to say that Apple's main competitors, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ), are standing down. Dell, in particular, looks unstoppable. While Apple gear is far more compatible with other systems than ever before, Dell's sales pitch of standardization continues to resonate in school districts that want a single operating system. "Standardization drives down costs," says Scott Campbell, vice-president of Dell's K-12 education sales unit. "The school districts aren't compelled to support dual platforms, because our platforms can do everything they need." Dell has also taken on Apple in laptops, matching its use of laptop-stocked carts enabled with wireless access that can roll from room to room. While Apple has grabbed big headlines with its deal in Henrico and an additional $37 million deal to provide 34,000 Maine seventh and eighth graders with laptops, Dell has done fine with smaller, quieter deals -- but more of them. In higher education, both Dell and HP continue to sell more computers than Apple. And Dell has even signed several deals to cluster PCs to create hybrid supercomputers for universities. SOFTWARE AVAILABILITY. Furthermore, parents continue to request Windows machines because they believe those are what their kids will use down the road at work. "A good portion of them are going to end up in the business world, and there has been the argument made" -- by Dell, among others -- "that you need to train kids on the kind of technology they will later use," says Karin Bruett, Dell's director of education programs. Then there are administrators like Jim Hirsch, who oversees 28,000 computers as the associate superintendent for technology at the Plano Independent School District outside Dallas. The ratio of PCs to Macs in Plano's classrooms is 27 to 1. Hirsch says this reflects not hardware costs but software availability. Plano often works with developers to build specific software, and the developers generally seem to be more willing to write for PCs. "The cost of the equipment is pretty much the same across the board," he says. That could change in the near future as more software is delivered to Web browsers via the Internet, a development that's rapidly leveling the playing field for Apple. And while Dell has gained ground, the 45% of the market that neither Apple nor Dell controls could provide plenty of room for future growth. Hirsch notes that Apple has made big improvements with OS X, which is much easier to manage now than Apple's early operating systems. Should enough school purchasers agree, Apple could find new prosperity in classrooms.
 By Alex Salkever, Technology editor for BusinessWeek Online
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