The decision is final: the incoming class of 2013, as well as the rest of the new students and faculty, will receive Apple MacBooks beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
The IT Committee reviewed the success of the current laptops, IMBs, through a series of surveys that were distributed to the faculty. The results showed that most wanted a new system because they had experienced many problems.
“We looked at the business aspects of it, and the cost of the Apple Macs is less than our current platform, Lenovo, and all the other systems we considered,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Manory ‘80.
After many meetings, the IT Committee finally deicied on a programs that would work. After 11 years with our current system, “The time has come for a transition,” said Director of ITS Wendy Shepherd.
In response, current students express envy of the new MacBooks, but also see the administrative advantages.
“As much as I’d love to get a new MacBook next year, bringing in a new computer system makes Deerfield one step closer to becoming a more technologically improved school,” said Claire Hutchins ’12.
Keeping in mind the global financial crisis, Mr. Manory explained how this change is actually economically beneficial.
“As it turns out, we do not expect it to cost more money to maintain the two systems during the transition as the team’s research demonstrated that the Mac platform should require less software maintenance than our current system. As a result, there should be less support required by IT.”.”
Mr. Manory added, “Many students already have Mac computers, so we don’t need to do anything substantial to our network, which means lower costs over time.”
The IT Committee also predicts a decline of software inquiries. ““We are hoping to have fewer viruses and breakdowns with the switch to Macs. They should be more reliable and easier to use,” said Ms. Shepherd
The members of the IT Committee have already begun to acquaint themselves with this new system. “We are in the process of teaching ourselves,” said Ms. Shepherd. “It’s always a lot of fun, learning new things.”