Stephanie Biederman '04 misses her Mac.
A lifelong Apple computer user before arriving at the University, Biederman never thought she would make the switch to PCs, even though she knew there was more software available for Windows-based machines.
Coming from a family of "Mac people," she said, "it would have been a sacrilege to even suggest that my family purchase an IBM."
She said, however, "After some investigation I discovered that Princeton tends to go the IBM route," adding, "Princeton had a prejudice against Macs."
She pointed to the Forbes cluster as an example. "There are over a dozen PCs to one lonely iMac, banished and solitary," she said.
Knowing the future of Macs at Princeton was in doubt — and aware of the high prices of the systems through CIT's Student Computer Initiative — she made a cost-motivated switch to IBM last summer. "Princeton offered a big discount on the [IBM] ThinkPad, so that's why I switched," she explained.
Maybe a sense of nostalgia is holding her back, but Biederman said she still has not become totally comfortable with her new system. She fondly remembers her Mac's easy-to-use filing system. "Macs are more user-friendly," she said.
Instead of navigating effortlessly through the system, she struggles to handle her IBM with confidence. "I've had this computer for three months," Biederman said. "I still have to beg my roommate to find 'missing' files for me."
But though she prefers Macs, she does not think she will make the switch back. "So much more software and downloads are available for PCs rather than for Macs," she lamented. "How sad."
Biederman represents a large number of freshmen at Princeton and other universities nationwide who grew up on their Apple IIEs, IIGSs, LCs and other old-school Apple systems that, at the time, were best-suited for their priorities — games. Now, however, students want to be equipped for their schools' networks, and, like Biederman, they fear that having a Mac will leave them ill-prepared for college.
However, support for Apple at Princeton is alive and well among a small yet devoted group of users. And hopes for a significant resurgence on campus are growing, especially among computer experts and CIT officials.
Their hopes are pinned to the yet-to-be-released full version of Mac OS X, the Macintosh operating system that is slated to be released at the start of the year. This system has a Unix basis, which is said to be a solution to the problems that have plagued Macs for years: system crashes.
"The new operating system is an excellent opportunity to reinvigorate their student market," said Steven Sather, CIT's director of support services. "They could have a resurgence."
Flash back to 1997, when Apple was steeped in losses and was quickly losing its crown as education leader. The company was spread too thin — producing computers, monitors, printers, audio equipment and other types of computer equipment that were costing it too much money. Not to mention the foray into the hand-held computer world with the company's failed "Newton," in which it invested millions of dollars.
The company brought back co-founder and prodigal son Steve Jobs, the visionary who created Macintosh. During the next year-and-a-half, he trimmed the fat at the company, cutting out everything except computer systems, monitors and software. Perhaps the most important step he took was in May 1998, when he unveiled the iMac. For so long industry analysts had criticized Apple for not catering to simple computer users by continuing to release expensive systems that repulsed entry-level buyers who then turned to IBM clone-makers like Dell and Compaq. The iMac changed all this — it was the low-end answer to Apple's problems. It also had a revolutionary design that attracted many first-time buyers.
iMacs flew off the shelves, putting the company in the black for the first time in years. Then, in July 1999, the company added the iBook, which was the iMac's portable brother: It offered colorful sleekness and a low price tag.
The iBook was the top-selling portable computer in the United States for the fourth quarter of 1999, according to PC Data — an organization that provides market research data for computer software, hardware and video games sales. The iBook, coupled with the company's higher-end PowerBook line, helped Apple garner a 10-percent market share of all portables for that quarter in the U.S. retail market.
Since then, Apple has released the PowerMac G4, the successor to the G3 that has been so successful. Last summer the company attracted attention when it released the PowerMac G4 Cube, an eight-inch cube with virtually all the capabilities of any large desktop computer.
Apple's high-flying sales have dropped-off a bit, as has the stock price, leaving the company in a precarious position going into the end of this year. A solution to the company's problems could be a highly-effective OS X, which would reinvigorate the Apple base while attracting curious new users.
A user, for example, like Mike Schidlowsky '01. A computer science major and Windows 2000 user, Schidlowsky said he has always been turned off by the system crashes that have terrorized Apple users for decades. His experiences with Macs have not been any better, he explained.
"The Apple operating system has always crashed on me," he said.
However, he said the OS X could swing him to the other side. He said the system's Unix-basis has whetted his interest. "I'm thinking about buying it for programming, but not while the current system is in place," he added.
Perhaps Schidlowsky summed up the possibilities of the new software best when he said, "Their new system is making people who never thought about using Macs consider switching."
Regardless of the new system, Macs have managed to carve out a niche in the computer market. People use Macs for one of several reasons — the aesthetic design, the inspiring ad campaign, the fringe status in the industry or simply because Macs are the only machines some people have ever used.
David Tukey '02 is a member of the last category. Though he knows PCs make more sense to use on a college campus, he figures if he still uses a Mac and is satisfied with it, why switch now?
"At school, with most people having Windows-based systems, I have become familiar with non-Mac computers. In fact there are many things that I prefer about them," he said. "However, I choose to stay with Macs, partly because they look cool, partly because I know how to use them better, partly because I like to be different, but mostly out of familial sentimentality."
He admits that the advantages of using a Mac "are not many." Rather, he said, there are drawbacks like his inability to use the network at the same level as his friends. But despite these disadvantages he does not plan a system switch any time soon.
"There's never been a direct reason to do so," Tukey said.
Hilary Burt '03 has been hooked on Apples ever since she was a little girl. "My first computer was an Apple IIGS, which was really a wonderful machine with great games like Sticky Bear and Math Blaster," she said.
A loyal Mac user ever since, Burt now uses a PowerBook G3. Though she acknowledges the advantages of PCs, she cannot bring herself to make the switch.
"There really is no advantage to using a Mac on the network here because there really aren't that many on the network," she said. "But I really like my Apple and have been satisfied with it, so I haven't seen a reason to switch."
Currently there are 4,600 machines registered in DormNet, and 340 of those are Macs, which means that Mac users make up a little more than 7 percent of the University's computing population, according to Sather.
Sather said CIT tries to "mirror the percentage of student-owned machines in clusters." However, 30 percent of the public-access computers on campus are Macs — 60 Macs versus 200 Windows-based systems — meaning that proportionally Macs make up a far greater percentage of cluster computers than they do in dorm rooms.
Sather explained that the proportion of private Mac computers at the University has fallen in the past few years because recent graduates used Macs at a far greater frequency than the past few incoming classes. If the numbers keep decreasing, he said, "We may have to adjust the numbers in the clusters."
Micah Arbisser '01, the University's Apple campus representative, blamed the falling number of student Mac users on the high prices of Macs through the Student Computer Initiative.
"Macs were way more expensive than PCs . . . in fall 1998," he said. He added, however, that there is considerable interest in Macs on campus, as demonstrated by Apple sales through SCI in fall 1999.
Macs were sold at subsidized prices, Arbisser said, so incoming students in the Class of 2003 bought Macs and sales on campus "shot up."
However, he said SCI's inability to sign a contract with Apple this fall significantly hurt Apple sales, and forced students like Biederman to look elsewhere for better prices.
"Because the Classes of 2002 and 2004 had to pay such a premium if they wanted a Mac as a result of contract issues between SCI and Apple, those classes brought the numbers of Macs on campus way down," Arbisser said.
He added that there are also common misconceptions about Macs that have hurt sales in recent years. He cited student fears that Macs lack enough software and are not compatible with networks.
"I definitely know people on campus who switched to PC when they got here because they thought they had to, and are frustrated with the PCs they got as freshmen," he said.
Arbisser said that SCI is already working with Apple to strike a deal for next fall, which he said should boost Mac use on campus.
Sather is confident students will continue to use Macs, and in higher numbers, as the University works to support the platform. "Macs will continue to have a presence on campus," he said.
He added that he is traveling to Apple headquarters next week to discuss the future of Apple in education. "That shows how committed we are to maintaining the Mac as a viable system on campus," he said.
The Apple faithful will just have to wait and see if their company stagnates or thrives in the 21st century. The upcoming release of OS X is definitely encouraging to many, but whether the system is an answer to all of Apple's problems remains unclear. However, the new system, coupled with a possible deal with SCI, could increase the Mac presence on campus during the next few years.
For its part, Apple wants to see Mac numbers at the University rise. Apple public relations markets manager Sarah Staley said, "The education market as a whole has always been and will continue to be a core market for Apple."
However, if sales at universities like Princeton do not see an increase in the next year or or so, Apple's core market could become wormy.
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