Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Education, Apple
45% of computers purchased at Princeton this year were Macs
I've often said that the children are our future and it looks like Princeton students share my vision of the future. This year, reports the Daily Princetonian, 45% of all computers purchased by students were Macs. This is an all time high for Princeton (2003 saw 15% of students buying a Mac, and it has been on the rise ever since).Some might say that college student probably just think that Macs are cool (which they are) and so they just want to look hip. This might have something to do with it, but Princeton's Office of Information Technology says that Mac usage amongst the faculty is also on the rise.
Allow me to add some anecdotal evidence: I work for a large university and I have been seeing a larger number of Macs on campus, and in my office.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben H said 6:53PM on 10-15-2006
resistance is futile. you shall be assimilated.
:P
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RLH said 6:59PM on 10-15-2006
One note of caution:
"These statistics aren't comprehensive, because some students choose not to buy their computers through OIT."
While an on-campus purchase of a Mac is almost certainly the cheapest way to buy (with educational discount), there are probably numerous ways to get a WinPC cheaper, faster, or more customized by going off-campus. Those purchases aren't in the data.
However, the article noted a distinct upward trend (from 15% four years ago), so the news is still quite good.
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CMB said 7:13PM on 10-15-2006
When I go to astrophysics conferences, I sometimes do quick counts, and I'd say that at least a third of the laptops are Macs (and many more are running Linux on PC hardware).
I was recently at a multidisciplinary gathering of science and engineering grad students. Most had laptops, and again, at least a third (maybe more like half) were Macs (though many were probably actually property of research groups).
So it's not just the would-be hip undergrads. It's the would-be hip grad students and faculty too. ;)
Oh, and all four members of my thesis committee have Macs in their offices. No, that's not why I chose them.
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Jordan said 7:19PM on 10-15-2006
I go to York university in Toronto, and I can definitely confirm that more students are showing up to class with Macs.
I fact I made a blog post about the whole phenomenon earlier this year:
http://www.akagegaijin.com/2006/09/24/macs-on-campus/
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OrangeBlossom said 7:30PM on 10-15-2006
I go to a university in Australia, and 2 years ago people with those 'white things' were considered a bit odd.
Now so many people have them, that an very-indie friend of mine feels depressed about his new Macbook, and worries that people will mistake him for a trend whore. :)
I can see why though. At university, no matter what course you are doing, you are required to do a lot of work with technology. For geeks, that is fine, but for some students they get overwhelmed by all the new things they need to learn, just to get to their courseguide, let alone complete the course.
A mac reduces the learning curve for the non-computer savvy.
My boyfriend is a total computer-ditz (Actual cconversation we had: "Is this email legitimate?" "Do you KNOW anyone in Nigeria?" "Hmmm, no, don't think so." "Then No Toffee, this email is not legit.")
All he does on a computer is check email and news, and sometimes wordprocess.
UNTIL we got the mac. Now he's playing in photobooth, editing pictures in iPhoto, making short movies, and generally enjoying himself with the mac.
My favourite uni-related mac feature: The speed of preview. Acrobat used to take five minutes to open, and slow down my entire system on the windows machine. Now on my mac, I can have dozens of .pdf's open without so much as a quiver. :)
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Eric said 7:36PM on 10-15-2006
I love the fact that macs are becoming more popular on campuses across the globe, but it kind of bothers me that a lot of people remark that they are for the computer illiterate, and that windows is for power users and computer geeks. In my opinion windows has won that title because it requires a lot of knowledge to run. Macs work for people who aren't superstars at the keyboard, but they're also great for power-users and code ninjas.
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BJ Gilbert said 7:48PM on 10-15-2006
@ Ben H...
If you are going to make Star Trek:TNG references, do it right.
"Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated."
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Gandhi said 7:52PM on 10-15-2006
Eric -
You *have* to be a power user to be able to use a PC to its fullest potentail. On a Mac, any casual user can use it to accomplish what they want. Does that mean the Mac is inferior? No, it just means the Mac is more accessible.
A recent switcher myself, and a PC power user (I dont code, but I certainly know my way around a registry), I can definitely say the Mac is just as powerful, if not more so than a PC. Biggest difference: lot of Mac programs have source code - definitely not the case on the PC.
Been using a Mac for little over a month now, and I LOVE it. I even got someone else to seriously consider a Mac (dunno when he is going to buy though), and some of my friends asking me about how the Mac switch experience has been.
Back on topic, I have also seen a recent uptick of Mac lappies at University of Houston. I would say, anecdotally, the population has gone from ~10% from couple of years ago to ~20-25%. It is definitely an uptick. And is divided evenly between Macbook and MBPs.
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Gandhi said 7:55PM on 10-15-2006
Edit to my reply above:
Lots of Mac software (certainly the freeware) come with the source code packaged or downloadable. Not so with the PC side of things, where developers like to keep everything behind the curtain. A refreshing change.
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Jon said 8:39PM on 10-15-2006
I've noticed this trend in the media as well. Look at how many Mac laptops are shown on TV and in films. Name-brand PCs are very rarely shown - it's normally either Macs or "generic" computers.
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Tim said 9:00PM on 10-15-2006
If Princeton is anything like Indiana, one big reason is almost certainly because they really, really push Macs. Our computer stores have huge "why buy a Mac" signs out all over, and nothing about PCs. I know at a lot of schools they do this - not only because the computers are cool and it makes the stores look cool, but also because it really eases the workload for the support staff, who have many less calls about Macs. My undergrad school's network was even brought to its knees multiple times by horrible viruses that didn't affect Macs. (Nor did it affect patched PCs, but every Mac bought is one person you don't have to worry about reminding to patch every couple of months.)
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Jon Niola said 9:04PM on 10-15-2006
Tim:
I work at Princeton University as an Oracle Database Administrator and I can tell you that they do NOT push Macs at all. If anything you could say it is the opposite. Dell has a very heavy presence at Princeton, and of course so do the associated Microsoft technologies.
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Robert Myers said 1:09AM on 10-16-2006
In response to the trend of the media utilizing Apple on TV shows and movies, it has always been this way even in the dark ages of Apple in the 90's. And in relation to the article I attend the now infamous Florida International University and I would say its at a quarter this year overall. Its actually sort of funny since it seems in the library to be at a quarter but if you go to the on campus starbucks its near or over 50 %. Now if people drinking starbucks and having their Apple out to surf the free wifi I dont know what trendy is. I think its sort of funny with people trashing how everyone has an Apple and its becoming "trendy." I considered myself trendy since the begining on my superior Mac OS 7.6 back when I was six on my Color Classic. Apple has always been about setting trends and finally more people as of lately seem to be catching on. Apple fans have you not considered yourselves trendy since the first time you stepped foot into the Apple realm and experienced superior computing?
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Neal M said 2:30AM on 10-16-2006
I go to the University of Oregon (and the School of Journalism and Communication)....lemme tell you, Macs reign supreme here. I think the UofO actually has over 50% Macs, although I'd be hard pressed to find an actual statistic. Most of the UofO's administrative computers are Macs, and the UofO was going to be the first school to utilize GMail as its email system. We turned them down, however, citing useability concerns, which I think had to do with the fact that at the time GMail didn't work as well with Macs as PCs, and it would be stupid for a mainly Mac campus to embrace something not-so-Mac (at least then).
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Dave said 2:45AM on 10-16-2006
#10 - That's because Apple has given away computers for free to studios making a movie - Apple gets free advertising, studios get free computers. They've been doing this for years, I remember first hearing about them doing it in Jurassic Park. Other companies are finally starting to catch on, I noticed HP being displayed quite prominently in The Office this season.
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tundraboy said 3:17AM on 10-16-2006
Just like Toyota and Honda, who went after the younger demographic, captured them, and kept selling them pricier product as they got older and wealthier.
I'm buying some more AAPL when the market opens.
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Tom said 9:17AM on 10-16-2006
I go to a Canadian university and there is definitely an upward trend. My school doesn't really push or not push Macs, except, theoretically, our ResNet doesn't support Macs (but I've never heard of someone have any trouble with it). In most of my classes I'd say something like 3/8 of laptops are Macs, and a lot of people I talk to either have a Mac or want a Mac. It's definitely a good sign. Even a few big computer nerds I know, normally so gaming obsessed as to shun Macs completely, are considering them.
Heheheh...resistance IS futile...
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Will said 10:45AM on 10-16-2006
The interesting thing I've noticed at the school where I work (IT dept), is that a good 80+% of the laptops at any given meeting are Macs, but that .. very few of those people have a Mac on their desktop. I'm still trying to figure out why the Mac seems so popular for their laptops but *not* for their desktops.
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J said 2:27PM on 10-16-2006
When I started at the Stockholm University three years ago, only I and one more in my class were running Macs. When I count today the two users has become eight. I also see a lot more of Macs at the campus.
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waynesun said 5:20PM on 10-16-2006
Agreed, just today i used an iBook G4 in science, in which we also use iMac G4 desktops. In my graphics design classes, we use 17'' Core Duo iMacs and Tower g4's and there are a couple of g3 towers, eMacs, and intel mac minis in the media center. Macs are becoming commonplace. I see them more then i see Dells.
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