This message came from my local Macintosh users group (and is reprinted
here with permission from the author). Apparently, UCSF (University of
California, San Francisco) is very strongly discouraging students from
using anything other than Windows PC's.
On further investigation, we determined that this warning stems from
UCSF's dependence on not just Windows, but Microsoft Office. They don't
want to have to deal with the technical difficulties that might stem
from students using software that differs even slightly from what the
school is already using. And their policy suggests that they're
completely ignorant of open standards.
I thought I'd pass this along, since this looks like one more case where
a university could save a lot of money by switching to an open-source
office suite (i.e. OpenOffice), but they're either afraid to do so or
ignorant of their options.
And, yes, it's also an example of why I'm sure that countless Mac users
will be delighted when a native Aqua port of OpenOffice is available,
but that's a topic for another list.
-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: NCMUG's Exchange List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: NCMUG's Exchange List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Mac/PC bias at UCSF
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:09:26 -0700
Hello, all--- I need some advice. I will be returning to UCSF as a
student this fall. On the website is a page detailing students'
computer requirements and the following warning:
"Those who attempt to use Apple Macintosh computers do so entirely at
their own risk. Macintosh users should be completely and thoroughly
knowledgeable about all compatibility issues with Microsoft Windows
such as storage formats, standard fonts, character set coding, and
file naming conventions. Only users with this expert knowledge will
have any success sharing their Macintosh documents with the Windows
users who predominate at our institution. Apple and UCSF do not
provide technical support services for users experiencing
compatibility problems."
I do not wish to buy a PC! I am planning on buying an iBook when Tiger
is part of the package, and adding Office. I have never had any
trouble sharing things with myself at work, where I use a PC, but since
I am not an aforementioned "expert", this warning was somewhat
startling. Should I fuss? I will be in the PhD program; statistics
will play a major role. Thanks for any advice!
Kate
---
Lincoln Peters
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.
-- Tallulah Bankhead
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