Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 02:10:36 -0000
From: EvangeList <evangelist@apple.com>
Subject: Tidbit - Long Letter Explaining Mac Advantages

Digital Guy Sez:

The following is a copy of a letter culled from the MacMarines mailing
list. It was, IMHO, brilliantly executed, and might serve as an excellent
template for others in a similar situation. Please, don't take this as an
opportunity to attack the Virginia Beach Public School Board -- that
situation seems to be in good hands. :-)

Anyway, be forewarned, it's long...but worth the read.
__________________________
Keyword: Advocacy, Why Macs Are Better

This tidbit is from:

Tom Frey

The Virginia Beach Public School Board is proposing to spend $28.2
million to put modern computer labs in each of 83 elementary, middle, and
high schools. The labs will be all Windows machines. They will be
replacing mostly Macintosh computers. The article appeared in the
Virginian-Pilot, dated January 19, 1998, and entitled "Beach to vote on
high-tech spending."

The Virginian-Pilot can be found at: <http://www.pilotonline.com>

This particular article has not been posted to the web site yet.

Repeated below is my response to the members of the Virginia Beach Public
School Board, copy to the Virginian-Pilot:

Dear Members of the Virginia Beach School Board:

I applaud your proposed initiative to spend $28.2 million to upgrade the
computer technology in the city's public schools, as reported by Aleta
Payne in the January 19, 1998 edition of the Virginian-Pilot (Hampton
Roads section, pages B1 and B5). I agree with the statements attributed
to board members Mr. D. A. "Al" Ablowich and Mrs. Nancy Guy that "...this
as bare bones and the minimum that is necessary" and "...convinced that
funding of this initiative is a need."

However, as Mrs. Guy was paraphrased in the article, "...a technology
plan can't be viewed as a short-term project, but as one that is
long-range and requires long-range funding." At this point, the plan
described in the article is much like the Titanic, only the tip of the
iceberg is visible.

A fundamental rule of program management is that development and
procurement account for only 35% of a program's total cost. Life cycle
support accounts for the remaining 65%. Based on this rule of thumb, the
high-tech spending plan you are about to vote will cost the schools about
$80.5 million.

If you think the "rule of thumb" overstates the case, consider your costs
on a per computer average based on industry standards. The article
discussed putting a modern computer lab of at least 26 computers in each
of 54 elementary schools, a total of 1404 computers. However, there are a
total of 83 schools, including middle and high schools which need a
modern computer lab. Thus, Virginia Beach Public Schools will grow from
approximately 737 computers (mostly Apple Macintoshes) supported by one
technician to 2158 Windows computers supported by 21 to 30 technicians,
based on the industry standard of one technician for every 70 to 100
Windows computers, as reported in the story.

In order to keep the labs current, one-third of the computers must be
replaced each year at a yearly cost of $1.44 million. 21 tech support
personnel at a fully burdened rate of $30,000 per year (at the extreme
low end) will run $650 thousand per year. Forty hours per year of
training for each of your 6000 teachers and teachers aides at $15 per
hour (again, at the extreme low end) will run $3.6 million per year.
Yearly sustainment costs are therefore $5.7 million per year. This does
not include software site licenses and upgrades, network installation and
maintenance, or internet service provider costs.

Another way to calculate your sustainment costs is on a per desktop per
year basis. KPMG, Anderson Consulting, Gartner Group, Cumberland, and
others have done a variety of studies on schools, universities, and
companies of various sizes. For very small companies, less than 100
desktops, the average is about $2500 per year per desktop. Schools and
moderately sized organizations with thousands of desktops average around
$3500 per desktop. Large, corporations can be much higher. Microsoft
figures their costs at $13,000 per desktop per year and Boeing at $8000
per desktop per year. Using the $3500 per desktop per year figure, the
new plan will cost approximately $7.5 million per year. Even if you
squeezed costs down to the $2500 per desktop per year range, your
sustainment costs will run approximately $5.4 million per year.

The most costly part of the plan however, is the decision to migrate to
an all Windows environment. In a survey entitled "Technical Support Costs
and Dual-Platform Desktops: Managed Diversity" of 65 organization with
over 312,000 desktop computers, Gartner Group found that Macintosh
computers were 25% less expensive to support than comparable Windows
computers. Further the study found that dual platform computing (Windows
and Macintosh) environments were not more expensive than a Windows only
environment, and that costs went down as the percentage of Macintoshes
went up. An official reprint is available from Gartner Group by calling
(800) 232-9335.

Other studies which confirmed these results:

The Naval Air Systems Command, which found that Macintoshes were %35
cheaper to buy and support than other computers. (Commander Craig
Luigart, Director of Strategic Information Systems Technology for the
U.S. Navy, as reported in Government Computer News)

An International Data Consultants (IDC) study of 400 educators found that
"Macs are easier to support, have less downtime, and a shorter time to
recovery...." (www.zdnet.com).

At Intel Corporation, they employ one technician to support every 30
Windows computers. However, they support 120 Macintosh computers with one
technician. (Seattle Times, June 18, 1995)

However, the most exhaustive and salient research has been done by Dr.
Michael J. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent for Instruction and Technology
for the Conroe Independent School District in Conroe, Texas, a northern
suburb of Houston. His study involved three researchers working for three
years with 200 educational technology projects in 14 states. Having spent
$8 million on computer purchases in the last four years, he set out to
conduct an objective analysis to guide his district in the coming years.
His research decisively supports the Macintosh as the computer of choice
for education. There was nothing in education which could be done on a
Windows computer, which could not be done cheaper, simpler, and better on
a Macintosh. In addition, they support their network with one technician
for every 750 Macintoshes. A copy of the report is available at:
<http://www.dol.net/~Ragosta/mikej.htm>

Thank you for your time and attention in reading this e-mail. My purpose
is to ensure that you have as much information as possible when making
your decision. Again, I strongly support your desire to improve the
computers available to our students.

Sincerely,

Tom Frey