May 16, 2007

Vista Revisitation

One year after the switch to Dells, students reflect on the decision

   

by MICHAEL RAVEN
Hays High Guidon

After the School Board’s decision to accept the Dell laptop contract last summer instead of renewing the contract with Apple, many parents and students questioned the selection. As the first year after the transition comes to a close, the real question is whether or not it was a wise decision.

“Dells may look pretty and have a nice design, but the speed and efficiency of the Macs tended to be better,” junior Tabitha Marcotte said. “Waiting several minutes before programs boot up, Microsoft Word loads, or the Internet connects can be frustrating, especially when I need something super-fast.”

A recent poll taken by 482 students at Hays High showed that 87.76% of the students would prefer Mac laptops over the current Dells.“The new Dell laptops are a downgrade from the year before,” senior Brandon Leiker said.
Other students disagreed, and were instead pleased with the lessons that the new laptops were able to teach them.

“With the Dells we got the new Vista operating system, which is the same operating system I will have on my college computer,” senior Kaley Klaus said. “I’m glad that I can learn to use the Vista program now so I can be more prepared for college.” Overall, a majority of students interviewed all were unhappy with the speed and performance of the Dells.
“My opinion about the Dells has changed as the year has gone on,” freshman Brandon Stouffer said. “I’m starting to like them less because throughout the year they have begun to run a lot slower.” The reason for the controversial decision simply came down to money and getting the most bang for our buck. “After our lease with Apple ran out, we received new bids from vendors and Dell offered us the best price,” CCU staff member Jeff Bitokofer said. “If we would have gone with Apple, would we would have gotten less laptops than we did with our deal with Dell.”

Critics of the change wonder why we went with the cheapest deal and didn’t instead go with the more expensive Apples, but ones which we have experience with. According to Principal Mike Hester, Hays High was required by Kansas law to accept the lower bid, which was a $3 million, four-year lease for the entire district. Most of the issues that are coming from students involve software. A plethora of problems have arisen and plagued the Dells from the beginning but are now finally getting back on track. CCU staff member Todd Bryant said that some of the leading software issues from the beginning included problems with Microsoft Word and Internet connectivity causing students to have to restart their computer to receive the wireless signal. However, these issues are to be expected. Hays High is the pioneer school in implementing the Vista operating system, and everything cannot go right the first time around.

“When you lead, you bleed,” Hester said. “Macs and Dells each have their own niches, Dells with Office, and Macs with their art programs. We can’t please everyone, but the Dells are meeting our needs and are acceptable.”
Though there may be software issues, according to Bryant, the hardware failure rate in year one with the Macs and Dells are very similar. Students may not have the highest opinion of the Dells, but teachers take a different stance.
“The Internet connectivity is worse than on the Macs, but I haven’t had any serious issues with them,” teacher Diane Mason said.

One of the main things that most teachers push is the fact that it’s a privilege to even have a laptop.“The Dells turned out alright; the one thing no one ever realizes is you have a free computer you can use at your disposal for educational purpose,” teacher Tyler Strong said. “Would you rather have no Dell or no computer?” With this year coming to a close, three years are still left on the contract between Hays High and Dell. Opportunities for improvement are significant, and the school is doing everything to make the laptops more effective next year. “Vista is still running a little slower than I wished,” Bitokofer said. “Our summer project is to update all the software including Firefox, Java and Office to make everything run smoother.” Hester said another thing to look forward to in the coming years is the fact that many more people will be operating with Vista software, eliminating the problem of having to convert files into Windows 2003 to open them on other computers. Though student opinion remains essentially unchanged from the beginning of the year, with most students believing that the Dells are slower and having a preference toward Macs, the problems causing the dislike are constantly being remedied. “I’m very proud of the teachers and students because they have given something new such a great effort,” Hester said. “In life you have to adapt. The people who can do this are the ones who can overcome challenges and be successful. It’s not just about computers, it’s a life lesson.”