I CERTAINLY don't want to contribute to another debate of Mac vs Win, but
the study below has been reported in several resources I read regularly. A
copy is available by surface mail from Apple (surprise!), but I don't have
the 800 number handy -- it is given in the issue of TidBITS that I quote
(back issues available at the URL below). I have sent for but not received
the paper yet. I believe the study dealt only with support issues, probably
not educational issues except if one argues some similarity between
training/support and education with/about computers. Perhaps the results
will contribute to the committee discussion.
"Study Finds Macs Cheaper to Support --
A study of technical support costs in corporate computing by Gartner Group
Consulting Services found no incremental costs for companies supporting
both the Mac and Windows platforms, as opposed to the cost of supporting
Windows alone. In addition, the study found supporting Macs costs 25
percent less than supporting Windows, and that the higher the percentage of
Macintosh computers in an organization, the lower the total technical
support costs. It's worth noting the study was completed before Windows 95
was available, so the costs of upgrading to Windows 95 and its long-term
support aren't included."
Quoted from TidBITS, Issue #299
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/TidBITS/TidBITS.html>
Dale
Dale S. Farland, Asst. Prof. Ed. Psych / Ed. Tech / Instr. Design
School of Education 605-677-5844
University of South Dakota DFARLAND@SUNDANCE.USD.EDU
Vermillion SD 57069 http://www.usd.edu/~dfarland