HIGHER EDUCATION, LOWER STANDARDS

by: Conrad Gempf

There is this epidemic of Business Colleges who insist on their students using Windows machines. For those who have been living in a vacuum tube for the past few months and haven't heard, the argument goes along the lines that the standard out in the business community is not Macintosh but PeeCee, therefore it makes sense for the business persons of tomorrow to be trained on what they'll be using: Windows machines.

The right trajectory for the 21st century

But there is a serious flaw in this reasoning. When I was finishing my education ten years ago, there were folks who were using PeeCees and folks who were using Macs. Even then, back in the late 80s, it was possible to argue that PeeCees were the dominant force in the industry.

But you know what? The PeeCee standards have changed. And they're not going to all of a sudden stop and stand still to wait for the graduates. If B-b-b-bill doesn't get his company chopped to bits by the DoJ, he's going to move toward NT and the Merced chips and server-based computing. In 4 or 5 years, using a PeeCee will be entirely different than it is now, just as using a PeeCee now is totally different from the experience my peers had using DOS or Windows 2 and 3.1.

Which was better training for Windows98: DOS or the Mac?

Even if all my peers had had to switch to Windows98 by now, there is still a pretty important question to answer. Which do you reckon was better training for Windows98: PeeCee DOS or Mac System 6? I'll give you a hint. I know some guys who have lots of command codes memorised really really well and are very handy at mending the torn black cardboard sleeves of 5 1/4 inch disks.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that you can plan on change. The truth is that if you're looking to train people to use computers in 4 or 5 years' time, you want them to be using today's Macintoshes, not today's PeeCees. Judging from the past, in 5 or 6 years, Intel/Windows PeeCees will drop floppies and have translucent plastic cases. And that's just on the outside. In 5 or 6 years, today's Macintosh computers will look and act like slow computers, while today's PeeCees will look and act like antique calculators. People who train on iMacs will be on the right trajectory for the 21st century. People who train on Pentiums running Windows98 will have their feet firmly planted in '98.

Are you preparing people for tomorrow or preparing them for 10 minutes ago? You can't prepare people for the future by requiring them to use today's lowest common denominator.

Dr Conrad Gempf lectures in London and has had articles and product reviews published in such print magazines as *MacUser UK*, *MacTimes* and *Program Now*. He is webmaster of and regular contributor to the online webzine 'Pages for You' at http://www.londonbiblecollege.ac.uk

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July 05, 2009