Is a Mac too much to ask for?

[Anonymous067]

When it comes to dealing with the head IT dude of a district or school, you may as well give up. 99% of them are complete dicks and don't really care about learning or students whatsoever.

There may be a logical reason for not mixing macs and pcs. Simply because too much stuff isn't compatible with macs. If they teach students on only pcs, what happens when they get thrown with a mac? Now, we all know tech ppl for plays are smart, but the rest of the student body might not be so much.

Not saying I agree nor disagree, just saying.

Second of all, who cares if you put a second drive in the computer?
If you disconnect the Ethernet from the computer, the district or school can't do squat about it. That's whats letting them monitor and control the computer. Grant it, you still have to deal with program blocks etc etc, but hey, its a start to make sure the IT ppl don't get word you're doing it.

For the record, I'm not really a MAC person, but I'm just saying, I understand the argument of keeping everybody's workstation the same.

 

[icewolf08]

First of all, I think that we need to take a step back and look at this thread. It is really not good that people are bashing working professionals:

The problem: my tech director says that decision is up to IT and the head IT (jerk) guy hates anything apple.

When it comes to dealing with the head IT dude of a district or school, you may as well give up. 99% of them are complete dicks and don't really care about learning or students whatsoever.

Second:

Second of all, who cares if you put a second drive in the computer?
If you disconnect the Ethernet from the computer, the district or school can't do squat about it. That's whats letting them monitor and control the computer. Grant it, you still have to deal with program blocks etc etc, but hey, its a start to make sure the IT ppl don't get word you're doing it.

Schools and companies implement computer use policies for a reason, circumventing them is is good way to have your computer use right revoked. Just remember that when you start messing with computers that are not yours.

Also, you don't want to put any of your own money into computer hardware (or anything for that mater) for your school. What happens when you install that nice hard drive in the schools computer and then you walk in one day and there is a different machine sitting on the desk because it was time for technology renewal? This of course is besides the fact of ownership rights.

I think that if you present your case in a calm, organized, and civil manner you will get far.

 

[soundman1024]

I realize I'm a bit late here, but my thoughts on the matter are that the IT guy may have been absolutely reasonable, or stepping over his bounds, it depends on what the computer gets used for.

The church I go to has a contract with Dell. All of their PCs come from Dell. That's just how it is. There are a few exceptions to this however. In our Media department we have an Avid editor that isn't a Dell, and a few Mac Pros that aren't Dell, and an aging Windows 2000 editor, again that isn't Dell. The way they justify it is the machines are editors, not daily work computers. They are on the network as there's a large NAS for media purposes.

If you are buying a new machine to be a piece of theatre equipment and not a general use workstation then I think the department is justified in buying the machine best qualified for the job, Mac or PC. Off of the network the computer is digital audio equipment just the same as a DSP or a CD player. As soon as that machine goes on the network the game changes. The IT guys are responsible for making sure every workstation on the network has the correct permissions and policies as well as ensuring it is restricted from accessing or editing information the end user may or may not be authorized to access or edit. Something to remember, if the IT around your school doesn't know about Macs how can he know that he has sensitive data about minors restricted from access? If sensitive data about minors falls in the wrong hands you can be sure that's not good for job security. Add in that your students may know more about Macs than your IT guys, and it makes even more sense to say no. Ensuring that data is safe puts food on these guys tables.

So in my eyes the question is: are you seeking digital audio equipment, or are you looking for a computer? If it's the first, buy the machine with the theatre's budget and don't let the IT guys know it exists. If it's the second make a formal proposal for the correct people, (like you did) and hope you get the result you're looking for.

 

[ruinexplorer]

First of all, I think that we need to take a step back and look at this thread. It is really not good that people are bashing working professionals:



Second:

Schools and companies implement computer use policies for a reason, circumventing them is is good way to have your computer use right revoked. Just remember that when you start messing with computers that are not yours.

Also, you don't want to put any of your own money into computer hardware (or anything for that mater) for your school. What happens when you install that nice hard drive in the schools computer and then you walk in one day and there is a different machine sitting on the desk because it was time for technology renewal? This of course is besides the fact of ownership rights.

I think that if you present your case in a calm, organized, and civil manner you will get far.

I am in complete agreement with Alex. The first step in professionalism is treating those with whom you disagree with at least the same respect as those with whom you do agree. This does not mean that you bad mouth them behind their backs. I have watched many freelance techs badmouthing their employers or former employers to clients. That will get you no where fast. This is a small world, word will get back to whomever you are saying bad things. You may not care what the IT guys think about you, and feel that commiserating with like minded people will be no problem, but you will find that politeness and professional courtesy will get you a lot further in life.

 

[wadeace]

the biggest thing i can say is to always have respect. you don't always know whats best there are always people that knows more than you, and if your nice and respectfully they just might tech you something. if you don't have respect for that reason, than have respect for the fact that the i.t. guy is A+, cisco,... certified, and your not, so they do know what there talking about.

 

[themuzicman]

Now, to go along with that nice new mac, go ahead and buy a Qlab license, and if you can afford it I would suggest a Digidesign rack.

Though that's just my opinion for a nice audio setup.

 

[scottmcleod]

Now, to go along with that nice new mac, go ahead and buy a Qlab license, and if you can afford it I would suggest a Digidesign rack.

Though that's just my opinion for a nice audio setup.

I'm not even going to wade into the waters of "I.T." vs Mac (i've had my own headaches with this, at any educational institution I've been at (high school / university), and where I currently work, though where I currently work, the IT guys are very open minded (see below).)

Over time, mac always wins. People are always freaked out by it though, because they fear what they don't understand.

On a budget, here's what we're running:

iMac 17" 2.0GHZ w/ 2.0GB Ram
MoTU 828mk3 (we had an alternate spec of an Edirol FA101, which is only 250$)
into a Mackie TT24 via ADAT (Lightpipe) for all of our sound effects.

Not only does this little iMac run all of our sound effects, it sends MIDI commands to the mackie, AND projections via video out to the NEC NP2000 projector.

The little mac that could, indeed!

Because of our success with shows and projections and production last year, they approved purchase for me of a MacBook Pro to lighten the load on the iMac, and allow for a mobile editing platform for the show files.

QLab is the be-all-end-all solution (in my opinion) for Audio & Projections at the educational level. My students program the QLab files for me offline in the Mac Lab, and then bring the files in here to assign the channels once the file is loaded and the MoTU is detected.

SFX doesn't compete, and requires a specially set-up computer to run stable. (I spent 2 years in university working with the TD that had to spec a computer, and install it VERY carefully to get a rock-solid SFX rig.)

My iMac is not only on our school network, but runs alongside the Active Domain Services (Microsoft) that our school uses to administer the rest of the PC network.

Our IT guys only have limited knowledge with regard to apple, but they are OPEN MINDED, and thus, have managed to provide a beautiful opportunity for the Arts department here at our school.

Oh, and lack of apple support my arse. 1-800-MY-APPLE or... http://support.apple.com . You can't ask for 2 better resources.

 

[icewolf08]

Oh, and lack of apple support my arse. 1-800-MY-APPLE or... Apple - Support . You can't ask for 2 better resources.

Apple support is like ETC support, everyone else is like Strand. Also, if you are an educational user (student, faculty, staff, or institution) you should call the Apple Educational support line 1 (800) 800-2775, you will get through much faster, and they often are more helpful than the standard support people.