Tokyo and tech through the eyes of a split pea

Stanford IT Recommends …

I was visiting the Stanford bookstore today and saw a sign over in the computer section that amused me. Here’s a section from Stanford’s new student “getting started” guide with the quote which was on the sign:

4. Should I buy a Mac or a PC? Should I buy a laptop or desktop?

Both Macs and PCs are used and supported on campus, and most students have PCs, although a rising number (about 30%) have Macs. Nonetheless, Residential Computing actually recommends Macs over PCs, because we’ve found them easier to support, and more importantly far less susceptible to viruses and network break-ins. Essentially all security problems here, which often result in network disconnection, are on Windows machines—see the security section for more detail. Those who favor PCs point out that more software is available on this platform, and most computing in non-academic contexts is done on PCs. A majority of commonly used public computers are Macs, with the balance being PCs and enclaves of Linux/Unix machines.

(bolding is mine, of course) What I find amusing is not just the blatant plug for Macs, but the usage figure – 30%!? This is the premier university in the heart of startup central, Silicon Valley, VC-land, whatever you want to call it. Nurturing a future generation of entrepreneurs on an as yet little-used platform globally could have some interesting consequences. Of course, it’s nice just to see great deals being passed out to the students!