The Purchase Independent

By J.W Townsend-Pitt

Layout Assistant

CTS has had to replace the Dells in the Library labs as well as those in Humanities and Natural Sciences to keep up with the ever accelerating computer industry.  There are also Apples in the Art and Design building as well as in Theater Arts and Film. Recently, to tighten their belts this semester they have purchased Dell screens for some of these labs rather then the standard Apple screens. 

According to Jerzy Klebieko, who runs the Mac labs in the Art and Design Building, their priority when making their purchases for the upgrades to the Apple Labs was the ability to do High Definition editing.  The devices used to capture this signal are made by a company called Black Magic. 

These new cards called Intensity provide a huge increase of quality and options in HD editing. But to gain those benefits, the screen of the computer has to be able to receive the information. 

This is one of the main reasons that the Art and Design Building has bought the Dell Monitors they have High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Digital Visual Interface – Digital (DVI-D), with High Definition Content Protection (HDCP), DisplayPort Video Graphics Array (VGA), Component Video, Separate Video (S-Video), and Composite Video. That is six different methods of receiving input. The same size Apple monitor has the single DVI-I input type. Going by input type alone there is an obvious benefit to the Dell screens. 

The Dell screens are, of course, new, and with the state of the budget, any money saved is a positive. Considering Dell gives a huge discount to the school and Apple only takes off 10% of the already higher initial list price, Dell makes more sense.  According to their websites,the list price for a Dell twenty-three inch screen is $299. On the Apple site, the list price of a twenty-three inch screen is $799. Klebieko does admit that he prefers the look and quality of Apple screens but for the most  sensible investment in this current budget situation, the Dell screens won out.

Kat Lo is a Graphic Design major who used one of the Mac Pro computers with a Dell screen, in the DMZ. She was not  impressed. Looking at some of her artwork on one of the Dell screens there, she found the colors to be duller then even on her much older laptop which she knows has a skewed color scheme. However, she like the fact that there is an integrated card reader along the side of the monitor rather then the external readers. But the DMZ screens may not be properly tuned. 

For the Art and Design students the priority seems to be the Operating System. With Hot Corners and Exposé, graphic artists find Macs easier to work with. Apple is also the industry standard. So for a school that aims to produce graduates able to move directly into the job market, it is a necessary decision.

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