Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!ragg0270
From: ragg0270@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Commodore & Universities
Message-ID: <46200106@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 27 Jul 90 14:58:00 GMT
References: <25432@snow-white.udel.EDU>
Lines: 33
Nf-ID: #R:snow-white.udel.EDU:25432:uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:46200106:000:1740
Nf-From: uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!ragg0270    Jul 27 09:58:00 1990


/* Written  2:10 pm  Jul 25, 1990 by mofo@bucsf.bu.edu in uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:comp.sys.amiga */
>According to Commodore and my communications with them, the main way CBM
>can get machines into a college is if they have FACULTY support. The
>administration of any school unfortunately doesn't pay too much attention
>to whether a computer will fit a student budget, or whether it can save the
>university hundreds of thousands. If they did, universities might start
>buying Nintendos (after all, they ARE becoming found in a large amount of
>college dorm rooms).

>If such faculty support exists, then CBM feels it has a power base from
>which to go to the administration and have "local" supporters of their
>system(s).

[personal opinion on:]
This is all wrong. Faculty are going to be the hardest people to sell Amiga's
to on the whole campus. Faculty use the machines they used as students (be
it Macs or IBMs) and are only looking to move up to Suns or SGIs. You will
have a hard time selling them a different machine that does not offer a 
significant increase in computing power.
An advantage the Amiga has (irregardless of all the current debate on the
subject) is price. A faculty member doesn't much care if he writes a proposal
asking for
$10,000 for a Mac system vs. $4000 for an Amiga system. It's all the same
to him or her.  
But to students, every dollar counts for something. If you can get today's
students using Amigas, they'll want to use Amigas when they leave school. And
tomorrow's faculty are today's students. Get Amiga's in the hands of students
(esp. grad students if you want to get into the educational market) today and
it will pay off big in the future.
[end slightly biased opinion from a grad student]

Richard