A Grant From Intel Reopens a Debate
Over the Future of Macs at Yale
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
Intel Corporation announced today that a dozen universities have won millions of dollars' worth of new computing equipment. But for Yale University, which is slated to receive hardware and software worth $2.7-million, the Intel grant has already become a mixed blessing, reopening a bitter debate over whether the university is moving away from the Apple Macintosh.
Some Macintosh fans have characterized the award as a "migration grant" that is meant to help the university phase out its use of Apple products. An on-line article posted Tuesday by a pro-Macintosh magazine called Mac Home Journal suggested that the grant had prompted a letter that Yale's technology director, Daniel A. Updegrove, sent to incoming freshmen this summer. The letter, widely circulated on the Internet, encouraged students to buy "Windows PC" computers and warned that the university "cannot guarantee support for Macintoshes beyond June 2000."
The magazine article even implied that Mr. Updegrove stood to gain personally from the grant, getting a shiny new Windows-based computer. Mr. Updegrove, reached late Wednesday night at his home, said that on-line reports about the grant were "absurd" and "extremely naïve."
He said the university was proud to have won the grant but had made no promises to Intel to phase out Macintosh computers. "We continue to sell Macs and we continue to support Macs," he said. He noted that many computer companies offer similar grants.
The Intel computer equipment that will be given to the university must be used for specific research projects outlined in the university's grant request. None of those involve a new machine for Mr. Updegrove. "Not a single one of them is even going into my department," he said. He said the term "migration" might have appeared in Intel's original request for grant proposals.
"There really isn't any connection between the letter and the grant," he added.
He acknowledged, however, that he had declined to discuss the Intel grant earlier in the week with a reporter from Mac Home Journal. He said he had told the reporter he would not discuss the grant before Intel announced it.
Tracy Koon, corporate-affairs manager for Intel, said in an interview Wednesday that the purpose of the grants is to help universities support technology research. She admitted that the long-term goal of the program is "to create a preference by faculty, students and alumni" for computers with Intel inside, adding: "There's no hidden agenda there."
The Mac Home Journal story and on-line summaries of it have apparently solidified Mr. Updegrove's unlikely position as a "most wanted" figure among die-hard Macintosh fans. He said his e-mail account was full of nasty letters Wednesday. "Somebody must have written a 'flame Updegrove' e-mail form letter," he said, "because I've gotten about 20 of them that are identical."
Meanwhile, the schism between PC and Mac users continues to split Yale's campus. The university's School of Medicine has made it clear that it is strongly committed to supporting Macintosh computers, no matter what Mr. Updegrove may recommend to undergraduates. The medical school's World-Wide Web site even has a policy statement that says, "Should the University eliminate services that affect Macintosh users at the School of Medicine, ITS-Med will work to find replacements." ITS-Med is the school's office of information-technology services.
The latest Yale controversy erupted as Apple announced that it had lost $161-million in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. Yale isn't alone in struggling with issues raised by Apple's continuing financial troubles. Colleges and universities across the country are keeping a close watch on the company's long-term prospects.
Jon Morrow, a professor of pathology for the medical school, said in an interview Wednesday that many professors were sorry Yale had been characterized as unfriendly to Macintosh computers and that he was worried that such a perception "could become self-fulfilling." He added: "I think we're all embarrassed that this happened and that it's been such a media event."
Other universities receiving the grants are:
Columbia University ($2.5-million)
Duke University ($1.6-million)
Harvard University ($2.2-million)
The Johns Hopkins University ($1.7-million)
Princeton University ($2.7-million)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ($2.4-million)
Rice University ($2-million)
Stanford University ($3.2-million)
University of California at Los Angeles ($1.4-million)
University of California at San Diego ($2.4-million)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ($2.4-million)
University of Pennsylvania ($1.9-million)
Background story from The Chronicle:
|
