Based on open standards from its UNIX foundation up, the Mac fits right in with your existing network and assets. And it’s the only system designed to make multiplatform environments practical. In fact, it’s a multiplatform environment all by itself.
The Mac comes ready for your infrastructure.
IT managers can rest assured that the Mac integrates with existing IP-based networks and can access existing network services provided by Mac, Windows and Linux servers. Mac OS X (and Mac OS X Server)
are POSIX-compliant UNIX operating systems that leverage BSD sockets and a time-tested TCP/IP stack. Learn more
It’s ready for your network too.
Mac OS X can be configured to automatically join your wired and wireless networks, so students and educators are connected as soon as they start up. Configurations can be saved, so mobile computer users can move from one network location to another without reconfiguring their systems. In addition, the built-in Bonjour networking technology (based on the open source Zeroconf protocol) lets the Mac and any other Bonjour-enabled clients, printers and devices discover one another automatically. Mac OS X can integrate with popular directory services through a plug-in architecture. And support for Microsoft’s Active Directory is built in. Mac OS X also comes with drivers for most peripherals, whether they use USB, FireWire, Ethernet or Bluetooth, so it works with your existing equipment right from the start.
Automatic networking also means students with MacBook computers can move from one network location to another without reconfiguring their systems. It’s easy to specify network settings in Location Manager. Once a location is set up, all a student has to do is select it, and the system switches to the student’s preferences.
Mac or PC? You don’t really have to choose.
Mac users can easily open files created on a PC and vice versa. But that’s just for starters. Because a new Mac is basically two computers in one. It not only runs all the applications that are made for the Mac, it also runs Windows, Vista and Windows applications (sold separately) at native speeds.
Built into Mac OS X, Boot Camp lets users restart the Mac using either Mac OS X or Windows. You can also install free BootPicker software, which lets students simply choose an operating system when they log in, and that can be very handy for labs. You can even let users run Mac OS X and Windows side by side using third-party software like Parallels Desktop for Mac or VMware Fusion (each sold separately). However you do it, you’re delivering all the features of a Mac along with the ability to run the PC applications that faculty or students might need.
