AppleInsider Staff
In an update to its traditional special priced Mac offerings targeted at educational institutions, Apple is now offering the newly redesigned 21.5-inch iMac with a 3.3GHz dual-core Intel i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD for $1,099.
Compared to Apple's previous iMac for education, which featured a 3.1GHz dual-core i3 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD, the new thin-and-light model is $100 more expensive but comes with more RAM and storage space. However, the new 21.5-inch iMac uses Intel's HD 4000 integrated graphics chipset, whereas the older version came with a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics card.
Like the consumer iMac, the made for education iteration brings Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity while dropping FireWire support. Also of note is the lack of an optical drive, which is a necessity for many schools that regularly install and update software. Interestingly, the standalone drive cannot be added to the configuration upon checkout.
As noted by MacRumors, the education only iMac is available to ship in 5-7 days, which is a bit longer than the 3-5 days quoted for machines with regular specifications. Apple recently caught up with iMac demand after suffering supply constraints during the holiday quarter, with North American customers now seeing 24-hour ship-by times for preconfigured models.
Christine McKee
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29 Comments
"Also of note is the lack of an optical drive, which is a necessity for many schools that regularly install and update software." What software are you talking about? Old software or copies of software that's being distributed illegally? Most software for Macs is available through the App Store or from other on-line distribution methods. Schools need to regulate what software is installed and how the computers are used so removing the optical drive should maintain cleaner systems. If they want to install software, then use a master iMac with optical drive and do remote installations. Schools are able to join the 21st century and don't have to continue to operate like old-time PCs.
Yeah, I think its inane when people point out "no media drive". Whatevs, this is 2013 %u2014 not 2002!
Why would a school be installing software via CD? There are very few titles out there that couldn't be easily deployed via network installs. Apple Remote Desktop is a powerful tool for that purpose.
On the off chance that you absolutely MUST have a CD drive with the machine, the school can buy a handful of drives that the techs can connect to USB ports for the installs.
Removing the CD drive from the machines is going to save a ton in repair costs. Kids tend to stick anything into the CD slot, destroying the drive in the process. No slot, less chance of damage.
Any software that doesn't have a digital download method at this point doesn't even deserve to be used or purchased. I can't even think of the last software I used that came only on CDs.
The above comments come from three parents, no doubt.