By Lucy Kaminsky

After returning from summer break, all of the students noticed something different about their classrooms. It wasn’t a new Smartboard, or new teachers, or new desks. It was the thin gray laptops with a blue and orange “BRIARCLIFF 2.0” sticker stamped across the middle toted around by the faculty. Just by glancing at these machines, it is obvious that they are not manufactured by the same brand that makes the majority of the student body’s cell phones and personal computers –Apple – but by Apple’s competitor, Microsoft.

Science research and forensics teacher, Mr. Inglis, spoke about the reality of the situation based on what the students choose to buy. He informed us that many students use Mac, and he sees more and more students using Apple products. He (and most people in Briarcliff) has observed the success of Apple as a technological company, especially the success of the iPhone. Mr. Inglis did a quick survey of fifty-five students and found that 92% of students use an iPhone and 80% of all students have an Apple laptop. The conclusion he quickly drew was that this is an Apple community. The question has to be asked – if so many of Briarcliff High School students are using Apple products, why is the administration gearing up to invest a startling sum of money towards Windows?

The obvious answer is this: you can buy ten students a PC laptop for the cost of one student receiving its Apple counterpart. Even without doing so much as opening up a Google search, nearly every student at Briarcliff High School would be able to tell you that Apple products are more expensive. An Asus fifteen-inch laptop can go for around two hundred dollars, whereas the price of a fifteen inch MacBook Pro is a dollar short of two thousand. Another possible reason is that Windows has specific technology that supports the type of environment Briarcliff would like to create. If you’re a student taking gym, you’re already familiar with the Smartboard-like machine that Windows produces. Apple on the other hand, has yet to come out with anything that a teacher could use in a classroom with functions similar to those of a Smartboard.

Though many students may love their iPhones and MacBooks because it was the right choice for them, using Apple does not appear to be the right choice for Briarcliff. Teachers would find themselves without a compatible electronic blackboard to communicate with their students, and it would take money away from many other endeavors that the administration may have in mind. The new teacher laptops may not be perfect, but they are bringing the school one step closer to being the Briarcliff 2.0 that those creating it envisioned.