Law School exam software: no mac support=no macs
I bought my first Mac this March (Powerbook 1.67) and now when ever I sit in front of a PC I find myself trying to use Expose/Apple-tabbing to switch apps... wondering to myself "Why do people put up this this crap (ie Windows)? But that's another thread.
Anyhow, 90% of the law students at my school use PC laptops, but I've noticed an increasing amount of iBooks and Powerbooks on campus over the last year. The law school, however, has decided to use Exam4 for our law school exams, an application that does not support OS X. If students are not able to take their exams on their Macs then this will effectively cut the number of Mac users to zero. No one will buy another Mac if they are not able to take their exams on it.
When I contacted my Dean and Exam4 about this, incredibly, they both blamed Apple for this. The person at Exam4 has been extremely courteous and prompt in addressing my concerns, but I get the impression that the company feels that the Mac market is just to small for them to port the application to the Mac. How difficult/expensive would it be to port Exam4 to the Mac? Since the application is partially web-based, I'm assuming that it is probably written in Java and that this should not be that difficult to port. Is there any information that I can use to convince Exam4 to port this to OS X?
Any ideas/suggestions on what we Mac users should do about this.
Just another example of why sometimes it doesn't matter that OS X is the best OS in the world. Marketshare matters.
Thanks.
Anyhow, 90% of the law students at my school use PC laptops, but I've noticed an increasing amount of iBooks and Powerbooks on campus over the last year. The law school, however, has decided to use Exam4 for our law school exams, an application that does not support OS X. If students are not able to take their exams on their Macs then this will effectively cut the number of Mac users to zero. No one will buy another Mac if they are not able to take their exams on it.
When I contacted my Dean and Exam4 about this, incredibly, they both blamed Apple for this. The person at Exam4 has been extremely courteous and prompt in addressing my concerns, but I get the impression that the company feels that the Mac market is just to small for them to port the application to the Mac. How difficult/expensive would it be to port Exam4 to the Mac? Since the application is partially web-based, I'm assuming that it is probably written in Java and that this should not be that difficult to port. Is there any information that I can use to convince Exam4 to port this to OS X?
Any ideas/suggestions on what we Mac users should do about this.
Just another example of why sometimes it doesn't matter that OS X is the best OS in the world. Marketshare matters.
Thanks.
Comments
Originally posted by wilco
^^^^^^^what he said^^^^^^^
No need to run VitualPC. Exam Secure supports Macs natively, and the school could have chosen this software instead. The problem is that the dean responsible for choosing the software is an idiot. He described Mac users as a small "cohort" and said that supporting Macs would compromise his server. How's that for irony.
Again, if the law school does not support Macs NO ONE WILL BUY THEM because they won't be able to use them to take exams.
Originally posted by Neruda
How difficult/expensive would it be to port Exam4 to the Mac? Since the application is partially web-based, I'm assuming that it is probably written in Java and that this should not be that difficult to port.[/B]
I am not familiar with the Exam4 software but if it is web-based, as you said, then the problem is not with the Mac machine itself but rather the browser. For example, if the application uses ActiveX for some of its content, then you won't be able to view that content since ActiveX is Microsoft's technology and only a part of Internet Explorer.
Maybe you tried this already, but I'll ask anyways, have you tryed accessing Exam4 from IE on the Mac?
Originally posted by iMe
I am not familiar with the Exam4 software but if it is web-based, as you said, then the problem is not with the Mac machine itself but rather the browser. For example, if the application uses ActiveX for some of its content, then you won't be able to view that content since ActiveX is Microsoft's technology and only a part of Internet Explorer.
Maybe you tried this already, but I'll ask anyways, have you tryed accessing Exam4 from IE on the Mac?
The program does not run on OS X. It uses MS Word (or some other text program) and emails the test to a print server after you are done.
Originally posted by G_Warren
My law school doesn't have any problem with me using a Mac all the time - I just write my 3 hours exam paper with a Parker pen like everyone else on my course
Uh huh. So do I, but not because I have a choice. If I did, I would use my Powerbook to take exams.
And what effect do you think this has on incoming students that might purchase a Mac? I personally know two other students that were about to purchase iBooks and will now probably buy Dells because of this.
Originally posted by Neruda
Uh huh. So do I, but not because I have a choice. If I did, I would use my Powerbook to take exams.
And what effect do you think this has on incoming students that might purchase a Mac? I personally know two other students that were about to purchase iBooks and will now probably buy Dells because of this.
My point was that we don't use PCs for exams - we don't them the good old way, using pen and paper, which is why I have a sore hand from writing all day today! Seems that your uni's policy does suck, but I suppose you have to see it from their point of view as well - extra cost to develop for both. Complain loudly enough and maybe theyi'll get something sorted out, if not for you, then for future students.
Originally posted by Neruda
Any ideas/suggestions on what we Mac users should do about this.
Just another example of why sometimes it doesn't matter that OS X is the best OS in the world. Marketshare matters.
Thanks.
Aquatic nailed it - I bet you could use Virtual PC to take the exams on your Mac (and pirate it, too). Unfortunately this is a solution for you but not for most Mac users who don't want to jump through any extra hoops to take an exam. Who want's to dwell in the rat's nest of Virtual PC with an exam hanging over their head?
I'm not sure what the Mac users can do about this other than complain loudly to both the Dean and to the software developer. If the demand for a Mac version of Exam4 is sufficient, then the corporate twits might choose to port Exam4 to the Mac, but probably not. It's just easier to develop for the one ubiquitous platform and forget about others.
I'm curious, how exactly did the Exam4 developer and the university blame Apple for the lack of OS X compatibility? Did it have something to do with Apple not supporting a proprietary Microsoft API like ActiveX?
ANY modern university would still be hiding their head in the sand on making essential exam software available for any platform including
Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, or Solaris.
I would take it to your state board of education and complain loudly!
Or you could sue your law school for predudicial exam policies
Is that not the case, or just not the case at this school?
However Lawers are models for slow change. Many still use Novell and Wordperfect.
My mother just started her own practice and as much as I wanted to take her over to Mac I just had a bit more comfort sticking with windows.
Not trying to get OT but there are a few programs out there that look decent but are a little spendy. Lawstream is one app.
I'm finding that Mac choices for
Time Billing
Case Management
Document Management
Aren't as robust as one would like. I'm not sure that any one program covers everything. Custom software solutions might be the best ticket.
I think the Exams being PC only kind of reflect that Apple still doesn't have a huge prescence in the legal field.
See, as a consumer you shouldn't have to suffer as a result of the poor marketing schemes of certain companies.
I would think it obvious that an exam software must be browser based, or otherwise multiplatform - Java, or built on the Qt toolkit for example.
Moreover, I don't understand why the software developer would not build the product on one of these multiplatform foundations. It's not more difficult to do than a Win32 app. However, they aren't the stupid people in this deal - after all, they are getting paid.
Sitting here at my technical uni., it's hard to even imagine a computer administrator making that kind of decision. My school has all kinds of OS on its computers, of course.
Originally posted by corvette
See, as a consumer you shouldn't have to suffer as a result of the poor marketing schemes of certain companies.
to Apple about developing their application for Mac OS X.
As a parent getting ready to send 2 off to college soon, I'm certainly
not buying them ANY Windows based laptop. NFW!
I'm the one funding this and I refuse to have some Microsoft corrupted, Orwelian college IT administrator tell me that my kids MUST use Windows.
I've actually told my daughters that part of their school of choice decision
should be based of whether the school is Mac friendly.
With all the news of Mac moving to Intel, I'm not sure if this will help or hurt to motivated them.
I know zero about software development, but this seems to be something
that could easily be done by a dedicated group of student developers for project credit.
Originally posted by FallenFromTheTree
As a parent getting ready to send 2 off to college soon, I'm certainly
not buying them ANY Windows based laptop. NFW!
The funny thing about the whole situation is that I am the only person in my class that has not experienced serious to annoying computer problems in the last year (not one crash, virus, etc), whereas I'm always helping my classmates with their Windows problems. I've only been using a Mac for about three months now, and when I am using an XP computer the first thing that pops into my mind is "Why do people put with this?".
I'm the one funding this and I refuse to have some Microsoft corrupted, Orwelian college IT administrator tell me that my kids MUST use Windows.[/B]
When I asked the Dean why he had not chosen a cross-platform vendor (SecureExam) he said "I am not going to make my decisions based on the opinion of a cohort of Mac zealots". You have to love law school administrators--the students are just a major inconvenience to them.
I've actually told my daughters that part of their school of choice decision should be based of whether the school is Mac friendly. [/B]
That, or go to a school that doesn't support Macs and buy a Mac anyway. My undergrad was absolutely Macs (sold only PCs to first-years). NYU, on the other hand, is the complete opposite (and what a difference an open mind makes).
Oh well, maybe in two years time people will be able to partition their Macs and dual boot Windows.
Originally posted by Neruda
The funny thing about the whole situation is that I am the only person in my class that has not experienced serious to annoying computer problems in the last year (not one crash, virus, etc), whereas I'm always helping my classmates with their Windows problems. I've only been using a Mac for about three months now, and when I am using an XP computer the first thing that pops into my mind is "Why do people put with this?".
When I asked the Dean why he had not chosen a cross-platform vendor (SecureExam) he said "I am not going to make my decisions based on the opinion of a cohort of Mac zealots". You have to love law school administrators--the students are just a major inconvenience to them.
That, or go to a school that doesn't support Macs and buy a Mac anyway. My undergrad was absolutely Macs (sold only PCs to first-years). NYU, on the other hand, is the complete opposite (and what a difference an open mind makes).
Oh well, maybe in two years time people will be able to partition their Macs and dual boot Windows.
I imagine that some of these administrative decision could be based on
how much funding their school gets from Microsoft,
but it's primarily ignorance, Microsoft job security issues and deeply imbedded misinformation .
This is my favorite analogy.
"Often I feel like I'm making a futile attempt to describe what it's like to fly
to someone who can only see things at ground level."
You may quote me!