Types of Departmental and Faculty Computers at MIT

What kinds of computers are typically used?

Most of the computers in use by MIT faculty and administrative staff are either Dell or Apple computers. The Dell computers are equipped with Intel Pentium microprocessor chips (mostly Pentium II or Pentium III). The Apple computers are primarily equipped with Motorola microprocessor chips. Additionally, many of the research facilities on campus use workstations made by Sun Microsystems. These machines come equipped with Sun Sparc microprocessor chips.

How many computers are purchased annually?

Last year MIT purchased and deployed 650 Dell and Apple computers for Departmental and Faculty use. This number is quite large if we consider that 13,050 machines are already in use on campus. Even more staggering is that the estimate for this upcoming year is even higher. MIT expects to purchase around 800 new computers for use in the upcoming year. This trend of increased computer purchasing and use means increased environmental impact as well. The outward flow of machines from MIT will continually increase as more and more machines are purchased.

Next Section: Common Uses and Lifetime of Departmental and Faculty Computers

Source:
MIT Computer Connection (mcc@mit.edu)