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  From: Andrew Reid <andrew.reid@plug.cx>
  To  : Jason Tan <jason@rebel.rebel.net.au>
  Date: 23 Apr 2001 17:19:57 +0930

Re: MS Curriculum at schools and TAFEs ...

On 23 Apr 2001 16:29:35 +0930, Jason Tan wrote:

> Well I cant see how that would be economical for most shchools who cant
> afford  $1200 Pcs, let alone $20k servers and $1k thin clients.

What type of thin clients? I think you'll find that the SunRay's are
quite cheap. Well under $1K. And the servers? Well, they're a lot more
than $20K. That is, if we're talking Sun.

> Ciriix migth be more affordable at least ahrdware wise, I am not sure what
> the lsincesing cost for that would be.

Citrix, while with its uses is old and clunky. Citrix in a school must
be like death by torture :-)

Citrx is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Not cheap enough
for a school, anyway.

> Not ot mentiont ha fact tha most studnes and teachers if they have aPC at
> home ahve awindows PC with wndows apps, (ie ms word/office or ms works),
> not to mention lots of hard won "skills" in that OS and those apps.

I think that Matt quite clearly stated that the Office Applications
aren't the issue. If you're running UNIX, you've got the option of
StarOffice. We've got an E250 and a few SunRays here at work, and it's
quite reasonable. The beefier the hardware, the better the performance,
relative to the number of users hanging off the machine.
 
> It is not the setup which is the problem.
> It is the ongoing support, the crisis response time, (ie I am giving a
> lessioon now and my web page wont come up what do I do? where is that $50
> an hour conultatnt who fixes our systems, why isnt he here now...)

$50/hour?! Damn cheap consultant for UNIX related stuff. A properly
setup machine would only have to be rebooted and be fixed up in seconds.

A properly setup IT Infrastructure would have 1 or two 'ready made' PCs
on a shelf. If a PC in the labs dies, pull it off the shelf and stick it
in the lab. Fix the broken one and stick it on the shelf. It's really
not that hard.

> A linux system is easy for you to adminsiter, but not so easy for an
> average person or an average teacher, even an "IT coordinator".

NT isn't exactly a joy to work with either, you know. People struggle
for days on end with NT configuration. I know that I could have got it
done under Linux in about 1 hour.

It's a lot easier than you think. A person armed with Mandrake and an
APC Linux PocketBook is well equipped for setting up Linux. Even for the
first time.

> A system that is flexible and multipurpaose cant be zero admin. It is a
> lie for windows and would be a lie for linux.

That's completely not true, for UNIX. A system that's multipurpose can
still fit into the category of 'Zero Admin'. SunRay's pull it off quite
easily. Note that Zero Admin doesn't mean that you never touch it. It's
a fact of life that you have to do the odd spring cleaning job with your
boxes, whether they be Linux or Windows.

> That is why there is a demand for these guys called sys admins.

There is a demand for people to manage the IT Infrastrucure in schools.
A smart System Administrator would implement technologies that requires
the least maintenance. System Administrators aren't employed to run
around unnecessarily

> While it is fine if your school has access to a permanent IT guy, like
> yours does in you, the majority of schools however dont.
> And evne those that do, like a certain private secondary boys "laptop
> school" I worked at once, dont necessarily ahve peopel of the right
> calibre or inclination ot understand or be able to use linux for eithger
> server or desktop purposes.

Invest in something like SunRay then. While the initial outlay is, while
reasonable, large, the TCO goes down. Administration time goes down. You
can remotely administer the system using SSH/VNC etc. That's harder/more
expensive under Windows.

> And until they do you will find resistance to change away forom what
> people have invested a ocnsiderable portion of their own time and money
> into getting a level of usability.

It's all about how you sell the idea. Sell it right and they'll ask
where to sign. Sell it the wrong way and you'll get the reaction you've
detailed above.

> These people dont play with PCs for fun, they do it because they ahve been
> dragged kicking and screaming into it, often at their own expense in tiem
> and money.

Again, because they forced to 'buy' the idea. And not all people were
'dragged kicking and screaming into it'.

> Well lets see how manya games are there for linux... and will mum be able
> to do her wordprocessign for the footy club, and will dad kill me,
> becausse he cant use mirc?

Quite usable alternatives exist for all situations. The variety of games
is a little restricted, so go install Windows on the other partition.

   - andrew

-- 
Andrew Reid                   email: andrew.reid@plug.cx
                              www:   http://www.plug.cx
"If ignorance is bliss        phone: +61 401 946 813
 why aren't there more 
 happy people?"


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