[Opensource] Thin client....very cheap computing!

[Brett Groves]

Hi Roland
Would there be any chance of imposing on you to have a look at the Sun 
terminal thin client when you are deploying? We wrote our eLearning plan 
on 73K and got 185K so my early ideas of using nComputing boxes to 
expand out our screens is probably not necessary. I am looking for a 
much larger implementation of thin client to go with and would love ideas.

Thanks in advance
Brett

Roland Gesthuizen wrote:
> Peter,
>
> we use Novell iPrint and it comes with a web based client that can be used
> to deploy printers to linux, mac or win desktops .. all just a single click!
> Mapping drives is allways an issue but the problem only needs to be solved
> once per site. In our case, students increasingly use of USB keys or Novell
> NetStorage to access their home directories or save thier work.
>
> Some our federal funding for computers is going towards a Sun Terminal thin
> clients that will be running a linux (Novell / Ubuntu) desktop, the rest is
> going to NetBooks and MacBooks.
>
> Regards Roland
>
> 2009/2/22 Peter Ruwoldt <ruwoldtp at gmail.com>
>
>   
>> Excellent
>> How did you go with getting access to and mapping drives to a windows
>> server?
>> Was printing an issue?
>> Peter
>>
>> 2009/2/22 Brett Groves <groves.brett.g at edumail.vic.gov.au>
>>
>> Hi all,
>>     
>>> We had a major problem last year with trying to supply ICT support to our
>>> VCAL area last year as there was no budget available (sound  familiar?).
>>> Stumbled across the fact that Ubuntu Linux comes with thin client support
>>> built in. We gutted 20 old Acer 5100's, removed the hard drives etc and
>>> grabbed a spare 100Mbs 3Com switch and connected them all up. For a server
>>> we bought a very high end Acer PC for about $1300. We set it up over the
>>> hols and it really does work impressively, exceeding all expectations. There
>>> is virtually no indication to users that they are working on a dumb terminal
>>> except there is no need to bother turning them off!
>>>
>>> So for about $1500 we kitted out a whole computer lab and we have no
>>> worries about licences or paying for updates.....impressively cheap.
>>>
>>> If anyone on the list is looking for a solution like this to get computer
>>> access for students using all open source and mostly old hardware then
>>> please feel free to drop me a line for help or you are most welcome to pop
>>> through the school to have a look at how it works in action.
>>>
>>> If you are worried about Linux as I was I managed to teach myself pretty
>>> quickly how to configure the whole system using the resources on the
>>> Edubuntu site and a bit of googling. I'm no uber-techie by a long way so it
>>> gives you some indication how simple Ubuntu at least is to play with.
>>>
>>> Brett Groves
>>> ICT Manager
>>> Croydon Secondary College
>>> 03 9725 8277
>>> groves.brett.g at edumail.vic.gov.au
>>>
>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Free and Open education for all
>>
>> Peter Ruwoldt
>> Grant High School
>> Hosking Avenue
>> MOUNT GAMBIER  SA  5290
>>
>> P. 08 87263128
>> F. 08 87250173
>>
>> ruwoldtp at granths.sa.edu.au
>> http://www.watiwara.com
>> _______________________________________________
>>  http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
>> Open Source Mailing List kindly supported by
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>> Association Inc
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>
>
>
>   

Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.