[Technical] Notebooks

[BURGESS, Peter]

Hi Kevin,

A really interesting discussion you've set in motion....

We have 50 laptops on a number of trolleys & about 280 desktops. I agree
with all the points made by Tien however I still think that there are a
number of factors in the delivery model we currently use that result in
laptop management more time consuming.

Power - Laptops need to get charged constantly, this needs to be managed
and takes time. We've tried staff self management of this and the result
has always been usage rates going down. A few points - Charging packs on
trolleys is an absolute must to make this model work. Power and charging
for laptops will probably continue to be a big issue in any laptop
delivery model till we see the 1 min charge batteries. 

Imaging - Laptop imaging is more time consuming - as Tien points out you
can use deep freeze or steady state and that cuts down the number of
times you have to image however when you do it takes longer compared to
desktops, you can't just hit ghost and set of a set to image like you
can with desktops.

Fragility - Laptops these days are more robust however we probably have
3 to 1 damage incidents with laptops compared to desktops. If you have a
good support deal covering accidental damage this isn't an issue but it
does take more time to manage.

The trolley delivery model also has its limits, doesn't really scale ie
I personally don't see the model working with 100s of laptops roving
around to classes on trolleys. Another model is to hand out laptops to
students as they need them. We looked at some schools using this model
and it seems that running a laptop library as such is another step up in
the amount of time/management required compared to standalone
workstations. The same seems to apply in laptop for every student
program along with the laptop ownership, support contract, keeping them
charged issues etc.

The flexibility of laptops is great, they open up a whole range of
innovative teaching models in the classroom, however it seems to me that
you do really need to take into account the extra technical/management
time required to deliver a laptop program.

There are lots of options out there at the moment. The other day I heard
of school that is considering 1200 EEPCs running citrix clients. Would
be great to hear from other schools on what they are currently doing and
planning with laptops.

Apologies, this turned into a bit of a rant....


Peter Burgess
Network Mgr
Kew High School 

-----Original Message-----
From: tech-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:tech-bounces at edulists.com.au]
On Behalf Of Kevin Feely
Sent: Tuesday, 10 June 2008 7:06 PM
To: Technical Discussion in Schools Mailing List; Technical Discussion
List
Subject: [Technical] Notebooks

Hi all,
I hope this is an appropriate discussion board for this, and if not my 
apologies.
In the Rudd "every kid will have a computer funds" we will have to 
decide between notebooks and desktops.
My own view at this time is that the extra quantities of desktops (~240)

will simply overload our system in costs.
Infrastructure such as power points, networking, desks, chairs, etc. 
Plus there is no resale in a 3 year plus destop, so we could end up 
drowning in used desktops.
With notebooks, especially if we look at leasing them out to kids in a 
"curriculum program" we would avoid infrastructure costs such as 
networking ( use wireless systems) and space contraints as the kids take

them with them.
Also notebooks do have a resale value and some funds could be recouped.
Also our annual electricity bill with an extra 200 plus desktops either 
on or in standby would run to 100's or a 1000 in extra electricity
bills.

However there is a very strong view from our local and specialist 
technicians that notebooks require 4 times the amount of IT support than

an equivalent desktop.

Could anyone with experience in supporting both desktops and a student 
based notebook program please help with replies on the pros and cons of 
desktops v notebooks, specifically wrt IT support demands.
I could be cynical and ask that we do not consider the support that 
teacher notebooks require as maybe in that field the IT staff are
correct..

However any and all replies will be gratefully accepted.

kond regards
Kevin Feely

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