[elearning] RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs/Parallel thinking

Mon Jun 30 09:48:07 EST 2008

I know this sounds blasphemous for some Mac people, but how about dual booting Mac OS X and Windows on a PC platform rather than the Apple platform?
Wouldn't this give the same functionality for about half the price?

-----Original Message-----
From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Russell, Chris
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:14 AM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [elearning] RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs/Parallel thinking

Mad Macs - I never thought I would see the day Macs 1988 - 2008

We run a multi-platform network with -  approx 210 Macs - Desktops and iBooks (most intel some Pre Intel) and approx 170 Win Pc's
I finally have a Great Technician who says - What do you want to do.....?

Since BHSSC first started running a Graphics Mac Labs in 1988 they have increased to 3.5 rooms with 90 desktops and around 120 student iBooks all hooked up to a network, using a Pharos software and a Bear Swipe card system with Col Copier printers with fiery rip consoles attached and many other devices plus a wireless network option.

It's not impossible and after 12 months our new Tech support wizard has worked hard to make it stay online. 
He has made teaching digital Arts classes enjoy access time which translates into more learning opportunities and hopefully that translates into schoolwork completed.

If you would like any info - I could help our Technician develop a brief explaining how he does it.   (Please do not offer him more cash - no poaching please)
Plus - If you would like to know about our Mac PC network please wait until after my reports are printed next Monday.

Thanks to all the clever Win-Pc and Mac people who share their knowledge. 
The Can Do's
You have helped many students in their IT Arts careers indirectly. ....   .Now the drive BMW convertibles..... Good Luck to them all.

Cheers
Chris
Visual Arts Teaching & Learning Coordinator
Box Hill Senior Secondary College
crussell at bhssc.vic.edu.au

-----Original Message-----
From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Britton, Phillip J
Sent: Wed 6/18/2008 8:52 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [elearning] RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs/Parallel thinking

Hi all,
It is the Principals decision as to who gets what sort of notebook.
Regards
Phillip Britton

-----Original Message-----
From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Meadows, Roslyn M
Sent: Wed 6/18/2008 4:22 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [elearning] RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs/Parallel thinking

Suz - I think I may be the "colleague" Roland was referring to - I
certainly remember showing him how I had my mac set up at a moodle day
earlier this year.

And your school cannot stop you getting one, DEECD allow you to choose a
mac so the school can't stop you, in fact they HAVE to also provide
support (even though they - ie the techs -  may argue otherwise). And
the support is free from mac (ie if something breaks) just like support
from IBM.  But it is a mac, nothing will ever go wrong with it!!! When
you get your mac the support details will be listed. 

Refer back to the email I posted to both this list and the ITApps list
for some hints based on my use of the mac over the last 18 months or so.

It comes with both windows and mac software, it will come with the
latest versions of Office for both. It will probably come with Leopard
in mac and XP in Win as DEECD has still to work out how to get their
wireless certificate to work with Vista.

It will not come with parallels - but you can reboot from mac to windows
by hitting the option key.

Good luck, and don't let them pull the wool over your eyes - you have
every right to choose the mac, and to get support for it!! (although
this might be a tougher task to achieve)

Cheers

Ros

Roslyn Meadows
Head of ICT Implementation

Head of Assessment and Reporting
Bentleigh Secondary College 

| 9579 1044 | 0412 614 062 |

Please consider the environment before printing this email 

In some cases, all it requires is that you rationally point out that
there is a problem. 

In others, all you can do is turn the other cheek. 

At the far end of the spectrum are those for whom the only appropriate
response is to carve out their still-beating heart and force them to eat
it. (Marc Carlson)

From: elearning-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:elearning-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of ARNOTT Suz
Sent: Wednesday, 18 June 2008 3:38 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List; elearning Teachers' Mailing
List
Subject: [elearning] RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs/Parallel thinking

OK... I have a year to wait before my next computer... but having been
thrown that red rag of being told we are not allowed to... well I am
going to do my homework to see about getting one....

My question - If it runs on a windows platform do I need to get Mac
software?? Or will it run windows versions?

This discussion is also happening on other threads...eLearning had this
comment from Roland Gesthuizen....I hope he doesn't mind me reposting it
here J 

With the current round of notebooks for DEECD teaching staff, and after
many years teaching VCE IT with Toshiba, ACER, IBM and then Levono
laptops, I have decided to opt for the Apple notebook option. Last week
I was really impressed with a colleague running Parallels who was able
to seamlessly switch between OSX to XP applications (or Ubuntu Linux)
using a little used feature called Coherence.
     link to a blog entry with details about this feature
<http://lifehacker.com/software/parallels/hack-attack-how-to-run-windows
-and-mac-apps-sidebyside-with-parallels-221002.php> 

It didn't really matter what operating system we use .. shift happens. I
saw this myself at the VITTA conference last year after a day long
session demonstrating programming with Python in the Apple lab. It
didn't matter. A lighter weight and better design are also factors I am
considering .. bluetooth, perhaps Apple iPhone integration??

With due dignity to all users and systems, I do not wish to turn this
into a mac / windows flame or debate about incremental advantages. Jokes
about one or two button mice mean nothing when both systems plug and
play just about anything you throw at them.

Somebody once described this to me as how we learn to play chess. It
doesn't matter if your pieces are made of finely crafted glass or bottle
tops. It doesn't matter if the chess board is made of ivory or
newspaper. What matters more is the game that you play.

Is anybody thinking along the same path?

Regards Roland

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
Mead 

_______________________________________________ 
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eLearning Mailing List kindly supported by 
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
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Suzanne Arnott

ICT Staff Support

Photography and Multimedia Coordinator

Elisabeth Murdoch College

Langwarrin

Please consider the environment before printing this email 

________________________________

From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Meadows, Roslyn M
Sent: Wednesday, 18 June 2008 2:37 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs

I agree totally Rob - in fact our school tech, (and therefore it was
officially endorsed by the Principal) refused to support macs and anyone
who got a mac was "on their own". Which is partly the reason I got one -
so that hopefully I could give the staff who had got the older iBook in
previous rollouts some support (and many just chose the mac because it
came with a free iPod)

Luckily we were given a department TSO for a couple of days a week who
is completely relaxed and at home with both operating systems.

If your techs refuse to support macs then they should get one and become
familiar with it. Or retire! Anyone who takes on the job of a tech
should realize that they will constantly have to renew their knowledge
and skills. For that matter they should be acquainting themselves with
Linux also - surely as techs they should be fascinated and want to learn
everything new? (or is that just a teacher behavior?) The operating
systems are NOT that different, it is just like travelling to another
country, the flavours of the food are a little different, but it is
exciting to taste them!

Good luck to all those who wish to make the move to macs - you will be
blessed, as I have been!!! 

Cheers

Ros

Roslyn Meadows
Head of ICT Implementation

Head of Assessment and Reporting
Bentleigh Secondary College 

| 9579 1044 | 0412 614 062 |

Please consider the environment before printing this email 

In some cases, all it requires is that you rationally point out that
there is a problem. 

In others, all you can do is turn the other cheek. 

At the far end of the spectrum are those for whom the only appropriate
response is to carve out their still-beating heart and force them to eat
it. (Marc Carlson)

From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Rob Swain
Sent: Wednesday, 18 June 2008 12:54 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs

I can sit silent no longer...

Those techs are providing PC-assistance, not true technical assistance
then - which is presumably their mantra.

When will those guys stop putting their heads in the sand and wake up to
the fact that Macs and PCs are BOTH real world solutions used by real
industry to assist in real work for which we are preparing students. It
'erks' me when so called IT experts explain that they cant support
teachnology from a $77 billion company with the world's hottest consumer
brand. If our design (and other) students are going to be prepared for
this IT-oriented world, they need to be able to use both platforms
interchangebly --- a lesson that many of these techs clearly have not
learnt themselves.

Part of the problem is that techs hold a position of 'expert' within the
decision making processes of schools and learning institutions - so when
some say it simply "cant be done", they are believed. What they should
be saying is "they dont know how it can be done" as clearly it can be
(as one list member has already reported).

There will always be 'died in the wool' enthusiasts who clearly sit in
one camp or the other, but you would hope that a techs responses were
based more on professional expertise than subjective leanings. They are
making decisions about infrastructure - and infrastructure should
support multiple players, in multiple settings and with multiple tools.
Imagine a road network that only 'supported' Holdens or just Japanese
imports - you get the idea.

In any case the two platforms are becoming closer (ala the Intel chip in
an iMac) and it will be interesting to see where this convergence leads.
That is another discussion for another time, but it does call into
question the whole 'one camp or the other' approach.

The modern worker operates and innovates in a ICT world where ideally
'everyone can play' regardless of individual equipment specs (including
platform) - this world is not coming, it already exists. Students should
be prepared for it and not limited by the narrow prejudiced views of so
called experts.

OK, I'm getting worked up now and I really do acknowledge that there are
some complex technical issues that technical staff need to handle here,
but my point is that the convenient 'knee-jerk' decision is not always
the correct decision. 

Time to get off the soapbox

-- Rob

________________________________

From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of ARNOTT Suz
Sent: Wed 18-Jun-08 11:13 AM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs

We have been told by our techs not to choose a mac, as they can not
support it

Bit sad L

We are an all PC school

Suzanne Arnott

ICT Staff Support

Photography and Multimedia Coordinator

Elisabeth Murdoch College

Langwarrin

Please consider the environment before printing this email 

________________________________

From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of geoffadcock
Sent: Wednesday, 18 June 2008 11:09 AM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: [vet-mm] RE: Dual Boot Macs

Hi Jacquie

Primarily we are a PC school.

We have a Lab of Macs running VM FusionWare to enable Windows XP.

I would not recommend it at all, it really is a disaster over a network.
Our tech guys are trying to find something that will better serve the
school but have yet to find a suitable solution.

Geoff Adcock

Girton Grammar  

________________________________

From: vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:vet-mm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Tinkler, Jacquie J
Sent: Monday, 16 June 2008 4:03 PM
To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: [vet-mm] Dual Boot Macs

Hi List members, this is not strictly a MM question, but I am guessing a
few of you may have Macs...

I have an ancient IBM Thinkpad (as some of you will I guess) and was
wondering how those of you with Macs went with the Mac/Windows Dual boot
and/or Emulator are going. I would love a Mac, but we are primarily a PC
school, although I am working on getting Mac in out Art/design dept as
the kids will end up using them in industry later.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Jacquie Tinkler

Wangaratta High School

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Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If
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Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the
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