>It sounds like you'd benefit from LTSP. Set up a beefy server or set of
>servers, and then convert all those donated boxes to diskless
>workstations. This is exactly the setup I've done in my wife's
>classroom. Granted, it is only 7 computers so far, but Edubuntu works as
>advertised on the modest hardware we have.
>
>I think LTSP is the way to go. Boot into Linux, but then you can connect
>to a Windows terminal server if need be.
That looks interesting. However, I am not fond of the idea of putting all
the applications and data in one place. If that one place, or the wiring to
reach it, fails, nobody can do any work. I realize I am running against the
grain with this; it's commonly done everywhere. It's also common to call
some place that does this and be told to call back later because the person
answering the phone can't do any work because "the server is down". So we
don't do that. We follow the principle of distribution of risk.
My philosophy about operating systems is that they should be dead simple
and dead solid. They should control I/0 (including GUI and hardware
abstraction) and access security, manage memory, launch applications, and
that's it. They should be the opposite of difficult to learn or use; they
and their requirements should be as transparent and unobtrusive as
possible. Configuring and using an operating system should be so simple and
uninteresting that nobody would want to make it a hobby. The point of
having a computer is to run applications, not play with the OS. Leave the
complexity to application software, and leave all of the application
software off the machine until I decide to install it. As a customer of
computer hardware and software, that's what I need. If somebody offers that
to me, I and my wallet will be in their thrall for life.
As a customer of computer hardware and software I have to put up with the
fact that nobody yet wants to offer me the products I really want. I will
have to eventually abandon Windows due to its costs, bugs, and insecurity,
but for me, the difficulties associated with adopting Linux are a very high
price to pay. I said that for a long time, the only thing that sucked worse
than Windows was any other OS. I may end up saying that the only thing that
sucks worse than Linux is any other OS instead. Someday I'd like to see
this industry stop catering to the vendors and developers and see the
customers get what they really want for a change.
Ken Dibble
www.stic-cil.org
©2007 Ken Dibble |
