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school switches back to OS9...
- Thread starter garzy
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OS X
Yea, that pisses me off. At the University of Minnesota we have a huge computer lab in the main library. 45% are Dell, 45% are Mac and 10% are Linux. All the macs run on OS 9. You have around 30 flat screen Powermac runing 9. It's in insult. Then the new computer lab in the student union got brand new power macs, and they also run OS 9. Using them they've frozen on me twice! These things are ambassadors of the Mac. They can't be running 2 year old crap on it. No wonder every person I run into thinks mac sucks.
Yea, that pisses me off. At the University of Minnesota we have a huge computer lab in the main library. 45% are Dell, 45% are Mac and 10% are Linux. All the macs run on OS 9. You have around 30 flat screen Powermac runing 9. It's in insult. Then the new computer lab in the student union got brand new power macs, and they also run OS 9. Using them they've frozen on me twice! These things are ambassadors of the Mac. They can't be running 2 year old crap on it. No wonder every person I run into thinks mac sucks.
My school's library is still on 486's! 
They also completely outfitted the WHOLE SCHOOL with new 1.8 Ghz Dell's, which drives me nuts because the computers they replaced were 933 Mhz P3's. They weren't THAT old!
And yet they tell us not to print anything because the paper costs too much money
The graphics design department has a few G4 machines, though.
They also completely outfitted the WHOLE SCHOOL with new 1.8 Ghz Dell's, which drives me nuts because the computers they replaced were 933 Mhz P3's. They weren't THAT old!
And yet they tell us not to print anything because the paper costs too much money
The graphics design department has a few G4 machines, though.
How about extending it to the computer support technicians that work for school districts? What's the point in giving it to teachers, if the techs don't have it?
BTW Our local school district doesn't use X too much, because all of our software is 9 based, and the money just not there for new software.
Now, sometime next year, the main software our teachers use will be out for X. I think then we will be switching.
It is sad, but...
K-12 education has almost went all to PC in my state and I imagine the same is happening all over the country. We dumped all of our Macs for Gateway Celerons. They are junk! It is what the parents and the board of education wants however. I have always been the supporter of Apple in the schools and I have 1 of the 2 "modern" Macs in the K-12 complex. We are running OSX 10.2 on them, networking with all the PC's is awesome. Our tech coordinator is looking at an XServe for the building however. M$ is killing us by charging so much to keep the Windows server up.
Some of the teachers especially the younger ones like myself went to bat for Macs when it came time to update the labs, but the community said NO! They wanted the kids to learn on computers they will actually use someday in life. Sad and especially all the money we put into this new Gateway mobile lab, it is all junk, flimsy laptops that are falling apart after 6 months. I tried to show the administration how much better the iBook was for a mobile lab for elementary students, but I guess in the end it is hard to love something so much that is so unpopular with the public.
K-12 education has almost went all to PC in my state and I imagine the same is happening all over the country. We dumped all of our Macs for Gateway Celerons. They are junk! It is what the parents and the board of education wants however. I have always been the supporter of Apple in the schools and I have 1 of the 2 "modern" Macs in the K-12 complex. We are running OSX 10.2 on them, networking with all the PC's is awesome. Our tech coordinator is looking at an XServe for the building however. M$ is killing us by charging so much to keep the Windows server up.
Some of the teachers especially the younger ones like myself went to bat for Macs when it came time to update the labs, but the community said NO! They wanted the kids to learn on computers they will actually use someday in life. Sad and especially all the money we put into this new Gateway mobile lab, it is all junk, flimsy laptops that are falling apart after 6 months. I tried to show the administration how much better the iBook was for a mobile lab for elementary students, but I guess in the end it is hard to love something so much that is so unpopular with the public.
Re: It is sad, but...
Our school is mostly Macs, but we jumped on the bandwagon and got some free PC's when a local company upgraded to newer PC's. About using Pc's, becuase they'll use them in the real world, that just doesn't fly. Any Operating system and computer they use now, no matter what it be (preferably Macs and OS X) will be outdated by the time they hit the workforce. Therefore, they won't be using what they were trained on in High School anyway, so why shouldn't it be Macs?
Our school is mostly Macs, but we jumped on the bandwagon and got some free PC's when a local company upgraded to newer PC's. About using Pc's, becuase they'll use them in the real world, that just doesn't fly. Any Operating system and computer they use now, no matter what it be (preferably Macs and OS X) will be outdated by the time they hit the workforce. Therefore, they won't be using what they were trained on in High School anyway, so why shouldn't it be Macs?
thats silly though, anyone who can use a mac,
can also use a pc, the basic concept is the same.
thanks to windows doing such a good job at
ripping the mac os off. the kids would easily
be able to operate a windows machine...oh
never mind...the misinformed masses always
have the say in things. i wonder how the world
would be if we actually strived for the best,
instead following the common crowed...damn
we ARE sheep. oh well.
can also use a pc, the basic concept is the same.
thanks to windows doing such a good job at
ripping the mac os off. the kids would easily
be able to operate a windows machine...oh
never mind...the misinformed masses always
have the say in things. i wonder how the world
would be if we actually strived for the best,
instead following the common crowed...damn
we ARE sheep. oh well.
That's too bad, since if you really learn how to use a computers, you can figure out the minor differences between operating systems. And, hopefully, Windows won't dominate the OS scene forever. But some people are just too blind... *sigh*
Re: It is sad, but...
What? What are you running, win98? For K-12? That will be ancient for all but the seniors within the next year.
It's not the OS that is important. It is the idea of using a computer as a tool.
--
If you want a cheap file server, setup something free (ie BSD or GNU/Linux server on that PC hardware you already have...)
What? What are you running, win98? For K-12? That will be ancient for all but the seniors within the next year.
It's not the OS that is important. It is the idea of using a computer as a tool.
--
If you want a cheap file server, setup something free (ie BSD or GNU/Linux server on that PC hardware you already have...)
Re: Re: It is sad, but...
I totally agree. Computers should be thought of as tools for learning and productivity (and gaming, web fun, etc. but I don't think that's pertinent). It doesn't matter what OS you teach 4th graders to use because by the time they get intojobs or college it will be a relic.
I totally agree. Computers should be thought of as tools for learning and productivity (and gaming, web fun, etc. but I don't think that's pertinent). It doesn't matter what OS you teach 4th graders to use because by the time they get intojobs or college it will be a relic.
RE: Fortres
Regarding the earlier Fortres comments...
I run CleanSlate on our lab PCs which does a nice job of letting the little wanna-be L337 h4X0r5 think they're doing something but then wipes the machines back to my image on restart.
It does tend to slow things down somewhat, but I'm willing to make that trade off to not have to deal with fixing them every two days because some punk decided he wants to put his face on the desktop (true story). I'm pretty sure other lab managers feel the same way.
Have a little consideration for what the techs have to deal with.
Regarding the earlier Fortres comments...
I run CleanSlate on our lab PCs which does a nice job of letting the little wanna-be L337 h4X0r5 think they're doing something but then wipes the machines back to my image on restart.
It does tend to slow things down somewhat, but I'm willing to make that trade off to not have to deal with fixing them every two days because some punk decided he wants to put his face on the desktop (true story). I'm pretty sure other lab managers feel the same way.
Have a little consideration for what the techs have to deal with.
Re: RE: Fortres
that's cool. i like the idea of a fresh image after a restart. i don't try to hack FORTRES. it seems pointless... break into the school computer, why? to have my name/pic on one? to steal sensitive data? it seems pathetic to me, too. i just resent that it has to turn the computers into mush. i could practically compile faster on paper than on a P4 with FORTRES--at least, the ones i have used.
Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Regarding the earlier Fortres comments...
I run CleanSlate on our lab PCs which does a nice job of letting the little wanna-be L337 h4X0r5 think they're doing something but then wipes the machines back to my image on restart.
It does tend to slow things down somewhat, but I'm willing to make that trade off to not have to deal with fixing them every two days because some punk decided he wants to put his face on the desktop (true story). I'm pretty sure other lab managers feel the same way.
Have a little consideration for what the techs have to deal with.
that's cool. i like the idea of a fresh image after a restart. i don't try to hack FORTRES. it seems pointless... break into the school computer, why? to have my name/pic on one? to steal sensitive data? it seems pathetic to me, too. i just resent that it has to turn the computers into mush. i could practically compile faster on paper than on a P4 with FORTRES--at least, the ones i have used.
Re: Re: RE: Fortres
Our Dells are only 1GHz P3s, but I only run CleanSlate, not all the other Fortres stuff which probably causes the slowdowns you all are seeing.
I think people try to mess with the machines because they're:
a) bored
b) anti-social
c) think they're L337 and proving something
Anyway, just my opinion...
Our Dells are only 1GHz P3s, but I only run CleanSlate, not all the other Fortres stuff which probably causes the slowdowns you all are seeing.
I think people try to mess with the machines because they're:
a) bored
b) anti-social
c) think they're L337 and proving something
Anyway, just my opinion...
I remember when I was in Middle and High School, Macs were still pretty new. Heck, I learned about computers originally on Apple IIe's. When I got into college, however, most everything was Windows 3.1, etc, and eventually 95 came out. I hadn't owned a computer of my own since an old Commodore 64 way back when. I needed a computer for schoolwork, and up and bought a Performa 6116CD. I fell in love with the Macintosh all over again, despite harsh criticism from friends, coworkers, and classmates at college. Later, I got an early model iMac 333Mhz, with the tray loading CD ROM. I didn't have that long until I started desiring to do more with my Mac than just surf the internet and do artwork. Within a year, I took the plunge and maxed out the credit card with my current machine, an iMac 600Mhz. That maxed out credit card is still being paid on, but it's been worth every penny. Soon it'll all be paid off, and when that's done 17" er SuperDrive, here I come!
I've used Windows from time to time, quite frankly, it sucks. It's ugly and unintuitive. I've converted a few friends and coworkers recently to the Mac OS and have become somewhat of a stopgap for them, when they need to know how to do something on their Mac that they knew how to do on a PC. Macs have become a beloved and integrated part of my life, something I don't forsee ever changing. And all because my roots at school just happened to be in the right place.
I can still hear Mrs. Emerson now: "Kids, stop bending the floppy disks!" Oh, those were the days!
When I got into college, however, most everything was Windows 3.1, etc, and eventually 95 came out. I hadn't owned a computer of my own since an old Commodore 64 way back when. I needed a computer for schoolwork, and up and bought a Performa 6116CD. I fell in love with the Macintosh all over again, despite harsh criticism from friends, coworkers, and classmates at college. Later, I got an early model iMac 333Mhz, with the tray loading CD ROM. I didn't have that long until I started desiring to do more with my Mac than just surf the internet and do artwork. Within a year, I took the plunge and maxed out the credit card with my current machine, an iMac 600Mhz. That maxed out credit card is still being paid on, but it's been worth every penny. Soon it'll all be paid off, and when that's done 17" er SuperDrive, here I come! I've used Windows from time to time, quite frankly, it sucks. It's ugly and unintuitive. I've converted a few friends and coworkers recently to the Mac OS and have become somewhat of a stopgap for them, when they need to know how to do something on their Mac that they knew how to do on a PC. Macs have become a beloved and integrated part of my life, something I don't forsee ever changing. And all because my roots at school just happened to be in the right place.
I can still hear Mrs. Emerson now: "Kids, stop bending the floppy disks!" Oh, those were the days!
awww i got into this very long discussion with the computer teachers at school (via e-mail) and they're saying the reason why they're not getting new Macs to replace all the beginning to get outdated Dells and iMacs are because they think it's not worth it.
All of the teachers who had Macs in the beginning now have PC's, the teachers who have PC's get even more and all the iMacs are being dumped in the trash
Makes me angry. And it's not like we can write a petition or anything...there are only 4 mac users in school (out of 2400+).
I only wish Macs could be more affordable. After our school can get some we can perhaps hire some better teachers (or get the students to...would be interesting) and we can have better computer-related electives (the only ones we have so far are beginning programming with basic and an intro to computers [okay kids today i'm gonna teach you how to use the keyboard]).
I WANT A PC-FREE SCHOOL!
All of the teachers who had Macs in the beginning now have PC's, the teachers who have PC's get even more and all the iMacs are being dumped in the trash
Makes me angry. And it's not like we can write a petition or anything...there are only 4 mac users in school (out of 2400+).
I only wish Macs could be more affordable. After our school can get some we can perhaps hire some better teachers (or get the students to...would be interesting) and we can have better computer-related electives (the only ones we have so far are beginning programming with basic and an intro to computers [okay kids today i'm gonna teach you how to use the keyboard]).
I WANT A PC-FREE SCHOOL!
Originally posted by übergeek
awww i got into this very long discussion with the computer teachers at school (via e-mail) and they're saying the reason why they're not getting new Macs to replace all the beginning to get outdated Dells and iMacs are because they think it's not worth it.
All of the teachers who had Macs in the beginning now have PC's, the teachers who have PC's get even more and all the iMacs are being dumped in the trash
Makes me angry. And it's not like we can write a petition or anything...there are only 4 mac users in school (out of 2400+).
I only wish Macs could be more affordable. After our school can get some we can perhaps hire some better teachers (or get the students to...would be interesting) and we can have better computer-related electives (the only ones we have so far are beginning programming with basic and an intro to computers [okay kids today i'm gonna teach you how to use the keyboard]).
What kind of iMacs are you dumping? We're using Macs a lot loder than iMacs at our school. We could sure sure use some iMacs, no matter what the speed. What ever speed we could use them. Maybe we could work something out?
That's sad. We have 3 mobile labs in my district. 1 of new ibooks, 2 made up of used clamshells. We have had to replace 1 keyboard, fix a couple of sprung keys, and send 1 clamshell in for repair. This is all the hardware issues we've had in running these
2 labs of clamshells, running 1.5 school years
1 labs of new ibooks, about 1 full school year.
Granted, we have the occasional software glitch, but that is it.
This is out of a total of 43 machines.
As for using Windows "because that's the industry standard" or whatever, is total b.s. If kids can learn on a Mac, or p.c, then they are capable of learning other o.s's. To switch from one to another is not that difficult. Even if they used Mac's all through high school, they can go buy a book on Win 2000, or what ever for about $20.00, and be brought up to speed on the latest version of Windows (at least that's what I did, when I upgraded from 3.1 to Win95 a few years back). Another thing: A "typical" person who uses a p.c. in the work environment usually does only 2 or three things with their machine.
1. use office, email, surf web
2. us some type of p.c only software (fuelmaster, etc)
3. print.
So for the most part the type of O.S used doesn't matter (except for #2). If you want to get picky about the O.S. get picky and choose one that will suit your needs, not because it's an "industry standard", or because "everyone uses it". Get what you need, and use that.
P.S These labs are used on a daily basis, and the teachers and students love them! Why? It takes less time for the teacher to grab the lab on the way in to school in the morning, and keep it in his/her class all day. Otherwise they have to walk to the media center and use those machines, provided they are not in use by another class. BTW, our school is rather large, being 3 floors. If the teacher is on the third floor, and have to walk the class to the media center on the first floor, that is valuable time wasted just walking around.
edit: P.S
I wonder how many College's and University's Graphic Design Labs are using X?
I work at a local community college as a tech, and one of our head graphic design teachers doesn't want X. She thinks that we will have more problems in the labs than we do now because X uses Truetype(i think), while 9 uses PostScript for printing. Is this true?
Also, didn't the CEO (or whoever) of Adobe say they weren't going to produce programs for OS 9 anymore. I think he said that at one of the Expos.
I'm sure this why my school just placed a PO for 40 DP G4's, and the Flat panel 17's for the Digital Media Labs. I do think that the biggest reason for people not changing over to X is: they are affraid of change.
I work at a local community college as a tech, and one of our head graphic design teachers doesn't want X. She thinks that we will have more problems in the labs than we do now because X uses Truetype(i think), while 9 uses PostScript for printing. Is this true?
Also, didn't the CEO (or whoever) of Adobe say they weren't going to produce programs for OS 9 anymore. I think he said that at one of the Expos.
I'm sure this why my school just placed a PO for 40 DP G4's, and the Flat panel 17's for the Digital Media Labs. I do think that the biggest reason for people not changing over to X is: they are affraid of change.