--- TIC-TECH message:
I am forwarding this message because of a conversation I've had with
people in the district regarding the use of thin clients in their school
buildings. It is NOT the recommended way to go according to those who I
have spoken with. However, in the last six months, this technology is
improving and there is no reason to believe it will stop improving.
--KS
Kurt Sahl
bluesky@scn.org
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 14:09:21 -0800
http://web.tallahasseedemocrat.com/content/tallahassee/2000/12/02/business/1202.
biz.TekResource.htm
Product extends life of school PCs
By Juana Jordan
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
William Piotrowski thinks he may have discovered a way to save the
Leon County school system a bunch of computers - and a lot of money.
Piotrowski, the Leon County school system's executive director for
technology and information systems, came across a software product
that could save the school system up to $500,000 a year in replacing
or upgrading personal computers.
It's called Think-n-Thin. And it gives PCs - which generally last
three to five years - a two-year life extension.
The product, developed by TekResource Service Corporation, attaches
old PCs to a central server, giving them more speed and turning them
into "dummy" terminals. Only the keystrokes, mouse clicks and screen
updates are transmitted over the network between the server and the
user.
It's a product that seems too good to be true. And so far, it has
proven to be true. Piotrowski is doing a trial run of Think-n-Thin. It
was installed at the start of the school year on 120 computers at
Wesson Elementary on South Meridian Street.
Other Florida school districts - about 20 so far - are climbing
aboard. Clay County, southwest of Jacksonville, already has the
product on computers in its high school business lab. By next year,
school officials hope to expand it to computers at its junior high
school.
"So far it's working very well, said Raleigh Sapp, Clay County
director of applied technology. "It's faster than I thought it would
be. We had one teacher who didn't want to use it, but I put it in the
lab anyway. I stayed away from her for a while, but when I finally
walked into the classroom, she came over to me and told me she loves
it."
Think-n-Thin is comprised of a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and a
Citrix metaframe - technology that provides access to server-based
applications and rapid application deployment.
"We make it possible to have software applications delivered like
cable television to a dummy computer," said Dave Peterson, president
of TekResource Service Corporation. "We make it so you don't have to
replace your desktop. We've designed a product that publishes your
applications, and we make it just as fast as a 600 megahertz Pentium."
The product has a one-time fee of $670 per desktop, which includes
three years' service from an on-site technician, Peterson said. Each
technician can administer some 60 servers. Each server can support 30
to 50 old PCs. When a newer version of software comes out, the school
will - instead of replacing the PCs - purchase another server, if
needed.
"For about $8,000 I can get a new server," Clay County's Sapp said. "I
won't have to go to my superintendent and ask for $200,000 to get more
computers for my business lab."
Think-n-Thin was developed two years ago when Peterson and his wife -
Tallahassee residents whose company is based in Ormond Beach - sought
to find a way to keep schools from constantly replacing old PCs.
This year, Peterson anticipates their company will generate at least
$4 million in sales.
"I tell people all the time, 'If Microsoft changed the world by
putting a PC on every desktop, then TekResource is changing that same
world by making it unnecessary to replace that same PC,' " Peterson
said.
Linda Biance, Wesson Elementary technology coordinator, likes the new
software. Just the other day, it saved her from disaster during a
Power Point presentation.
Biance said her Dell computer, with its Windows 95 desktop, wouldn't
have been able to accommodate her entire presentation.
On the average, the Leon County school system replaces about 1,000 PCs
a year, Piotrowski said. But since the new product adds about two
years of life to a PC, Piotrowski said his savings could be
substantial.
"We believe in the technology," said Piotrowski. "It works as
advertised. We had been replacing computers every fourth or fifth
year. Even though the computers are older, they can run with the
newest software. We're talking about a five-year-old computer, which
is equivalent to a 15-year-old car. The computer is behaving like a
brand-new computer. Now we're trying to see if maintaining the
equipment shows us the same savings. So far, it looks like a wonderful
boon for the school district."
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Feb 27 2001 - 09:21:32 PST