Problem is, as many other counties and universities have, Bucks has a county-wide agreement with (primarily) Dell to supply their IT equipment. Last time I checked, Dell don't do Macs.
Macs would be inappropriate because the software suite used by schools around the county is all Windows, granted you can run Windows on Macs, but you're still paying over the odds for what is average-level hardware, and it's more nickable. Dell stuff can be locked down, there's also huge setups with WANs over the Bucks Grid For Learning which involve forthcoming storage and email address for every kid (involving a pure SILLY amount of storage, that's another thing my Dad has to help get sorted, and things are looking touch at the moment)... Everything's just tied into Windows and Microsoft solutions too much, right down to active directory permissions (which will I guess be tied in with the kids' storage spaces back at County, because it's all going to be centrally-hosted and pulled down via the schools' BGfL connections. It'd be a total pain, and a logistical nightmare, having one school running OSX when the rest of the county runs PCs. Whilst Dells aren't renowned for their robustness, they're more easily (and cheaply) fixable and replaceable than going with a schoolwide Mac solution - and all the extra costs involved in that. The Dell 24/7 support is already there, the knowledgebase is there and so is the existing infrastructure... I am also personally in the 'Macs aren't the be all and end all' camp on this one ;) Main problem is you have a historical takeup of PCs and all the related infrastructure requirements and configuration, hence why it's so tough to find a good, workable solution! > -----Original Message----- > From: Kim Plowright [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 27 June 2007 13:51 > To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk > Subject: Re: [backstage] BBC Ofcom complaint raised > > Mac mini - not so much heat > LCD monitor / powerbrick for LCD monitor / powerbrick for > macmini - quite a lot of heat. > > On 27/06/07, Ian Betteridge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I can't imagine that a Mac mini produces much heat... would > something > > like that or the Zonbu be a solution? > > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To > unsubscribe, please visit > http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
