Some thoughts on [ http://www.realmsys.com/solutions_mps.html ]RealmSys...
The Personal Server assumes one has access to a host machine with USB; which is not a valid assumption. In a classroom pilot, for example, each student might have a RealmSys device... When it's time to login, each student needs access to a machine, likely in a lab. But if you're in the lab, you don't need the device! If one is at home, one still needs access to a machine. If big brother's on the only PC in the house, good luck getting on the PC. Eventually the PC is available, as are public library machines, but this is not the same as a 1:1 initiative. For this device to be useful, there must be access to a host machine. If the plan is for the students to use the teacher's machine, they have to wait in line -- ugh! ------ And If one doesn't have TS, it seems to me that half the utility of the device has been lost. Don't get me wrong, I love this idea, particularly for tech staff and maybe administrators. But if one already has a laptop, it's a redundant expense. So how do we get more access to student computers? More bare-bones machines at a cheaper cost. In my humble opinion, that is the $100.00 laptop. As cheap as a Palm Pilot, it comes with all you need because it _is_ a full PC. (mostly.) http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1945985,00.asp (Thanks, Keith, for the link.) But how do we get one to test? My $0.02 worth, Steve Scarbrough Technology Coordinator Storm Lake Community School District 712.732.8100 fax:8101 --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus on the server aea8.k12.ia.us] --------------------------------------------------------- Archived messages from this list can be found at: http://www.mail-archive.com/info-tech@aea8.k12.ia.us/ ---------------------------------------------------------
