Jayce
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...and I got to be part of it.
I work for Penn Manor School District, a rather large public K-12 district in Lancaster PA. Since 2011 we've been integrating more and more Linux systems onto our desktops and laptops of users in favor of the more expensive Apple and Microsoft solutions. Ironically, we had no shortage of available software as there is a truckload of availability on the Linux platform that we are still continually discovering.
Over the last year we have had three major deployments, sized from 600, 1000, and 1725. In between we had some smaller deployments, such as replacing a lab with Linux systems, etc. To date, we have upwards of 3,800 Linux systems running in our district. The most recent push with the 1725 bundle was for a 1 to 1 initiative, which means each student will get a laptop. These laptops will replace the traditional laptop carts that our district currently has that are past due for an upgrade. Other benefits include less paper use as the laptops will remove the need for a substantial portion of worksheets and whatnot thanks to collaborative software solutions. Text books to some regard may be lumped in here as well, but that is yet to be determined.
To our surprise, Linux Action Show via Jupiter Broadcasting (as per a recent survey, the 4th largest open source advocates of 2013) highlighted us on their show. Check 11:00 for the good stuff.
HDR Photography on Linux | LAS s30e06 - YouTube
Having been exposed to the internal workings of three different districts, which included working closely with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Ubuntu Linux, and Mac OS 10.5-10.8, I do have to say, managing a few thousand Linux systems has been the easier route thanks to Puppet. On Windows, it's astounding just how flakey some of their management tools can be. I'm not saying they don't work, but there are times I'll push a policy and it'll take days to hit some machines, yet others they hit right away. Compare that to Puppet where whichever change I submit I know it's hitting the systems within 15 minutes. It's more predictable and I've just grown to trust it more. Thanks to ssh I also do a lot of work via terminal, which doesn't interrupt the user at all but allows me to push updates on an individual basis if I know there's an update out there that will fix a certain issue.
Overall, Linux on the desktop has actually been a real treat. Sure, there were some issues along the way, but when you hash out the good/bad/ugly, it really came out on top.
Do what you love, love what you do.
I work for Penn Manor School District, a rather large public K-12 district in Lancaster PA. Since 2011 we've been integrating more and more Linux systems onto our desktops and laptops of users in favor of the more expensive Apple and Microsoft solutions. Ironically, we had no shortage of available software as there is a truckload of availability on the Linux platform that we are still continually discovering.
Over the last year we have had three major deployments, sized from 600, 1000, and 1725. In between we had some smaller deployments, such as replacing a lab with Linux systems, etc. To date, we have upwards of 3,800 Linux systems running in our district. The most recent push with the 1725 bundle was for a 1 to 1 initiative, which means each student will get a laptop. These laptops will replace the traditional laptop carts that our district currently has that are past due for an upgrade. Other benefits include less paper use as the laptops will remove the need for a substantial portion of worksheets and whatnot thanks to collaborative software solutions. Text books to some regard may be lumped in here as well, but that is yet to be determined.
To our surprise, Linux Action Show via Jupiter Broadcasting (as per a recent survey, the 4th largest open source advocates of 2013) highlighted us on their show. Check 11:00 for the good stuff.
HDR Photography on Linux | LAS s30e06 - YouTube
Having been exposed to the internal workings of three different districts, which included working closely with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Ubuntu Linux, and Mac OS 10.5-10.8, I do have to say, managing a few thousand Linux systems has been the easier route thanks to Puppet. On Windows, it's astounding just how flakey some of their management tools can be. I'm not saying they don't work, but there are times I'll push a policy and it'll take days to hit some machines, yet others they hit right away. Compare that to Puppet where whichever change I submit I know it's hitting the systems within 15 minutes. It's more predictable and I've just grown to trust it more. Thanks to ssh I also do a lot of work via terminal, which doesn't interrupt the user at all but allows me to push updates on an individual basis if I know there's an update out there that will fix a certain issue.
Overall, Linux on the desktop has actually been a real treat. Sure, there were some issues along the way, but when you hash out the good/bad/ugly, it really came out on top.
Do what you love, love what you do.
