[OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

Ron Woods woodsro at oplin.org
Mon Mar 23 11:30:48 EDT 2009


Eric:

 

I thought I would chime in here.

 

Yes Dell should include this fee. Most of the Business class PC's you buy
from Dell now include both a Windows XP and a Windows Vista Disk with XP
Preinstalled on most cases. They provide both disks with each PC and you can
upgrade to Vista when your ready to do so.  We recently purchased 2 Vostro
220s and this is how they came. Best wishes!

 

Ron

Computer Services Manager

St. Clairsville Public Library

 

From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On
Behalf Of Eric Maynard
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 11:14 AM
To: oplintech at oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

 

Ed and Chad,

Am I wrong to assume this pre-existing licensing and media is taking care of
in the fee that a Dell, etc. is charging for the downgrades?  

NTS - Need to make sure vendor clarifies the downgrade path.

Eric Maynard
Head of Information Technology,
Holmes County District Public Library
Millersburg, OH  44654

Email [emaynard at holmeslib.org]
Phone [330.674.5972 x.224]
Fax   [330.674.1938] 




On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 4:38 PM, Ed Liddle <eliddle at marysvillelib.org>
wrote:

It was my understanding that to be able to downgrade to XP from vista,
you have to currently have computers running XP. When you install XP on
a new PC with a vista business or ultimate license you can use the XP
numbers off of one of your existing XP computers. If XP won't activate
then you have to call microsoft and once they determine you have a valid
vista license they will give you something to activate xp.
The attached pdf I downloaded from
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/4/5f4c83d3-833e-4f11-8cbd-699b0c1
64182/royaltyoemreferencesheet.pdf
 It explains the downgrade rights for vista.

Also newegg has a 30 gig ssd for 103 bucks with a promo code of
EMCLPMX37 and a $20 mail in rebate. You can find the details of the
drive here. Just research the speed of the ssd drive, some are faster
than others.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393&nm_mc=EMC-I
GNEFL031909&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL031909-_-SolidStateDisks-_-L5C-_-20227393>
&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL031909&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL031909-_-SolidStateDisks-_-L5C-_-20
227393

I bought a EeePC. Its the 1000 model with 40 gig ssd and loaded with
linux. I really like it. The version of linux that comes on it isn't the
best. I currently have eeebuntu http://www.eeebuntu.org/ running on it
from an 8 gig sd card. When I get time I am going to install it on the
internal ssd so I can free up the sd card slot on it. I don't miss a dvd
drive on it. There is a neat application that lets you install a linux
iso image to a thumb drive and make it bootable. Its called UNetbootin
and can be found here http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ I used it to
install eeebuntu on my EeePC and also for creating a usb stick with
clonezilla on it. This is handy since all the library computers will now
boot off of usb devices.

-Ed Liddle




On Wed, 2009-03-18 at 15:18 -0400, Chad Neeper (list) wrote:
> LOL! I had to grin when I saw the cases I mentioned earlier. The cases
> give you the option of using a standard sized 5.25" CD/DVD-ROM or a
> slimline CD/DVD with a 3.5" floppy drive. You're right. Floppies are
> long, long obsolete, yet people/businesses/LIBRARIES still want/need
> them!  How frustrating!
>
> Jim:  Good point on the SSDs. The prices are coming down quickly
> (YEAH!) and the power draw is much better. I'm anxiously awaiting a
> good pricepoint/capacity to buy one for my battery-abusive laptop!
>
> Eric:  On the custom building front...you're right. If you build it
> yourself you might save a few bucks on the initial tangible cost, but
> you have to support it yourself over the long haul. Some libraries
> might be able to do it efficiently, but probably not most. If you get
> a custom build from a reseller, then there's a pretty good chance the
> reseller is going to be a local company and not on par with the Dells
> of the world. That could be good or bad, but you still have a single
> point for support of the computers, just like buying a Dell. That
> obviously doesn't make the decision any easier and I'm certainly not
> advocating one over the other. (So good luck there figuring out what's
> best for your library! :-) )
>
> Someone:  Resellers can still buy oem XP licenses for installation
> ONLY on netbook-class (low-powered) computers. Not for higher-powered
> computers, though. To get XP on a higher-powered computer, you have to
> get Vista Ultimate or Business. You can then downgrade to XP Pro using
> media THAT YOU SUPPLY yourself. If you need a CD key for the install,
> you can call Microsoft's support and get one to match your media.
> That's the theory, anyway. I only build machines for my own clients,
> which means that I don't build lots and lots of them. I'll be testing
> that backrev license soon though. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
>
>
> Good luck....And I still like the idea of hanging the computer on the
> back of the monitor. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a generic
> case/display that can do that.
>
> Chad
>
>
> -----------------------
> Chad Neeper
> Senior Systems Engineer
>
> Level 9 Networks
> 740-548-8070 (voice)
> 866-214-6607 (fax)
>
> --   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
> -- Specialized in libraries and schools --
>
>
> Eric Maynard wrote:
> > Yeah, they know that people are not going to give those things up
> > easily so why squeak a few dollars while we make the transition.
> >
> >
> > Eric Maynard
> > Head of Information Technology,
> > Holmes County District Public Library
> > Millersburg, OH  44654
> >
> > Email [emaynard at holmeslib.org]
> > Phone [330.674.5972 x.224]
> > Fax   [330.674.1938]
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 11:56 AM, Mann, James H.
> > <JMann at gcpl.lib.oh.us> wrote:
> >         I love it..
> >
> >         And I'm still paying an extra $20 to get floppy drives
> >         pre-installed.
> >
> >
> >
> >         Jim Mann
> >
> >         Technology Coordinator
> >
> >         Greene County Public Library
> >
> >         76 E. Market St.
> >
> >         Xenia Ohio 45385
> >
> >         (937)352-4000 x1210
> >
> >         mailto: jmann at gcpl.lib.oh.us
> >
> >         "If everything seems under control, you're just not going
> >         fast enough." - Mario Andretti.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >         From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org
> >         [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of JKENZIG
> >         Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:13 AM
> >         To: Eric Maynard; oplintech at oplin.org
> >
> >
> >         Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases
> >
> >
> >         Wait a few months maybe, and Windows 7 will be out and it
> >         runs on quite a bit more types of hardware than Vista can.
> >          We are going to have to give up XP sooner or later.
> >
> >
> >
> >         Most manufacturers are starting to offer the option of SSD's
> >         in there PC's also and by years end  I expect they all will.
> >         I think it was Seagate that last years CES announced a 2
> >         TERAbyte SSD will be out this year,  other drive
> >         manufactures have followed suit with announcements.  16 gb
> >         ssds are generally well available.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >         Jim Kenzig
> >         Network Manager
> >         Cuyahoga County Public Library
> >
> >         Administrative Offices
> >
> >         2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134-2728
> >
> >         www.cuyahogalibrary.org
> >
> >
> >
> >         From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org
> >         [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of Eric
> >         Maynard
> >         Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:00 AM
> >         To: oplintech at oplin.org
> >         Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >         Jim,
> >
> >         Good point on the SSDs, but is there anything out there that
> >         runs XP besides netbooks?  Also, I'd be curious if anything
> >         like that had built in optical drive options.
> >
> >         I'm sure you could custom build something like this as Chad
> >         was suggesting, but I'm not sure that is the route we want
> >         to take in terms of long term support.
> >
> >         Decisions... decisions.....
> >
> >         Eric Maynard
> >         Head of Information Technology,
> >         Holmes County District Public Library
> >         Millersburg, OH  44654
> >
> >         Email [emaynard at holmeslib.org]
> >         Phone [330.674.5972 x.224]
> >         Fax   [330.674.1938]
> >
> >
> >
> >         On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 8:43 AM, JKENZIG
> >         <JKENZIG at cuyahogalibrary.org> wrote:
> >
> >         Remember that Solid State drives(SSD) are also starting to
> >         become the norm and they consume way less power.
> >         Also if you can try and get the VPro chipset.  It has
> >         enhanced functionality for remote wakeup and control.
> >
> >
> >         Jim Kenzig
> >         Network Manager
> >         Cuyahoga County Public Library
> >
> >
> >         Administrative Offices
> >         2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134-2728
> >         www.cuyahogalibrary.org
> >
> >
> >         -----Original Message-----
> >         From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org
> >         [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of Chad
> >         Neeper
> >         Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 1:46 PM
> >         To: oplintech at oplin.org
> >
> >
> >         Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases
> >
> >         I don't think that's going to be so true in the very near
> >         future. A week or so ago I was looking into the Mini-ITX
> >         form factor (6.7 x 6.7 inch) motherboards from Intel for a
> >         client that wanted to buy some new computers. Intel has a
> >         few Mini-ITX boards that supports standard desktop
> >         processors. One I'm glancing at now supports the Core2 Quad.
> >         While I'd like to start using the smaller form factor, I
> >         didn't end up suggesting it yet because the selection of
> >         Mini-ITX boards available from my distributors are still
> >         primarily using underpowered processors...just like you
> >         said. I only found one mini-itx board SKU supporting
> >         standard desktop processors at one of my secondary
> >         distributors. I haven't looked for release dates from Intel,
> >         but I think they're probably right around the corner since
> >         they're already being shown on Intel's website in full
> >         detail and my distributors already have at least one SKU.
> >
> >         The mini-itx case I was looking at had a 120W power supply.
> >         If the processor alone takes up to 65W, that leaves 55W for
> >         the motherboard, 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive, and 5.25" or
> >         slimline CD/DVD-ROM drive. That should be just enough power.
> >         Heat could definitely be an issue, as you said, but if the
> >         case is designed well, it could be managed well enough.
> >         The only thing really proprietary is the motherboard itself,
> >         with built-in video, USB, network interface, etc. But that's
> >         really no different than full ATX or mATX style
> >         motherboards.
> >
> >         This is all from a white-box perspective, though. There
> >         probably IS more proprietary components in a Dell, Acer, or
> >         whatever other big names are left out there in this economy!
> >         But then, with those you also get things like being able to
> >         hang the computer on the back of the monitor. I haven't
> >         looked, but I think I'd probably be hard pressed to find
> >         something like that in a whitebox config.
> >
> >         Just my 2 (more) cents.
> >
> >         Chad
> >
> >         -----------------------
> >         Chad Neeper
> >         Senior Systems Engineer
> >
> >         Level 9 Networks
> >         740-548-8070 (voice)
> >         866-214-6607 (fax)
> >
> >         --   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
> >         -- Specialized in libraries and schools --
> >
> >
> >
> >         Industry Standard Computers wrote:
> >         > The problem with ALL micro computers except laptops are
> >         the power
> >         > supplies are too underrated. The computers run hotter.
> >         >
> >         > Seldom do micros have the newest or faster processors as
> >         buy options.
> >         >
> >         > Next the micro computers are generally 95% proprietary
> >         parts inside
> >         > even the hard drives sometimes are proprietary designs or
> >         interfaces.
> >         >
> >         > People who are rich can afford to replace computers every
> >         3 years or
> >         > whenever the warranty runs out, most others can not.
> >         >
> >         > Butch
> >         >
> >         >
> >
> >
> >         _______________________________________________
> >         OPLINTECH mailing list
> >         OPLINTECH at oplin.org
> >         http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplintech
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ____________________________________________________________________
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > OPLINTECH mailing list
> > OPLINTECH at oplin.org
> > http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplintech
> >


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