[Ubuntu-PH] 356,800 green Linux workstations going to Brazil’s schools

["Yosif ali" Roque Morales]

Hi.... Wish people who are into educational technology and schools consider
thisYusuf

February 18th, 2009 356,800 green Linux workstations going to Brazil's
schools <http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2168>

Posted by Christopher Dawson @ 10:19 am

*Categories:* Education Technology <http://education.zdnet.com/?cat=1>

Userful <http://www2.userful.com/> announced yesterday that it was, in
concert with Brazil's ThinNetworks <http://www.thinnetworks.com.br/>,
rolling out over 350,000 Linux workstations in Brazil's schools. Userful
employs unique desktop virtualization software to turn a single desktop PC
into as many as 10 workstations. Like solutions from
ThinComputing<http://www.thincomputinginc.com/product_pc_sharing_buddy.aspx>,
users can simply add VGA cards and USB hubs to an existing tower and share
the computing power of the single computer.

Userful, however, supports more workstations (10 total for a given PC with
dual video outputs) and full desktop virtualization. It is also built around
Linux, currently supporting 10 different distributions, enabling an open
computing environment with lower system requirements than those of Vista.

As the Userful press release reads,

Desktop computers sit idle while we check our e-mail, surf the web, or type
a document. Userful's PC sharing and virtualization technology leverages
this unused computing power to create an environmentally efficient
alternative to traditional desktop computing. Up to 10 users can work on a
single computer by simply attaching extra monitors, mice and keyboards.
"This deployment alone saves more than 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions
annually, the same as taking 28,000 cars off the road, or planting 41,000
acres of trees", said Sean Rousseau, Marketing Manager at Userful. Turning 1
computer into 10 reduces computer hardware waste "e-waste" by up to 80%,
further decreasing its environmental footprint.

In addition to the environmental impact, the cost savings allowed the
Brazilian government to deploy many more workstations than it could have
otherwise, even with a traditional thin client setup.

While Userful and their Brazilian partner, Thinnetworks, have had success
deploying these computers in extremely rugged situations, this represents a
very nice solution for classroom deployments in mature markets as well. The
software even provides a web-based management interface for all of the
workstations and virtual machines, enabling very simple setup of in-class
labs at a fraction of the cost of traditional deployments and without the
complexity of a full server-based thin client setup.
[image: Christopher Dawson]Christopher Dawson is the technology director for
the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts.

-- 
Yosif Roque Santos Morales
====================
School Administrator
Asian Academy of Business and Computers
Professor, Sociology, Strategic Studies and Islamology
Ubuntulinux user
Linux machine # 365046.
http://lamundofloss.blogspot.com/
http://mafatihulhikmah.blogspot.com/
http://strategicresearchinstitute.blogspot.com/
Mobile number +639275642816
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