So one of the answers is to cripple the functionality of the computers...
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Whenever I hear about stuff like this I wonder how much employment and maintenance contracts had to do with the decision.
In my experience when I was in the computer retail business, working for a company that provided support for Apple computers in the school market, schools and districts that switched to PC's had the policy made by people with a vested interest in the change over. More specifically - the support of Apple computers is a pretty much closed market. Only a few certified Apple service providers per market area, and becoming a certified Apple service provider isn't easy. However, a large number of PC service providers can lobby the decision makers and get the Apple units replaced, thereby increasing their contracts, and for the school districts - increasing their employment.
In a school with a hundred Macintosh lab computers, a single teacher working part time can maintain the computers, fixing everything but serious hardware issues. In a similar environment, at least 2 full time PC techs would have to be employed. There are schools in Hawaii where the administration uses PC's and the teachers use Macs. There are no Mac techs on staff, even though there are more macs in use than PC's. There is at least one PC tech on full time staff who is typically overwhelmed by the couple of dozen PC's in use by the school's administration.
So, I question if Henrico's school district's decision to make the switch had less to do with a deal from Dell, and more to do with certain business contracts that will be signed by the district to maintain those Dells.
Here's a more detailed page from Henrico school:
http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/Announcements/Dell/
No doubt they will try to do prevent software installation and control what the children do with the machines, but I would be surprised if took more than an afternoon for at least one enterprising child to have a different operating system booted. In particular, from the web, the machine has at least two USB ports which might well mean that someone could get the Puppy distribution booted off of a USB port, maybe within a few minutes.
What caught my eye was the big upfront difference: Apple quoted $4 million more. $4 million can pay for a number of FTEs. Also, it appears that Office wasn't part of the Apple quote, although that's what Henrico schools wanted according to the article. (Although it wasn't clearly stated that Dell had included Office as part of its quote, it seemed to imply that.)
Why don't they disable the internet port and wireless card while they're at it, just to be on the safe side. :-)
So much for emailing homework to the teacher now.
Umm, do you really think the iBooks were configured to allow students to allow any random piece of software? If they were, do you really think that's a good idea?
"So one of the answers is to cripple the functionality of the computers..."
Too late! ;')
Sigh... you cant give a minimially competent and sufficiently curios person physical access to a box, let them take it home, and prevent them from installing software. Cant be done on any OS I have ever seen.