When to switch Operating Systems 1

[dmrVA]

My husband is on our local school board. The had a question about the school computers not being on XP. As a business, I just recently moved all pc's to XP. So I told him if they had moved too soon, and the kids got out and got jobs, they might not know how to use what business was using.

Any recommendations or place to find some statistics on % using W98 vs Win XP and also office?

Thanks

 

[bygeek]

No offense, but you're already way behind. XP has been out for almost 5 years now and is due to be replaced by the end of this year with the new Windows Vista. If you haven't already changed to XP, the systems should really be replaced, since they have to be at least 5 and possibly as much as 7 years old if they came with Windows 98 on them. At that age, I wouldn't spend any money upgrading them as the software will cost you more than the system are worth.

 

[edfair]

The alternate view is that you are not teaching the operating system. The major difference is the picture they see on the screen. And they will have a problem if they end up working with a company that has 95 or 98 or ME or NT or 2K, because they have never seen that.

The better way to choose computers is to make the application program choice first, then the OS that supports it, then the hardware that runs the OS.

In the case presented I would suggest a partial replacement with XP, because it will probably be on half the machines they will see, followed with a partial replacement with Vista based machines as it deploys, but not replacing all the rest at one time, because what they learn on older machines with older programs is usable on the later stuff.
A 25% per year upgrade would probably match what industry does.

Teachers, of course, will be unhappy with this type of schedule. They like the latest and greatest.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[wolluf]

There are a number of issues for the schools I support here in the UK. Major one is reliability - teachers here are often a bit techno-phobic. When they take a class of children into the ICT suite and 4 or 5 machines don't work properly (on a regular basis), they tend to lose confidence, and not want to use the machines at all. This situation happens far more often with win98 machines than it does with winXP ones.

Its also a good idea (where possible) to use a standard build (in terms of software installed) across as many machines in the school as possible. This is easier if they're all running the same operating system.

One problem with XP is much of the software being run here is old - and can present problems getting it to run properly on XP (it can usually be done, but can be a time consuming exercise upfront).

I don't think the interface (98 or XP) matters that much - children cope pretty well moving from one to the other (they're not that different - not like say windows to linux).

Older machines can be upgraded to run XP successfully (I've just done just that for a small school - 11 older computers, ranging from P450 to AMD1200 processors. Most were P700 - which with 512MB RAM runs school software perfectly well).

HTH

 

[Jasen]

95/98/NT look and act so much like 2k/XP that anyone who can proficiently use XP would have zero difficulty using Win 95. I don't see that as a valid reason to teach kids on an 11 yr old operating system. Most companies use XP these days. Every computer they buy comes pre-loaded with it now. The ones that aren't, will be soon enough. This is what anybody should be learning on.
It's never a bad idea to teach the kids the current version of the OS or software titles. By the time they get out of school and college, what you just taught them will already be outdated. So if you teach them something that's already outdated when they learn it, by the time they get jobs, they'll be far behind.

 

[drew1701d]

Microsoft has given its OSes a lifecycle of 8yrs, while they usually release a new OS every 4, my customers obviously wait about 6 months after the release of a new OS to evaluate it, then based upon their findings, we upgrade the LAN by the end of the year.
If its economically feasable, upgrade every 4 years, otherwise upgrade every 6 years, do not hang on til the products End Of Life.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx

 

[adrstan1]

Besides Windows, I think is good to teach kids to use a Linux system also, is becoming more and more popular these days ...

 

[dmrVA]

Thanks for all your comments. From drew1701d I was also able to find the office lifecycle. Here it is if anyone else needs it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;lifeOffice

 

[Sympology]

You also have to think, if the kids have pc's at home, most will be on XP anyway.

Stu..

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[dmrVA]

Actually, we live in an economically depressed area (lost furniture and textile to China) and have lots of kids who do not have pc's at home, even teachers. 17.63% of our families are below the poverty level. (you have to be 20% to get any help from the federal gov.)

Hard to imagine for some that people in America still live this way, but there are lots of areas like us...just doesn't hit the news.