Bell, Sun, Cisco donate 'thin client' computers

Scott McNealy chairman of the board of directors of Sun Microystems (standing center) talks with Al Early, principal (left) and Steve Quinn, Director of IT (right) as he tours a computer lab at Purcell Marian High School on Tuesday.

EAST WALNUT HILLS - At a time when many high schools try to put laptops or notebook computers into every student's backpack, Purcell Marian is focusing on desktop computers. The co-ed Catholic high school will be ripping out its old desktop PCs this summer and replacing them with a system of "thin client" computers - essentially monitors and keyboards that lack hard drives but are linked to a few central servers.
Cincinnati Bell, Sun Microsystems and Cisco are donating hardware, software and broadband Internet access to make Purcell a regional test site to showcase thin client technology.

Sun chairman Scott McNealy and Cincinnati Bell executives Jack Cassidy and John Burns visited Purcell Tuesday. "I saw a void in the technology," Burns said. "Moeller (High) had every kid with a laptop. That gets expensive. So every freshman had new computers but seniors had 3- or 4-year-old technology ... Rather than give (Purcell) a gift that requires care and feeding, I wanted to give them a gift that was fairly self-sufficient."

Thin client computer stations look like and act like PCs or Macs, but they are expected to save the school thousands of dollars in hardware, software, maintenance and electrical costs.

Purcell's students will carry credit-card-sized "smart cards" that slide into computer monitors and open students' electronic desktop, files, software and Internet browser. They'll get the same computer access at home, from donated equipment or their own home computers.
In December, the school got 100 Sun Ray computer stations; over the summer 250 more will go on line. With each thin client set, monitors and keyboards cost about $200 to $400.

The thin client system is more stable than the old computer mainframes that used to link computers and the current systems of networked PC's, said Steve Quinn, Purcell's IT project manager. PCs also use about 120 watts of electricity each, with fans running even when the computer is shut down. Thin clients use about 4 watts of electricity, are silent and don't need fans, McNealy said.

Businesses have been using thin client - or server-based - computers since the 1990s, but schools have been slower to adopt them. Cincinnati Public and the Cincinnati Archdiocese have looked at the system in Purcell, Quinn said.

Princeton is testing thin client laptops at Heritage Hill Elementary in Springdale. Other districts use them along with regular PCs.
Kevin Weber and Dylan Dornacher, Purcell juniors, predicted the system will work better in math and science classes than in English classes. "I wouldn't use it in English, because it defeats the purpose of promoting reading and understanding," Weber said.