Why the Cybersource Linux Solution for Australian School Laptops Won’t Make It

“The solution put forth by Cybersource is certainly an
interesting one. In a nutshell, it says each pair of students is
provided with a new netbook computer. Each individual student is
given a USB memory stick.

“Now, the storage on the netbooks themselves are irrelevant;
they could even be removed. Cybersource’s plan is to put a
self-booting Linux operating system plus applications on the memory
stick and the netbook is booted from this.

“Cybersource have thought about most all aspects; their solution
covers back-end servers and synchronisation of student data,
recovering from disaster, cabling requirements and the like.

“Yet, they are deficient on several points. Firstly, the
proposal assumes schools already have wireless or wired networks in
place — and specifically, networks that can cater for the
dramatically increased load of 197,000 computer-carrying
students.”

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