7 ms·

Vending Machine Dispenses MacBooks for Student Use

44 points by dwynings 14y ago

sethist 14y ago
I wonder how physical security is handled. Losing a student ID is a not too uncommon for college students. Without someone checking to make sure the person holding the ID matches the picture on the ID, what is going to stop someone from finding/stealing an ID and using that to "borrow" a laptop from this machine?
- tomschlick 14y ago
  I would guess there is an ATM like pin code that you would have to enter.
afeezaziz 14y ago
Nice! I would love for computers to be more of a commodity!
meaty 14y ago
Well that puts a higher price on stolen student id cards!
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- tomschlick 14y ago
  Not if the university applies a pin/password system.
  - meaty 14y ago
    Having been a university student and knowing the types who circle around on campuses, they'd just beat it out of you.
mey 14y ago
I wonder how they manage patching, resetting and general maintenance of the devices being rented.
- arscan 14y ago
  This is basically the equivalent of a computer lab (remember those places? me neither)... but you happen to be able to take the computer with you instead of being stuck in a seat. I assume they will use whatever management tools they use in those labs.
  - dfxm12 14y ago
    I'm not so sure. The article states that Drexel is the third school on the East Coast to use such a kiosk. Another option is that whoever provides the kiosk takes care of maintenance as well.
    - arscan 14y ago
      Right, I imagine that the WHO is different. But the what/how (i.e. what software they use, how the machines are configured, etc) is probably pretty darn similar. Really, how is it different than a session in a computer lab, except that the person picks up (and eventually returns) the computer, instead of sitting in the lab? Why reinvent the wheel here?
      - dfxm12 14y ago
        It's a question of ownership & service contracts. The article is light on details. If the school owns the laptops, and whoever provides the kiosk only provides kiosk (and not the laptops) you might very well be right. However, I imagine whoever runs the kiosk is also "renting" the laptops to Drexel, and Drexel pays (via a support contract) for that company to keep the machines in working order. Plus, if it is the latter, there's no guarantee that the group that runs the computer lab even had any say in this. I The library is a separate entity from from the computer lab/help desk.
secure 14y ago
That seems pretty cool, provided the computers are cleaned regularly and one has a workflow which is sufficiently non-local. Here are the primary reasons which always keeps me from using our university’s computer pool’s computers: 1. Horribly dirty keyboards. 2. Horrible keyboards. 3. The computers are outdated (as in: really slow). Given these points are avoided — which comes at a cost for cleaning and up-to-date hardware — the offer is attractive to me.
- sharkweek 14y ago
  I also love the concept, but I'm curious how they'll handle user security -- How would they prevent key-logger installation or something of the sort.
  - rtkwe 14y ago
    The same way it's handled on all other university computers I assume. There's no saving on the hard drive because they are wiped between uses and a new environment is setup each logon. That's the way it's handled at my university, looking from the outside I'm not part of the IT dept.
  - thematt 14y ago
    Sounds like they're using something like Deep Freeze. Assuming that kiosk can programatically reboot the laptop upon checkin that is a pretty simple solution. http://www.faronics.com/products/deep-freeze/ http://www.faronics.com/products/deep-freeze/
rtkwe 14y ago
NC State installed those a little while ago too. Haven't used them personally but they seemed pretty nice and very convenient.
Jun8 14y ago
But, assuming saving to HDDs aren't allowed, why handout MBPs rather than chromebooks? You can get four of them for the price of one Mac Book.
- ChuckMcM 14y ago
  I would assume it is a software/application issue, perhaps a screen resolution issue too. I always thought an interesting application of the Motorola ATRIX tech where your smartphone plugs into a 'dock' which turns it into a laptop, would be public laptop/screen stations that you could then put your 'compute unit' into and be online. We use IPMI in our data center which provides 'console' access to a PC type system (servers in our case) over the network, and I've wondered if you could create a 'desktop' over a suitably fast network that could be instantiated with a network key and some local peripherals. Its a logical (if extreme) endpoint on the terminal/xterminal/thinclient/remote connections path.
- btian 14y ago
  More applications on Macbook for one. It probably includes those installed on desktop iMac that the university has (e.g., MS Office, Matlab, Strata etc.) I'm not from Drexel but in my university, computers are configured to automatically mount network drive that I can save files in. Chromebooks are nowhere as capable as the Macbooks.
  - ericcumbee 14y ago
    more capable yes, but are they good enough? for most college students (excluding CS,IT, Engineering etc)i would say yes and like someone said 4 Chromebooks for the price of 1 macbook. from what i have done with Google Apps and Chromebooks, i would say the chromebook is probably a better fit out of the box for this use case than a Macbook.
    - rayiner 14y ago
      Not having MS Office is a dealbreaker. It's not a matter of being able to do what you need on Google Docs, it's lack of perfect MS Office compatibility with back/forth revisions, track changes, etc. Also, why exclude engineering? Drexel has pretty big engineering, science, and math departments. And I'd imagine some of the softer majors like business, accounting, etc, still need their own software.
stevenrace 14y ago
Neat. I suppose this uses the 'Security Slot/K-slot' and pushes it out of the foam receptacle (via a solenoid) when a purchase has been made? Returning would be reverse, checking continuity with the lock cable when it's inserted...and maybe a RFID tag inside the case to detect the laptop ID? I've been spending a good amount of time thinking about networked bikesharing locks, so that's my guess at how this works:
wasd 14y ago
I would have loved this when I was in college. Even though I studied mathematics, I needed my computer for everything. I got all my books in digital format (for a significantly lower price or free) and typed my homework in LaTeX. I lived 30 minutes walking from campus so by the end of my senior year my back was killing me.
clauretano 14y ago
I wouldn't at all feel safe walking around their campus at night carrying any expensive electronics, so this is a fantastic idea.
laurentoget 14y ago
what was wrong with putting desktop machines in the library which you can check out by, you know, sitting at the desk, and which are hard to steal because they are bolted to the furniture? what exactly are we maximizing here? the amount of money spent by the university?
- nacs 14y ago
  Are you really asking why someone would want to use a laptop instead of a desktop? Students could take it off campus to their home or use it anywhere outdoors within campus, take it to some other location off campus. Also, Macbooks are < $1k with an educational discount. How is it a waste of money to make 12 more computers available to students that can be used anywhere on/off campus?
  - baddox 14y ago
    When I worked at a medium sized American public university 2 years ago, and a small public school district 5 years ago, the desktop Windows PCs they purchased were around $800 each without a monitor, so I doubt that the price difference is very significant unless there is a big difference in the lifetime cost due to different failure rates and warranty terms.
  - rmk2 14y ago
    Assuming every student has a laptop anyway[1], this basically caters "to students who don’t want to carry a laptop while walking late at night from their dorm or off-campus housing to the library". What's the point of getting one "for five hours of use" to take it off campus or home if you have a laptop off campus or at home? What dire need exactly does this solve? Put computers in the library for people who, well, work in the library. If you want to work elsewhere, do bring your own. [1]: And I know of no student who does not own a laptop[2] [2]: Cue anecdotal evidence of that one person of a student body of thousands of people without their own laptop...
    - phdp 14y ago
      If you have ever walked in the area where drexel students live, you probably wouldn't want to carry your laptop from your home or dorm to campus. I didn't go there, but I lived nearby.

44 points by dwynings 14y ago

I wonder how physical security is handled. Losing a student ID is a not too uncommon for college students. Without someone checking to make sure the person holding the ID matches the picture on the ID, what is going to stop someone from finding/stealing an ID and using that to "borrow" a laptop from this machine?

tomschlick 14y ago
I would guess there is an ATM like pin code that you would have to enter.

afeezaziz 14y ago

Nice! I would love for computers to be more of a commodity!

meaty 14y ago

Well that puts a higher price on stolen student id cards!

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
tomschlick 14y ago
Not if the university applies a pin/password system.
- meaty 14y ago
  Having been a university student and knowing the types who circle around on campuses, they'd just beat it out of you.

mey 14y ago

I wonder how they manage patching, resetting and general maintenance of the devices being rented.

arscan 14y ago
This is basically the equivalent of a computer lab (remember those places? me neither)... but you happen to be able to take the computer with you instead of being stuck in a seat. I assume they will use whatever management tools they use in those labs.
- dfxm12 14y ago
  I'm not so sure. The article states that Drexel is the third school on the East Coast to use such a kiosk. Another option is that whoever provides the kiosk takes care of maintenance as well.
  - arscan 14y ago
    Right, I imagine that the WHO is different. But the what/how (i.e. what software they use, how the machines are configured, etc) is probably pretty darn similar. Really, how is it different than a session in a computer lab, except that the person picks up (and eventually returns) the computer, instead of sitting in the lab? Why reinvent the wheel here?
    - dfxm12 14y ago
      It's a question of ownership & service contracts. The article is light on details. If the school owns the laptops, and whoever provides the kiosk only provides kiosk (and not the laptops) you might very well be right. However, I imagine whoever runs the kiosk is also "renting" the laptops to Drexel, and Drexel pays (via a support contract) for that company to keep the machines in working order. Plus, if it is the latter, there's no guarantee that the group that runs the computer lab even had any say in this. I The library is a separate entity from from the computer lab/help desk.

secure 14y ago

That seems pretty cool, provided the computers are cleaned regularly and one has a workflow which is sufficiently non-local. Here are the primary reasons which always keeps me from using our university’s computer pool’s computers: 1. Horribly dirty keyboards. 2. Horrible keyboards. 3. The computers are outdated (as in: really slow). Given these points are avoided — which comes at a cost for cleaning and up-to-date hardware — the offer is attractive to me.

sharkweek 14y ago
I also love the concept, but I'm curious how they'll handle user security -- How would they prevent key-logger installation or something of the sort.
- rtkwe 14y ago
  The same way it's handled on all other university computers I assume. There's no saving on the hard drive because they are wiped between uses and a new environment is setup each logon. That's the way it's handled at my university, looking from the outside I'm not part of the IT dept.
- thematt 14y ago
  Sounds like they're using something like Deep Freeze. Assuming that kiosk can programatically reboot the laptop upon checkin that is a pretty simple solution. http://www.faronics.com/products/deep-freeze/ http://www.faronics.com/products/deep-freeze/

rtkwe 14y ago

NC State installed those a little while ago too. Haven't used them personally but they seemed pretty nice and very convenient.

Jun8 14y ago

But, assuming saving to HDDs aren't allowed, why handout MBPs rather than chromebooks? You can get four of them for the price of one Mac Book.

ChuckMcM 14y ago
I would assume it is a software/application issue, perhaps a screen resolution issue too. I always thought an interesting application of the Motorola ATRIX tech where your smartphone plugs into a 'dock' which turns it into a laptop, would be public laptop/screen stations that you could then put your 'compute unit' into and be online. We use IPMI in our data center which provides 'console' access to a PC type system (servers in our case) over the network, and I've wondered if you could create a 'desktop' over a suitably fast network that could be instantiated with a network key and some local peripherals. Its a logical (if extreme) endpoint on the terminal/xterminal/thinclient/remote connections path.
btian 14y ago
More applications on Macbook for one. It probably includes those installed on desktop iMac that the university has (e.g., MS Office, Matlab, Strata etc.) I'm not from Drexel but in my university, computers are configured to automatically mount network drive that I can save files in. Chromebooks are nowhere as capable as the Macbooks.
- ericcumbee 14y ago
  more capable yes, but are they good enough? for most college students (excluding CS,IT, Engineering etc)i would say yes and like someone said 4 Chromebooks for the price of 1 macbook. from what i have done with Google Apps and Chromebooks, i would say the chromebook is probably a better fit out of the box for this use case than a Macbook.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    Not having MS Office is a dealbreaker. It's not a matter of being able to do what you need on Google Docs, it's lack of perfect MS Office compatibility with back/forth revisions, track changes, etc. Also, why exclude engineering? Drexel has pretty big engineering, science, and math departments. And I'd imagine some of the softer majors like business, accounting, etc, still need their own software.

stevenrace 14y ago

Neat. I suppose this uses the 'Security Slot/K-slot' and pushes it out of the foam receptacle (via a solenoid) when a purchase has been made? Returning would be reverse, checking continuity with the lock cable when it's inserted...and maybe a RFID tag inside the case to detect the laptop ID? I've been spending a good amount of time thinking about networked bikesharing locks, so that's my guess at how this works:

wasd 14y ago

I would have loved this when I was in college. Even though I studied mathematics, I needed my computer for everything. I got all my books in digital format (for a significantly lower price or free) and typed my homework in LaTeX. I lived 30 minutes walking from campus so by the end of my senior year my back was killing me.

clauretano 14y ago

I wouldn't at all feel safe walking around their campus at night carrying any expensive electronics, so this is a fantastic idea.

laurentoget 14y ago

what was wrong with putting desktop machines in the library which you can check out by, you know, sitting at the desk, and which are hard to steal because they are bolted to the furniture? what exactly are we maximizing here? the amount of money spent by the university?

nacs 14y ago
Are you really asking why someone would want to use a laptop instead of a desktop? Students could take it off campus to their home or use it anywhere outdoors within campus, take it to some other location off campus. Also, Macbooks are < $1k with an educational discount. How is it a waste of money to make 12 more computers available to students that can be used anywhere on/off campus?
- baddox 14y ago
  When I worked at a medium sized American public university 2 years ago, and a small public school district 5 years ago, the desktop Windows PCs they purchased were around $800 each without a monitor, so I doubt that the price difference is very significant unless there is a big difference in the lifetime cost due to different failure rates and warranty terms.
- rmk2 14y ago
  Assuming every student has a laptop anyway[1], this basically caters "to students who don’t want to carry a laptop while walking late at night from their dorm or off-campus housing to the library". What's the point of getting one "for five hours of use" to take it off campus or home if you have a laptop off campus or at home? What dire need exactly does this solve? Put computers in the library for people who, well, work in the library. If you want to work elsewhere, do bring your own. [1]: And I know of no student who does not own a laptop[2] [2]: Cue anecdotal evidence of that one person of a student body of thousands of people without their own laptop...
  - phdp 14y ago
    If you have ever walked in the area where drexel students live, you probably wouldn't want to carry your laptop from your home or dorm to campus. I didn't go there, but I lived nearby.