Desktops or Netbooks

We have a computer lab that is due for an upgrade. I’ve been struggling with which direction to go because I really don’t want to buy desktops anymore. We are trying to move to a 1:1 but the budget is a big hurdle, especially here in CA right now. I was thinking about using the EEE Boxes as thin clients because at $199 they are the cheapest thing I have seen.

But then today I saw a presentation by Fresno Unified School District where they had a picture of a computer lab made up of netbooks plugged into keyboards, mice and monitors. A little light bulb went off. We can buy 36 netbooks, connect them to the existing keyboards, mice and monitors and in a year or two pull them out and use them in our 1:1 initiative.

Problem solved.