What Operating System Should I Install?

I am teacher at an inner city public school and we have carts of G3 Ibooks with wireless access. The problem is no one takes care of the computers and they have all kinds of mismatched operating systems and configurations. I took one of each model home as well as a ton of site licensed software and I plan on configuring them over the Spring Break vacation then making disk images and uploading them to all in the carts.
I want every cart the same and as up-to-date as possible. I know Apple’s suggested requirement but in the real world what OS what you put on these three machines. I can put different OS’s on each machine. Any suggestions are appreciated by me and our 600 students.


G3 12” Dual USB Ibook 500mhz 128mb of RAM
G3 14” Dual USB Ibook 900mhz 384mb of RAM
G3 14” Dual USB Ibook 700mhz 384mb of RAM

RichBeBe said:

I am teacher at an inner city public school and we have carts of G3 Ibooks with wireless access. The problem is no one takes care of the computers and they have all kinds of mismatched operating systems and configurations. I took one of each model home as well as a ton of site licensed software and I plan on configuring them over the Spring Break vacation then making disk images and uploading them to all in the carts.
I want every cart the same and as up-to-date as possible. I know Apple’s suggested requirement but in the real world what OS what you put on these three machines. I can put different OS’s on each machine. Any suggestions are appreciated by me and our 600 students.


G3 12” Dual USB Ibook 500mhz 128mb of RAM
G3 14” Dual USB Ibook 900mhz 384mb of RAM
G3 14” Dual USB Ibook 700mhz 384mb of RAM

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iBook 500-128MB - Use Panther 10.3.9
The other two could use 10.3.9 or Tiger 10.4.6

Panther 10.3.9 uses less hard drive space and is not as memory intensive, but Tiger has some nifty gadgets that Panther lacks. Tiger would have a hard time running on the 128Mb machine but Panther works fine with that configuration. If I wanted simplicity I would go with Panther on all of them and that way you wouldnt find yourself having to tell one group of kids to click here while the other group to click there. I am a Tech Coord for a school district myself and I have found the less deviation the better for kids going from class to class with different sets of computers. My school is a Windows environment and we have labs with W98, Xp, 2K, etc and it is a hassle for the kids and teachers moving from one lab or mobile lab to another - takes several minutes away from instruction time if you have to spend them reteaching how to use the OS every time they change classes.

BTW, what inner city?

I would go with either 10.2.8 or 10.3.9. I have a G3 12” Dual USB Ibook 500mhz that had 384MB of RAM, which I just upped to 640. It is currently running 10.3.9. I think 10.3.9 on all would be better and increase the memory if possible on the systems with 128MB.

Thank you for the info. I think I will go with 10..3.9 on all of them. You are right about the simplicity of all the machines being the same. I teach in NYC.

rcltrh said:

BTW, what inner city?

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I'd also go with a homogenous 10.3.9 system:

It'll make things easier for you to manage and also less confusing to the students.

Also consider looking at Apple remote desktop 3 if you have that many machines to support: It will allow you to install and manage all the machines on the network remotely.

Alternatively, just create an image of the assembled OS and copy it to the iBooks by putting them into Firewire disk mode (hold down T at startup).

Cool. I just sent off my reciprocity paperwork this morning to get my NYC licensure to teach there. I am moving to NYC after I finish my Masters in December and will have both my teacher's and principal's licensure. How are job opportunities in the NYC area for Assistant Principals and/or English teachers? I also have my NJ license in case I can't find something in NYC and need to cross the river to the Jersey side. Go with 10.3.9 before doing anything with 10.2 or 10.1 as they are a lot slower than 10.3 even with less ram.

rcltrh said:

Cool. I just sent off my reciprocity paperwork this morning to get my NYC licensure to teach there. I am moving to NYC after I finish my Masters in December and will have both my teacher's and principal's licensure. How are job opportunities in the NYC area for Assistant Principals and/or English teachers?

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I teach elementary school but if you are open to where you teach or have a job as an AP it should be easy to find a job. If you try and get a job mid-year it might even be easier. I know there is a need for English teachers but the AP postion will pay a lot more. Good luck!