School Shows Off Webcam Controlling Ability

[zelannii]

[citation][nom]False_Dmitry_II[/nom]This means that you're telling me that it isn't just one, but MULTIPLE schools putting MACBOOKS on the PUBLIC BUDGET?!That's starting to make me angry instead of just thinking it's a huge joke.[/citation]

1) even at full retail, a MacBook is about $900.
2) Apple DEEPLY discounts these machines to schools in bulk, as much as 30-50%.
3) Quality notebooks with GPUs capable of playing back HD content don't come cheap from anyone else either, maybe $700-900 retail themselves, and over $1100 from Dell or HP comparably equipped, and no Dell won't sell retial models to a school system, only business/education models that cost more (check the specs, Vostro or Latitude comparable machines all start at $1014 or higher (before discounts). Yes, the retail price is lower, but on bid for e-Rate purchases, Dell has to discount heavily from the RETAIL price, not the ADVERTISED price, these are 2 different things...
4) Apple servers have UNLIMITED CLIENT LICENSING, no Cals to buy.
5) Macbooks require FAR less IT software (log auditing, AV/AS security, no Pro operating system upgrade, etc.
6) Annual maintenance price on a MacBook is cheaper.
7) integrated monitoring and management suite (Apple Remote Access)
8) No system imaging software required (OS disk plus a simple file backup IS an image, since its a flat file OS. System recovery can be done without 3rd party backup software and central network hardware.
9) most importantly, THIS IS A BID. Schools don;t "choose" Apple. They define business requirements consistent with e-Rate and federal programs, multiple vendors bid, and the low bidder wins. This means, quite exactly, APPLE COSTS LESS, as to win the bid, you must meet all the business requirements and have the lowest TCO for the bid term.

 

[Be0wulf22]

I don't think some of you are even reading the article or have watched the video. Lets get some things clear. 1) THIS story is not about kids having their laptops at home and being spied on. This computers are IN SCHOOL use only. So the kids had better not be "in various states of undress" like one commenter put it. 2) This principle here was only viewing the laptop's screen. He was not watching them through their webcam, however some of the students had turned on their webcam in class to check their hair/makeup.

I agree that the other case of school turning on webcams to view students at home is totally wrong, but that is NOT what is happening in this case!

 

[Mousemonkey]

No, you guy's have it all wrong. If you are provided a computer by a government entity, then all usage of that machine is subject to monitoring. If you take that computer home, the physical workspace becomes part of the computing environment and thus is monitored. If you put it in a bedroom, plug it into your network, and turn it on, you are saying you are using the computer for official business. You wouldn't get undressed in a classroom at school or work, so this is no different. The problem is that parents accept no responsibility and want everything for free. The parents probably do the same thing(using a work computer for personal stuff) with their company laptop, thus exposing the corporation they work for to a number of security threats. Get real, there is no expectation of privacy when using an "issued" laptop. If it's on, you are agreeing to monitoring period.

My nieces have a habit of coming out of school not wearing their uniforms because they are going somewhere after classes, and I know (because she's told me) that one of them likes to finish what she is doing and if that means staying behind after the others have gone home then so be it and she has got changed in the classroom because she is on her own, it may not be the norm but it does happen.

 

[Be0wulf22]

mousemonkey - Your niece gets undressed INSIDE the classroom?? Those classroom doors don't have locks...any student/teacher/janitor could walk in on her at anytime and see her with their own eyes, no webcam necessary. This is a ridiculous example.

 

[Mousemonkey]

mousemonkey - Your niece gets undressed INSIDE the classroom?? Those classroom doors don't have locks...any student/teacher/janitor could walk in on her at anytime and see her with their own eyes, no webcam necessary. This is a ridiculous example.

Mate, I already had a go at her for doing that but she did!, because "We always do it" was her response. What kids are supposed to do and what they actually get up to sometimes beggars belief but it's still no excuse for spying on them.

 

[brendano257]

I'm sorry but this is sick and disgusting. The guy sounds pleased with himself because he watches children. This is a gross invasion of privacy and should not happen under any circumstances. Those responsible for this idea/execution of it should be dealt with severely.

 

[Be0wulf22]

Invasion of privacy? The kids are sitting in a classroom working on laptops that stay in that classroom. What privacy? The guy is viewing a mirror image of the student's computer screen to make sure they are working on their classwork. The students are not supposed to be playing with the webcams (using it as a mirror to do their hair, as in the example in the video).

 

[grieve]

[citation][nom]nforce4max[/nom]Child porn!! This is big brother at work. The staff that used this needs to be fired.[/citation]
They need to be charged.

 

[HavoCnMe]

I feel this guy needs to write an incident report every time he wants or needs to activate it and i think the teacher of the student needs to sign off on it as well. So that he just doesn't have free rain to use it whenever. They also need to install a monitoring system for LAN activity that records date/time/client/website/email/ect info, that he has no access to. JMO