Do We Need The JumpStart

[#1]

Hello.

I'm the computer instructor at the Manlius Pebble Hill School in
DeWitt NY, just outside of Syracuse. This past fall a colleague at the
Horace Mann School in NYC suggested that we look into Casper as a way
of configuring and administering our 100+ Macs, and a few weeks ago we
finally had them do a WebX demo of it for us.

We were impressed. We especially liked their JumpStart option.

The problem is that our budget for this year doesn't allow for the
licenses, the physical server and the JumpStart. We can probably pull
off the first two with a little finagling, but not the JumpStart too.

So my question to all of you who have done this before is: Do we
really need the JumpStart, or can three reasonably intelligent people
who understand what RTFM means (and a student intern who eats, sleeps,
and breathes networking) successfully figure out how to get this all
set up in a month's time.

Thanks for any insight you can give us here.
-- keg

Keith E Gatling - Computer Instructor
Manlius Pebble Hill School
5300 Jamesville Rd
DeWitt, NY 13214
315.446.2452
http://www.gatling.us/keith

Some teachers teach subjects. Others teach students.
* *

[rdagel]

Yes. You could try to do it by yourself, but the jumpstart is more then just
showing you how to use the software. I used Casper for almost 6 months
before our jumpstart. I got so much out of the jumpstart it was worth it.
It really helps you get your head around everything, you could read the
manual, but it is not the same thing. The Jumpstart is worth it's weight in
gold. It really helps you look at system administering and upkeep in a
different light. Fell free to call me about it.

Rich
415-365-3933

[ernstcs]

Keith,

There is so much in the system and what you can do the jumpstart is quite important in my opinion. There is nothing that beats professional development opportunities. There may not be budget, but people should spend more on those types of expenses which are more like investments, really.

Craig Ernst
Learning Spaces Support
+-----------------------+
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Learning and Technology Services
105 Garfield Ave
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Phone: (715) 836-3639
Fax: (715) 836-6001
+-----------------------+
ernstcs at uwec.edu

[#4]

Keith,
I agree that the JumpStart gets you the help you need to start off on the
right foot. A lot of our JumpStart was the best practice advice and tips
that aren't in the manual--get things setup right the first time. You may
want to look at the money spent on JumpStart as a savings so that you and
your group don't spend that much more time trying to figure it out on your
own.
The trainers are great, too!

Nathaniel Lindley

++++++++
Learning Systems Specialist
Educational Technology
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul, Minnesota
nathaniel.lindley at spps.org
phone: 651-603-4929

[#5]

We found the JumpStart invaluable, and we tend to be highly self- On 18 Jul 2007, at 20:56, Keith E Gatling wrote:
sufficient here. Casper is very easy to get up and running with quickly but there's so much "under the hood" that I think proper guidance and training is essential. The course saved us a huge amount of time and effort and we consider it worth every penny.

James

~~~~~~~~~
James Partridge
Apple Mac Specialist
ICT Team
Oxford University Computing Service
13 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6NN

[#6]

So far, I've been seeing a lot of responses from relatively large
organizations - public school systems, universities, etc - with what I'm
assuming are pretty big budgets. Is there anyone out there from a small
independent school, who can share their experience and recommendations with
us?
-- keg

Keith E Gatling - Computer Instructor
Manlius Pebble Hill School
5300 Jamesville Rd
DeWitt, NY 13214
315.446.2452
http://www.gatling.us/keith

Some teachers teach subjects. Others teach students.
* *

[#7]

Ha! How I wish it were so. I can't go into figures, but my budget for On 19 Jul 2007, at 14:51, Keith E Gatling wrote:
this kind of thing is tiny (this is UK Higher Education, after all). We had to look long and hard at whether the costs of the JumpStart course would be offset by the benefits of going on the course. In the end we decided that it was worth the risk because we had been impressed with the support that JAMF had offered us in the early stages of our work with Casper, and by the quality of Casper itself. Once we were on the course it soon became clear that that was the right decision.

If I had tried on my own to get to the same point that I did after the 3 days of the JumpStart course the total cost of my time would have easily exceeded the cost of the course. Whether you have a big budget or a small one that is a compelling argument.

James

~~~~~~~~~
James Partridge
Apple Mac Specialist
ICT Team
Oxford University Computing Service
13 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6NN

[rdagel]

The main thing I forgot to say is that after the jumpstart you are up and
running and ready to go, they help with your master images, and packages you
need and to get started. This in it's self can save you weeks of works and
can pay for the jumpstart.

Rich

[#9]

Well.....

We did Casper without training for almost a year before we were able to work out a jam(f)-packed, speed-reading, one day special version of the Jump Start. A couple of us were in the Twin Cities area for a
remote project and Mr. Wudi came to us with a portable lab. It was great. In some ways, I liked *not* going to training first. We were able to breeze over the basics and spend more time on more advanced
questions and specific problems that we would have not even thought early in our Casper roll out.

I say jump in and RTFM for now. Not optimal, but can go a long way by yourself. Still fight for some training $$, as even a year later, it is well worth the cost. Besides, your staff time is valuable, and
going the self-taught route is always slower. Time is money.

Can I piggy back a question here?

I am thankful for this list, but I would love to see a Casper forum. If Jamf is too busy adding great new features and making Casper 6 perfect, how would you folks feel about a freebie Casper forum? If
someone builds it, will you come?

Thanks,
Matt Corippo
Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes

[#10]

I love the idea of a forum! It would be nice to be able to easily search
the previous/current discussions amongst users.

Just my $0.02

Bill Nienaber / Creative Systems Administrator / COLLE+McVOY / 612-305-6125
400 North First Avenue / Suite 700 / Minneapolis, MN 55401-1954

[talkingmoose]

Something searchable, yes! And at one point I recall Chip (or someone from
JAMF) bringing up the idea of a Wiki. This would be super valuable for folks
to be able to explain how they packaged certain apps (Adobe anyone?) or
keeping a FAQ, etc.

I'd really like to see this come from JAMF though since the current free
support options are limited to the PDF manual and this list. And if their
users get dependent on an outside source for support then they'll be SOL if
that ever goes down or, worse yet, the operator decides to start charging
for access to user contributed content. You could definitely get several of
us to help moderate and contribute content too if you just provide the site.

And JAMF folks, how about adding a blog while you're at it? That's a great
way of pinging folks for ideas and letting others chime in.

But in the end, a searchable and dynamic help tool! :-)

bill
-- William M. Smith, Technical Analyst
Digital Information Systems Support
Merrill Communications, LLC
(651) 632-1492

[Jeff-JAMF]

A JAMF/Casper wiki is a great idea!

Jeff Johnson
Technology Coordinator
Glendale-River Hills School District
2600 W. Mill Rd.
Glendale, WI 53209
jeff.johnson at glendale.k12.wi.us
(soon to be a Casper Suite user and looking forward to getting a JumpStart)

[#13]

Great idea and all for it.

Cyrus Vahhaji
Accenture
Best Buy Technology Group
desk ­ 612.291.3643
fax ­ 952.430.4260
email ­ mailto:cyrus.vahhaji at bestbuy.com