Comment Re:Shared computer toolkit (Score 1) 366
Ahh, you beat me to it.
Yep, SCT, or whatever they are calling it, is definately the way to go. Then issue or suggest the users acquire USB thumbdrives (1GB models are almost free nowadays, and I still use a 64MB daily). SCT really is perfect for this setup. Users can make all of the changes they want, but the changes don't stick past a reboot. You can still log in as an admin, and do updates, install software, etc, but the limited users will not be able to do damage.
Then you can take advantage of Policies for controlling most things. Best part is, once you get the policies the way you want them, you can save out the template, and apply it to other computers (for if you need more than one). If it were to grow to several machines, you could even put a cheap Domain Controller in place (think Small Business Server) for deploying such policies across multiple machines, etc. And SBS would bring with it ISA (Proxy), and a shared website where folks could use it to share docs/photos/coupons or make simple websites with Frontpage (yeah, ewww) if so inclined. You could give them mail access through Outlook Web Access if you wanted, so their mail would be server based, and thus fairly well protected from other uses screwing up stuff.
Yeah, the server could be a Linux box if you are more comfortable with it. It would certainly save money. But I am a big fan of Group Policy for management, so it's where I tend to lean. Like I stated, it's not like you even need any kind of server, it's just a logical extension if you were to have more than 1 or 2 computers.
The small business environment is an area where the Microsoft offerings really work out well, and are fairly easy to maintain, if you just set it up right to begin with.
Now where's those flame-retardent boxers I got for my birthday?
Yep, SCT, or whatever they are calling it, is definately the way to go. Then issue or suggest the users acquire USB thumbdrives (1GB models are almost free nowadays, and I still use a 64MB daily). SCT really is perfect for this setup. Users can make all of the changes they want, but the changes don't stick past a reboot. You can still log in as an admin, and do updates, install software, etc, but the limited users will not be able to do damage.
Then you can take advantage of Policies for controlling most things. Best part is, once you get the policies the way you want them, you can save out the template, and apply it to other computers (for if you need more than one). If it were to grow to several machines, you could even put a cheap Domain Controller in place (think Small Business Server) for deploying such policies across multiple machines, etc. And SBS would bring with it ISA (Proxy), and a shared website where folks could use it to share docs/photos/coupons or make simple websites with Frontpage (yeah, ewww) if so inclined. You could give them mail access through Outlook Web Access if you wanted, so their mail would be server based, and thus fairly well protected from other uses screwing up stuff.
Yeah, the server could be a Linux box if you are more comfortable with it. It would certainly save money. But I am a big fan of Group Policy for management, so it's where I tend to lean. Like I stated, it's not like you even need any kind of server, it's just a logical extension if you were to have more than 1 or 2 computers.
The small business environment is an area where the Microsoft offerings really work out well, and are fairly easy to maintain, if you just set it up right to begin with.
Now where's those flame-retardent boxers I got for my birthday?
