Yeah - thats the same with preinstall linux. However - with the linux world there are other avenues - we usually consider some sort of server-side option. Does the company need 100 fat clients? Well... they are windows, so that's how you have to do it.

But this also answers one of my questions - you want to make one clone, and deploy it to 100 workstations. You don't have to clone 100 workstations.

This does make deployment more complex - but we plan purchases to accommodate.

There is an option of putting up thin clients, but then the hardware has become sort of cheap-not that we have a lot of money-but can afford to buy the pc. So it is rejected. And also this deployment is for educational institution, so you have to keep up to the rules and standards meant for them by the standards body.
Now that not every student knows linux and they do not want to put time on it. They just want to have their work done. Otherwise Network installation is also one of the methods I could have put on to install so many stations at once.
I have plans to put one lab with just open source softwares including os as well. So may be I will have one lab full of Linux where I would not have to worry about the trojans, spywares and virus attacks and let students take the full use of the power of the computer. Ubuntu is the choice of my os right now but I am open to criticism and suggestions on this if anyone has deployed Linux lab in an institution and had some success with it.

Check my "Educational Resources" blog post for some other OSS software you may find useful.
iTalc for instance would be very useful in a school computer lab (works with Linux and Windows Clients)..

http://www.linuxquestions.org/blog/f...sources.-1568/


Cheers.


P.S. I've use the bootable Live clonezilla for one-off hard disk cloning, and didn't find it hard to use.. it was just walking through the menus, I never bothered with reading the docs.. Yes its got far more options than most of the other Open Source solutions, and can do more in the long run, but the live CD sure is slick.