TechOps maintains about 250 laptops for various purposes. In general, we have to support four main use cases:
Panels laptops are required to allow panelists to share their content during panel presentations. Because of the popularity of Microsoft Office products for word processing and presentation (Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint) and the need for offline capability, panels laptops are required to have the Windows OS installed onto them to support the Microsoft Office suite. Due to this requirement, these laptops are typically more expensive and configured with better specifications than other MAGFest owned laptops.
In addition to Panels use, there are additional Windows laptops without Office installed for both back-up and ad-hoc requests for laptops that support software that can not be installed onto the standard Linux laptops. We discourage providing these Windows laptops for use-cases that can be handled by the standard Linux laptops. These should be special requests directed to and approved by a TechOps department head or, if time sensitive, a manager on duty during event.
Current Models: Latitude T420, Dell Latitude E5410 + E6420
Current OS: Windows 10 Professional 21H2 (Windows 11 not supported on current models)
OS and software deployment method: Windows
Standard laptops are provided for any department use-case that does not need Windows laptops. These are provided with non-MS Office productivity suites and web browsers with web connectivity for general use. These typically cover most needs for most departments and should be provided by default unless specified and approved otherwise.
Current Models: Dell Latitude E6420
Current OS: Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS
OS and software deployment method: Linux
Registration kiosks are used to allow attendees to register and pay at event at the registration area. The Chromebooks provided are set to kiosk mode to lock access to Chrome on the MAGFest registration page. These Chromebooks are licensed with Chrome OS device management and managed via MAGFest's Google Workspace tenant.
In addition to registration kiosks, there are additional Chromebooks available for ad-hoc requests for specialized needs, for example specific Android/Play Store apps. These should be special requests directed to and approved by a TechOps department head or, if time sensitive, a manager on duty during event.
Current Models: Dell Chromebook 11 (3180)