FileWave, makers of management software for the Mac, announced recently that they will offer FileWave X 1.5 free to K-12 schools and universities through December 23.
“The education market clearly represents a strong segment for Apple, with Macs contributing to the learning process through every stage of schooling,” said FileWave CEO Ben Forsyth. “FileWave is pleased to be able to enhance the resources of IT staff, lower administration costs, and free up resources that can be applied in other areas of the school.”
FileWave notes that education customers comprised 18 percent of Apple’s 2003 net sales, according to the Form 10-K filed on December 19, 2003, so the company sees much opportunity here. Schools that want to take advantage of the offer must sign a two-year support contract.
FileWave X 1.5 allows administrators to remotely access computers on the network so that they can install and update software and monitor the machines for problems. Software installations and updates can be limited to certain groups and even fine-tuned according to the needs of individual users.
Installation can also be synchronized to happen at specific times, and admins can roll all users back to the previous version, without re-downloading the software, if problems happen. In addition, intelligent installation options allow for auto-resume and automatic updates when users are idle.
FileWave X 1.5 runs on Mac OS X v.10.2 (Jaguar) through v.10.3 (Panther), with legacy support of OS 9 clients available with FileWave Classic Server. You can request an evaluation copy of the software on the FileWave Web site.