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Has Free Software Saved Any Schools?
morcego asks: "I think
everyone remembers the case of PCs
for Kids, the Australian group that donates computers for the
poor children, when Microsoft asked them lots of money for the software
on the computers they donated. I am trying to convince schools to start
using free software, and I have heard arguments like 'all free software
initiatives in public schools around the world have failed.' I know this
is not true, but I need cases to show them. So, do you know of any school
(public or not), or other educational institution that has been saved from
paying large amounts of money (and closing its doors) by free
software?" For those interested in this topic, you'll probably
want to read up on the latest salvo in the Microsoft
private
antitrust settlement. It sounds like education, and Open Source, may
now have an official relationship, and things are now getting kicked
into high gear. While it's good to hear about the "SchoolForge" coalition
(no relation to SourceForge or
NewsForge), what educational resources
are currently available to schools from the Open Source arena?
I keep hearing about how Windows is so easy to use, but moments ago I showed someone (Again!) how to drag and drop a file. She's be at this job since before 1995 when the computers were installed; some people you're never gonna reach.
But I'm not seeing an old Slackware, install-by-tarballs machine running a monochrome
monitor being installed into school desktops; anyone trying that should be shot, and allowed to admin windows for a living.
I use Redhat and Ximian here. I don't have time to put on my programmer-hat every time I install something, and the RPMs cover my ass so I don't crash libraries or something, and keep in mind I can install them from the comfort of my own desk instead of walking the halls to get to the Windows box.
And Ximian is a big help, too; their latest offerings are at least as good as Microsoft for the things that matter (Spreadsheets, Word Processing, etc) and get better every month. If you haven't tried them, now's the time to start watching; they've done a superb job.
And as for learning....how'd these people ever migrate off of WfW? And then to Win98...then to 2000? It's not the exact same thing, and that's rather the *point* isn't it?
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.