Macedonia Deploys 5,000 Ubuntu Desktops in Schools

vladoboss writes "The latest GNOME Journal is running a story about the deployment of 5000 Ubuntu desktops in public schools. The Republic of Macedonia is a small country in Southern Europe with a population of around 2 million. Internet penetration is only around 5% and software piracy rate is rampant. Also, the government does not play any major role in the development of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and a private sector is dominated by Microsoft technologies. Given the circumstances, one would not expect any free software related stories to make the headlines. Yet the presence of a small volunteer organization by the name Free Software Macedonia is making a big difference in this small country."

Comments

Office Apps

[fembots]

The friendly article didn't say it, but I assumed these schools will be using OO.o, not MS Office on WINE?

This is a strong movement because children tend to come back home and fiddle with home PCs (like installing games/trojans), so it's now more likely that more Macedonian homes will be running Linux too.

What I am not sure is the career future of these children of the future. Will they be better off in their career now that they are primed with OpenSource ideas, will they become the valuable elites in "knowledge-based exports" market, or will they be forced to re-learn MS once they enter workfoce?

Re:Office Apps

[rolfwind]

Unless you are programming or "forced" to deal with the command line (not likely), I don't see much major relearing going on moving from Linux to MS or the other way around when it comes to office apps (OO to MSOffice or the other way around) - it's mostly point and click with similiar interfaces. Also learning to use the web (since they have low internet penetration), which is pretty much the same experience for any GUI system.

Sometimes there is more relearning between versions of an App than there is between two different apps that serve the same purpose.

The other thing I imagine they can use is educational software - I should check the article if they deployed Ubuntu or Edubuntu.

I wonder if the free educational software in the OS world could provide schools lots of savings?

Re:Office Apps

[lpcustom]

I fear that these Macedonian kids are going to grow up with higher intellects than people who post on slashdot explaining what a GUI is and using terms like "root editor". Who knows, these kids may actually grow up to be "highly skilled technicians". It's a lot better than dumbed down power users with no idea what they are talking about.
I mean seriously, American children should have more of this. Challenge them. I sound like my dad but kids these days spend more time BS'ing about what they don't know instead of actually learning it. I feel sorry for my country. We put so much effort into convincing our kids how great our country is and how smart they are for being able to turn on a computer. We should be teaching them skills that will enable them to compete in the world. I say good for Macedonian.

Re:Office Apps

[nkrgovic]

Well they can learn how to flameware with Greeks on the net about the name of the country and learn how to avoid getting shot by Serbs by playing Quake.

Hate to dissapoint you, but Macedonia (FYROM is the officialname, ask the Greeks why) seceded from what is now Serbia and Montenegro peacefully. We are still in good relations, and no side ever fired a single non-FPS shot on each other :). I do think we pwn them in Enemy Territory tough :).

They are, unfortunately, being killed, constantly, but by Albanian separatists. They were promissed help by the U.S. , but since they have no oil they got nothing. Most of Macedonians still live in fear of Albanian terorists, who rampage, kill people, raid vilages and bomb cities allmost every few days.

The only ones the U.S. helped there are the Albanians. Islamic extremist and terorists are allways welcome in Europe, by the U.S., especially when they have drugs money to pay for CIA instructors.

Re:Office Apps

[dwillden]

I was stationed with the US Army in your beautiful little country in 2001 when the NLA tried to spread the Kosovo Fighting into Macedonia. Unlike most troops there I had a job that allowed and even required me to travel around your country extensively rather than remaining stuck on Camp Able Sentry or limited to the supply route to Kosovo

The US did not then and has not since supported any Albanian terrorists or even seperatists who were operating, or who even wanted to operate in Macedonia. We really haven't even supported those so inclined who live and operate in Kosovo, since we entered into Kosvo, if anything most of our effort is spent protecting Serbs from harassment and discrimination. We supported the Lawfully elected Macedonian Government (though we did encourage a few reformations to reduce the discrimination the Albanian minority thought it was suffereing, sometimes truthfully sometimes not.)

The funniest thing about that entire Insurgency/Civil War/Call it what you will, is that the entire time the NLA was certain that any day we were going to start helping them either actively with troops, or with weapons or supplies. But we never did. The US always supported the government, mostly with monetary aid.

Your accusation at the end of your post is unfounded and uncalled for. Although not really unexpected. Most the time we were there we were constantly being asked if the US still hated the Serbs. Which of course we the US never did, we just hated what some of them had been doing to Kosovars, and what they had done to non-Serbian Bosnians and Croats.

As to supporting Macedonians, we've had troops in Macedonia since it declared independance and asked for UN Peacekeepers to keep Serbia from trying anything like it did when other states broke off from Yugoslavia. We joined that mission and supported it until the Kosovo War. We transitioned our base to be the rear support base for our main force in Kosovo. We remained there until a couple years ago when we moved those support personnel up to Pristina in Kosovo.

Since the day The Republic of Macedonia (I heartily disagree with the politcally correct FYROM) declared independence, the US has supported the it and it's lawfully elected Government, and thus the majority of the people. We have supported your troops and police. We poured tons of money into your economy, and we definatly did not help the NLA or any follow-on groups.

Oh and as to the original article, yea Piracy is big there, I myself brought home a few disks with software and music on them. Hey, they were cheap and it poured some money into the economy. Oh, and on a non-piracy note, my wife really likes the custom tailored tux I got there that I wore on our wedding day. $100 (US) for a hand tailored Tux, awsome for a really skinny guy like me who has trouble finding clothes that fit.

Copyrights, copyrights, copyrights...

[HermanAB]

Due to pressure by large countries to honour patents and copyrights, poor countries are all switching to free software. The strict enforcement of copyrights is the best thing that can ever happen to the Free Software movement and to the poor, it is a godsend.

Re:Copyrights, copyrights, copyrights...

[bogie]

The other best thing is software DRM/activation.

I hope with Vista that there is no Corporate version and that all businesses and consumer had to pay full price and activate immediately upon install. Make Windows and Office impossible to pirate and watch OSS use sky rocket.

Re:Mutual Exclusion?

[FinchWorld]

Simple. Local markets. They sell them there, the police don't bother with them for the most part, its pretty much the same as markets in china, all the software you could ever want for a few pennies (or cents).

Re:The Article

[ndansmith]

Yes, but there are also aspects of KDE which are harmful to education. For instance, konstantly kspelling keverything kwith "K" kannot kbe kood kfor kyoung kstudents.

FSM did a great job

[Karaman]

Free Software is a winner once more. Alas, not everywhere. I live in a neighboring country, Bulgaria, and it looks like our last government made a life-contract with MS for our schools and state administration. Corruption, you will ask, yes, a contractor which is in close relation to the government supplied all the MS products and there was no public auction for this contract. The MS products were even bought at higher than normal prices. And one more thing: There are computers in the state administration somewhere in smaller towns, that can only run DOS, but they still have bought MS WINXP for these PCs. And the contract being for life means as long as MS suppllies products our children will be forced to use Windows at school and call themselves computer-skilled. For me it is the worst nightmare. Go go go, Free Software Macedonia! I wish you more success!