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22,000 Indiana Students Using Linux Desktops
Anonymous writes "Indiana's Department of Education has moved 22,000 students onto Linux desktops, and it's looking like that's only going to accelerate with SLED 10, Linspire, and other distributions getting better."
It's a state sponsored switch (in a very conservative state at that).
Indiana is quietly attempting to become a leader in the Tech Industry in small steps taken by the government (instead of the populace).
Our telecommunications bill was a step in the right direction.
Bayh actively supports Net Neutrality (with Dick Lugar seeming to favor it, as well).
State-sponsored research into improving the conditions for tech companies here in Indiana (and taking necessary steps to accomplish this).
Governer Daniels voicing his desire for Indiana to move from manufacturing to tech; and expressing his wish to stop the 'brain drain'
This recent OSS adoption
Not all of it will pan out, of course. But, I applaud my state knowing that it is trying to move toward these goals. Amazing, considering how 'red' we are.
Really? The only Linux users I've met has been extremely computer-savvy. To this day I've never (afaik) met a regular Joe (as in "Internet explorer? Ah, you mean the blue internet button!") who's using Linux at home or at work so I have to say stories like these are still news to me. Keeps the hope up you know.
I don't know about the states but I have a feeling Linux is still just as a) unknown b) scaring c) looked at as a server OS to the general population as here in Sweden.
www.freshpilot.com
In a small Indiana public school, our Middle School "Computer Lab" consisted of 6 Commodore PETs, While I used an Amiga at home. In High School we didn't even have a Lab... typing classes actualy used typewriters!
Anyway I'm glad to see this so maybe my child will get to use a real computer with a real OS other than at gome.
"The bad machine doesn't know he's a bad machine."
Sorry,
It's true that I did not explain myself 100% clearly:
The "let them choose" meant that kids might develop prefences toward using a certain distro if more than one present in the same classroom?
And if ever such a thing would become apparent, it is logical to equip more PCs with the given distro.
And in a flash 22000 Indiana students can't use websites using Flash.
Of course they can see Flash animations. Personally, I find more than 95% of Flash animations on websites to be a waste of time and bandwidth, and currently disable Flash, but there are several Flash plugins for Linux, including one from Adobe.
Props to my old friend Lance Woods who has been working towards this in Indiana for years.
I've lived in Indiana most of my life and I can tell you that, under our current governor, this is all about money. Most of our public schools are terribly underfunded. The motivation to save money anywhere possible is what is driving the Linux migration. Anyone want to lease a tollroad?
Indiana has been making steady progress in transforming itself into a center of technology innovation. Some of the largest companies in the world are based in Indiana and the military technology sector in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne is unbelieveable. Pharma, Def-Tech, Orthopedics, etc. Indiana is a leader in all these fields.
Yes, we do grow corn here and a lot of it!
BTW, we've been trying to give the Gary region near Chicago to Illinois for years but, they won't take it. So it's currently available for anyone wanting to take over the payments....
Just ask the good Jedi how they feel about "Balance" now...
How much are they going to save in licensing costs, does anyone know? (not just over Windows, but Office, Photoshop, etc.)
A HUGE amount. Microsoft's "educational" discounts are laugable. I don't know the exact numbers for Indiana, but I have experience in setting up a large linux network for a school and the money we saved on software allowed us to purchase much better hardware. All of our workstations are now equiped with flat panel monitors.
I remember MS claiming the TCO total cost of ownership is lower for Windows than for linux because of training...
MS's claims are just marketing garbage.
The school that I volunteer for has 2 ltsp servers and 60 thin clients. Since the thin clients have no hard drives, I never have to fix them. If there is a need for a new software package to be installed or account maintenance, I just remote into the server.
Much easier solution for me personally than servicing 60 windows XP computers, regardless of how locked down they are.
As far as training goes.. well, the first year I just made the system look like windows : screenshot
As the year went on, I noticed that neither students(k-8) nor teachers had any problems using the web browser or open office in linux. I can't imagine spending much money on training, becuase the system was more than intuitive enough.
As far as training for any new network administrators goes, sure. However in this day and age it would be silly for a network administrator to not put some effort into learning linux.
"If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
I have not seen any evidence on the Dell website that I can select Linux as an OS when I'm buying a computer
Your selection of FreeDOS or RedHat:
AVAILABLE HERE
I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.