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Linux Taking Over Schools in India
slashchris84 writes to mention a BusinessWeek article about the growing role of Linux in the classrooms of India. In a country with a long history of corporate problems and financial issues, the inexpensive and flexible nature of open source software is gaining a lot of ground. From the article: "Two years ago, New Delhi said the best way to improve computer literacy in India was to adopt open source software in schools. Although Kerala is the first to introduce such a program statewide, 18 of India's 28 states either are using Linux or have pilot projects for its use in various government departments and schools. The education ministries in most states, and in Delhi the federal ministries of defense, transport, communication, and health, are all using the software on server computers"
It's only a matter of time until most schools realise the full potential of open source software, let alone things like LTSP. It just makes sense to use things like this in an educational environment. Reduced cost, reduced administration, more portability between students...
And given that the students will "know" Linux after they're out of school, it's only a matter of time until it starts populating in the business world.
First there was Apple in education...And then Microsoft. Microsoft is shafting the educational system with their inflated licensing costs, and trust me, educators aren't standing for it any more.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Everyone knows that Apple gained what power it had from its influence in education. Microsoft learned this lesson from them, and since has been giving knockout educational pricing to schools.
Microsoft was already as concerned as they were going to be when the Indians announced they were going Open Source. A statement like that girl's is only confirmation.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
When the government of India suggested a major push into open source to help the country support its own IT a few years ago Bill Gates immedately made a special trip to India to meet with officials. Microsoft is definitely afraid a small shift in such a large country will turn into a major loss.
Developers: We can use your help.
FOSS is to the Information Age as the printing press was the the Enlightenment.
The realization in the public, business, and private sectors that we really don't need to fork over sizeable money for the Same Fscking Codebase They've Been Reselling For Years[1] is truly liberating, and could well lead to increased innovation, as more eloquently detailed by Moglen: http://www.redhat.com/magazine/020jun06/features/
[1] Albeit with some UI botox
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
There is another angle, though. Maybe you dismiss it, but to some India is one of the hottest technical development centers in the world. And this is a country that highly values education and generally does a better job of providing it to even it's poorest constituents than the "Developed Countries". Having just returned from Hyderabad, I witnessed kids crawling out of what could only be described by a Westerner as a mud hut, with a sparkling clean and pressed school uniform on, ready to go to school. In America, these kids would probably not qualify for most public schools because they don't have an address.
Then, they go on to higher education... and guess what schools are being built fast in India? Technical schools. Lots of them.
My point is, your "backwater" country is doing a better job of educating it's masses than most western countries, and the tools that these kids learn today will shape technology tomorrow.
-- "In order to have power, I must be taken seriously." -Mojo Jojo
I'll ignore the condescension for a moment to correct your 'Windows is the computer' assumption.
I work in the developing world in a place where computers are about at the same level of uptake as they were in the US in the early to mid 1990s. More and more people are getting them, and exposure is increasing. From my observation, the only people who care about Windows are those who know nothing else. And that refers mostly to donors, volunteers, expat advisors and a few functionaries who have been trained overseas.
Almost everyone else has exactly the same reaction as that little girl: "Windows? never heard of it." This is true even if they're using Windows on their computer. They don't care about brand names, they just want to do their thing.
And by the way, of the roughly 450 youth who come and use one of the computer centres I administer, the most popular pastime is reading and writing email, followed by web browsing. Games come further down the list. Thing is, they can play games any time. Outside. With their friends. Email and the web? Their time for that is limited.
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.