Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Does Your College Or University Support Linux?

Posted by kdawson on from the country-and-western dept.

yuna49 writes 'Lately I've been visiting colleges with my daughter, who is a senior in high school. Every school has proudly announced that they support both Windows and Macs, and most of these schools report having about a 50-50 split between the two. However we've been a Linux household for many years now, and my daughter routinely uses a laptop running Kubuntu 9.04. Sometimes I would ask the student tour guide if Linux was supported and was usually met with a blank stare. We're obviously not concerned about whether she can write papers using OpenOffice and Linux. Rather we've been wondering about using other computing services on campus like classroom applications, remote printing, VPNs, or Wi-Fi support (nearly all these campuses have ubiquitous Wi-Fi). Given the composition of Slashdot's readership, I thought I'd pose the question here. Does your school support Linux? Have you found it difficult or impossible to use Linux in concert with the school's computing services?'

7 of 835 comments (clear)

  1. TBH... by janeuner · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've found it fairly impossible to use Windows in concert with my college's computing services....but I don't think that has anything to do with Windows.

  2. Re:do tell :1 semester of "Linux" required course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Doesn't matter; you need to pass high school level English to get in no matter where it is.

  3. Mine didn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The supported VAX though. In fact, that was pretty much all we had.

    AND WE LIKED IT.

  4. Re:Spyware not available by AndrewNeo · · Score: 2, Funny

    I visited a friend at college who had that same system (a lot of college use this same network, I can't remember what it was called, though.)
    All it did was check the browser's User-Agent, so if you spoofed yourself as Linux you could just use a standard login instead of having the security suite installed.

  5. Yes at Carnegie Mellon by pythonax · · Score: 4, Funny

    A good chunk of the labs at my school (Carnegie Mellon) are linux. We actually are in the process of finishing a new Gates building, in which all the labs will be linux. There are definitely groups on campus which can help you and a large percent of the student body probably can too. Go find a few computer labs and wander through them. If you know what you are looking for, it shouldn't be hard to find out.

    1. Re:Yes at Carnegie Mellon by SteveAstro · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...... in the process of finishing a new Gates building, in which all the labs will be linux..

      Oh the irony.

  6. Re:Who cares? by Tetsujin · · Score: 2, Funny

    At which point you get Windows and write it off as a cost of attending school, like a textbook (have you seen how much textbooks cost these days?)

    What's the cost of data insecurity, of giving up freedoms, and of supporting a criminal corporation? What form do you write those costs off on?

    No, no... it ain't working. Maybe if we played "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in the background while you said that? Let's try that...

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.