[OS:N:] RE: N:] Re: Linux for Schools

[Christine <cfw1 sluug org>]

There are examples of school focused linux projects around the world (the 
U.S. is slow to adopt major initiatives that impact business agreements, 
good or bad)...one good model is "linex" in Extremadura (www.linex.org, 
spanish site) and a few others.

Personally, I think it may actually harm Microsoft in the long run...but 
that's for future history books. Let's hope she actually believed in what 
she did and didn't cave to politi....(sorry, I started laughing too hard to 
finish typing that comment ;->

There have been alternatives to Microsoft but none with the marketing drive 
this company has.

What is most important is to make sure that public properties such as 
schools, libraries, etc., do not find themselves locked into interwoven 
proprietary relationships nor decisions by local/national entities. Often 
relationships that do not allow them to do what they where intended to do, 
namely, teach and/or provide a broad base of existing topics without bias. 
In itself that is a difficult thing to accomplish under the best 
environments, but when a company provides "donations and grants" that come 
inherent with restrictions and maintenance costs while failing to deliver 
quality nor longevity of usage.

Becoming and getting people involved and informed regarding how these 
decisions are made, who makes them and working to influence them to look at 
alternatives is of utmost importance at this time as well as developing 
products. Many of the decision makers do not understand the trojan horse 
they bring inside their walls.

We don't necessarily need a single OS for schools, but a deliverable suite 
of products that schools use that runs on linux systems.

My $0.02

--christine