[K12OSN] Re: Software to do X

Frank Samuelson fws4 at cdrh.fda.gov
Mon Nov 22 11:56:47 UTC 2004


Shawn Powers wrote:

> I think it's fair to offer web-based alternatives, as long as the lack 
> of sound in flash is taken into account.

Why  no sound in flash?  running it off the server?

> 2) "Math-Type" -- I guess this is a program that creates tests for math 
> teachers.  Are there any test-creation programs available that work 
> well?  I'm talking printed-out tests, not online or computer based 
> tests.  (To me, just using OpenOffice seemed to fit the bill, but 
> apparently the teachers are used to some specialty program designed for 
> such a thing)
> 
> 4) Interfacing with TI calculators.  Is this possible?  Apparently they 
> have been able to copy/paste TI calculator images that were piped into 
> their macs.  Is there a TI emulator that could be screen captured?
> 
> 5) Streaming Media.  Real media, quicktime, wmv, mpg, whatever the 
> format -- is this possible at all?  (Especially via a browser)  How does 
> sound work?  Does it?

mplayer and mplayerplug-in (to make it work in your browser).
These are not included in most distn's, but can
be grabbed as rpms for any distn.  Mplayer plays almost
_everything_.  I've never seen a media player on any platform
out of the box come close to what mplayer can do.

> 
> 6) Science specific things?  (Biology, earth sciences, physics stuff, 
> chemistry stuff, astronomy, etc)
> 
> 8) Math software, specifically that are commonly used with classes 
> instead of neat idea that doesn't lend itself to common use...  (This 
> need is at all levels in our district, from K-12)

Can you be more specific as to what "Math software" is?  Math
software for K would be much different than for 12, I would expect.

> 10) Nutrition software (odd I know, but it's one of the pieces of 
> software my opposition is heralding as a reason OS won't work)
> 
> 11) Edutainment for elementary age.  Bill Kendrick has provided 2 lion's 
> shares of software in this regard, but I'm curious about others too. 
> (Thanks Bill!)

Remember, not everything needs to become open source at once.  Even
if you convert all the machines to Linux, you can still run a
great variety of commercial Windows software with wine or wine
derivatives.

Unfortunately people are reluctant to try new things, and
their primary questions are, "Can it do X, just like I'm doing
now?", rather than considering all the things that they
will be able to do that they couldn't before.  There's
much that I do everyday that I couldn't afford to do if
I had to buy commercial software in place of my OS.


-Frank





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